Community News

Religious Council’s garden symbolic of its community

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The colorful medley of flowers that adorn the ground in front of the village’s signs at the corner of Sunrise Highway and Central Avenue could be a metaphor for the manifold ethnicities and cultures that make up Valley Stream’s population.

The flowers, planted on May 15 by children and adults from the congregations that make up the Valley Stream Religious Council, form the council’s Unity Garden, a living celebration of diversity and appreciation for different backgrounds and customs. They have grown in the month since, creating a pleasant sight for drivers entering the village from Sunrise Highway.

Clergy and congregants from Holy Name of Mary Church, the Baha’i Center of Nassau County, Masjid Hamza Islamic Center, the Valley Stream Presbyterian Church, the Valley Stream Jewish Center, Unity Church of Christianity, First Church of Christ Scientist and Grace United Methodist Church partnered with the village to create the garden. The plants, materials and design were provided by the houses of worship, whose volunteers will maintain the garden with some help from village workers who will water it regularly.

“The Religious Council has been very interested in finding effective ways to celebrate the diversity that makes Valley Stream such a wonderful community,” said council member Marie McNair. “The council’s consistent message has been to highlight the importance of recognizing the need for unity between people of all races, religions and backgrounds. We decided to give the gift of a beautiful garden to the residents of Valley Stream as our way of planting seeds of unity, acceptance, and peace.”

Mayor Ed Fare said the garden exemplifies the community’s values. “Here in Valley Stream, we embrace our religious, social and cultural diversity with great enthusiasm,” he said. “We are thrilled to dedicate this highly visible garden space to such an important and meaningful purpose. Situated at this busy entrance into Valley Stream, all who enter our village will have no doubt what it is we stand for — peace, tolerance and an abiding respect for our friends and neighbors, no matter their faith.”

The council’s president, Sister Margie Kelly, thanked the village for its assistance in making the project a reality. “We are very happy to be able to add beauty to our community,” she said, “not only through the beauty of the flowers, but also through the beauty of the ideas that they represent.”