The Sacred Garden: The Garden Church in San Pedro feeds the body and the spirit
by Chelsea Sektnan Tucked inside a formerly vacant lot on 6th Street in downtown San Pedro, behind a large, green wrought iron gate, is a dinosaur with a crown of thorns holding a quote from the Gospel of Matthew that says, “I was hungry, and you fed me, I was a stranger, and you invited me in.” The dinosaur welcomes both strangers and members of The Garden Church into the lush, green sanctuary. The entrance to The Garden Church features a dinosaur with a crown of thorns holding a quote from the Gospel of Matthew: “I was hungry, and you fed me; I was a stranger, and you invited me in.” Inside those gates, on a recent sunny Sunday afternoon, Brianna Laurel sat in a circle on a foldable camping chair, recently baptized 7-month-old baby Opal on her lap. She sang along with Reverend Dr. Amanda Adams Riley while Opal smiled and cooed at the bright flowers surrounding the group of worshipers. “I was raised Catholic, and it was pretty rigid. I lost my way with God for a bit,” Laurel said. “I wanted to find God, but not in a Catholic way; I wanted something more open. The community here feels like what church is supposed to be.” The Garden Church is an Ecumenical Ministry of the…
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