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Planting Seeds of Hope

I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 1 Corinthians 3:6, KJV

Every garden begins with a seed and faith in what we cannot yet see. Before there are blossoms, shade, or fruit, someone must prepare the soil, plant with care, and faithfully water the ground.

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul reminds a divided community that each person has a part in God’s work. Paul planted and Apollos watered, but neither could claim credit for the growth. Their gifts worked together, and God brought life. This is an invitation to faithful partnership to offer what we have, nurture what has been entrusted to us, and trust God with the increase as we attempt great things for God and expect great things from God.

At Scarritt Bennett Center, we are tending ground enriched by generations of learning, service, courage, and prayer. Alumni, educators, justice seekers, and faithful friends have planted seeds whose fruit continues to nourish lives around the world.

Our International Peace and Justice Garden & Labyrinth Revitalization Project offers another opportunity to cultivate that legacy. We envision a welcoming place for reflection, spiritual renewal, and connection, a garden where people can find rest and gather strength to pursue peace and justice beyond its pathways.

Imagine someone arriving burdened by grief and finding a quiet place to breathe. Imagine neighbors from different backgrounds sharing a bench and beginning a conversation. Imagine a young woman discovering stories of courage that help her recognize her own. The seeds we plant today can help make room for these encounters.

Seeds need good soil, nourishment, patience, and care. Hope needs tending, too. It grows when we invest our time, share our gifts, build relationships, and make room for generations yet to come.

This garden will give beautiful expression to our mission of creating space for a more just world. We envision a place where neighbors and visitors can pause, pray, reflect, and encounter one another with dignity. A place where beauty offers renewal and the labyrinth invites us to walk thoughtfully, one step at a time.

The winding path of a labyrinth reminds us that progress is not always a straight line. There are turns, moments of uncertainty, and opportunities to slow down. Yet we keep walking. So, it is with the work of peace and justice: we listen, learn, repair, and take the next faithful step.

May every shovel of earth turned at the groundbreaking represent a promise: to cultivate peace, pursue justice, extend radical hospitality, and keep hope growing.

We invite you to plant seeds of hope in fertile ground. Through your prayers, generosity, service, and invitations to others, you can help nurture this sacred space and carry Scarritt’s legacy forward.

What seed of hope is God calling you to plant? What growing possibility needs your care?

We each have a part. Some plant. Some water. God gives the increase.

Let’s Pray: God of hope, bless the seeds we sow and the ground we tend. Join our gifts together so that peace may take root, justice may flourish, and weary souls may find renewal. Give us patience to nurture what we cannot yet see and faith to trust you with the growth. Amen.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev. Sondrea L. Tolbert, J.D., M.Div.

Executive Director & CEO

Scarritt Bennett Center

LEGACY FORWARD Scarritt Bennett International Peace and Justice Garden & Labyrinth Revitalization Project

By Rev. Sondrea Tolbert

Rooted in history. Renewed in hope. Creating space for a more just world.

In the heart of Nashville, where Midtown’s energy meets the creativity of Music Row, Scarritt Bennett Center offers a place to pause, breathe, and reconnect. On a historic campus nestled between 18th and 19th Avenues South, Grand Avenue, and Edgehill Avenue, the International Peace and Justice Garden & Labyrinth Revitalization Project invites us to invest in a sacred possibility: a serene green oasis where faith and justice intersect, memory inspires action, and peace becomes a practice.

A legacy that reaches around the world.

Scarritt’s story began in 1892 with a vision for educating women for Christian service and global leadership at a time when many avenues of leadership were closed to them. After moving from Kansas City to Nashville in 1924, Scarritt College became a meeting place for people whose cultures, languages, and experiences connected this campus to communities around the world. Its international identity helped students learn across differences and carry their education into lives of ministry, teaching, and service.

That legacy also required courage here at home for faith and justice to intersect. In 1952, Lelia Robinson (Dabbs) and DeLaris Johnson (Risher) entered Scarritt as its first African American students, helping open doors for those who followed. Both graduated in 1954 and continued lives of service through the Methodist deaconess movement. Their presence reminds us that belonging must be expressed through opportunity, access, and dignity.

Scarritt’s international community and the struggle for civil rights were deeply connected. In 1963, Dr. Lorine Chan (Tevi), then a student from Fiji known as Lorine Chan, was denied service at the nearby Campus Grill. Students responded by organizing against racial discrimination. Dr. Sue Thrasher and Archie Allen were among those who formed the Christian Action Fellowship later recognized as Southern Students Organizing Committee (SSOC) and worked with students from neighboring institutions to challenge segregation. Their witness demonstrates how faith can move from conviction to collective action.

When the college closed in 1988, its purpose continued through Scarritt Bennett Center. Today, women’s empowerment, racial justice, spiritual formation, and transformative education carry that legacy forward. The revitalized garden will give these commitments a welcoming, visible expression of a place where visitors can reflect on the past and renew their responsibility for the future.

An enduring circle, a renewed invitation.

The circular International Garden, honoring Helen Baker Price dedicated in 1966, provides a historic foundation for this renewal. Its circle circumference offers a meaningful image of connection: lives joined across generations, cultures, and continents. The garden’s labyrinth, added in 2004, extended that invitation through walking prayer and remembrance.

Now, the proposed revitalization will build upon this inheritance through:

• A Santa Rosa design seven-circuit labyrinth, inviting walking prayer, meditation, and a thoughtful journey toward the center and back into daily life.
• A stream of water, bringing movement and sound into a setting for restoration and reflection.
• Seven pillars featuring faith and justice quotations, connecting spiritual contemplation with the call to uphold human dignity and Scarritt’s rich history.
• A peace pole bearing “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in seven languages, expressing the garden’s international welcome.
• Remembrance stones, creating opportunities to honor loved ones, teachers, mentors, and people whose lives have advanced peace and justice.
• Seating for reflection, welcoming quiet conversation, rest, and moments of solitude.
• ADA accessibility improvements, making inclusion a practical commitment within the garden’s design.

With the involvement of Pillar Development, CSDG, and InnateCreations, this vision brings together stewardship of a historic place and thoughtful planning for its next chapter.

Invest in a place that restores and inspires.

This garden will welcome the neighbor seeking a moment of peace, the woman discerning her next step, the student encountering Scarritt’s history, the visitor far from home, and the justice advocate needing renewal for the work ahead.

Here, refuge and responsibility belong together. Reflection can deepen compassion. Meditation can strengthen resolve. Remembering courageous lives can inspire courageous choices.

An investment in this project supports an enduring community resource: green space amid a growing city, accessible opportunities for spiritual renewal, and a living setting for learning about women’s leadership, civil rights, and international connection. It also strengthens Scarritt’s capacity to welcome future retreats, educational gatherings, and conversations about peace and justice.

Your gift can help carry this legacy forward.

Individuals, alumni, families, congregations, foundations, and community partners are invited to support the garden’s renewal, explore sponsorship of its planned features, contribute toward accessibility and ongoing care, or participate through remembrance stones.

Together, we can preserve the stories that shaped Scarritt while creating space for stories still to come.

Legacy Forward!