ABOUT THIS PROJECT:
Well for the Journey was selected as a Community Healing Initiative Partner for Nature Sacred, a nonprofit that helps reconnect people to nature through contemplative green spaces across the nation with the largest concentration of “Sacred Places” in and around Baltimore. The vision for this initiative is to create a community sacred place in the woods located behind the Well Center.

This dream was born of an organic nature – through creativity, care, and collaboration.

Creativity:  The Well’s programming knows the importance of the natural world in one’s own wellness and connection to the Divine. The question comes: How might we incorporate our natural surroundings for the benefit of others’ spiritual wellness?

Care:  The Well has been sustained on the shoulders and spirit of many that have gone before us. They have helped till the soil and plant the garden of what the Well is becoming. The question comes: Is there a way we might honor those who have helped sustain us but are no longer physically present with us?

Collaboration:  Community, connection, and spiritual wellness is at the core of who we are. We know we would not exist without these…without you. We are also aware that we are a part of a larger community which includes those immediately connected to the Well: Church of the Holy Comforter; Kol HaLev; the Lutherville Community; the Orchard Hills Community; and, the Lutherville Volunteer Fire Company. The questions come: How might we join with our larger community to provide a place for all to find a respite…a place for solitude…a place to care for one’s spiritual life in nature’s welcoming embrace?

These three aspects – these questions, led the Well to take the initiative to engage our community partners to envision what a sacred place – for all – might be created in the woods behind the Well Center.

And, we are especially grateful to the Church of the Holy Comforter – on whose property our Center resides – which is making this possible by joining the vision and allowing the Well to guide an initiative for this Sacred Place Community Project.

MISSION STATEMENT:
To create a place of contemplation, respite, and communion with nature which accepts and celebrates all. This community-led initiative will result in a sacred place to experience and appreciate natural wonders, the seasonality of time, and quiet in a busy world. 

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT:
This project is a collaboration of many volunteers representing Well for the Journey, Church of the Holy Comforter, Nature Sacred, Floura Teeter Landscape Architects, Kohl HaLev, Lutherville Community Association, Orchard Hills Community Association & Lutherville Volunteer Fire Company.  Each representative has been tasked with relaying information about the Sacred Place Project to their respective communities so that input can be provided and all can feel connected and a part of the effort.  Want to be involved or to share your voice, please email Greg Cochran, Executive Director – Well for the Journey or contact your respective liaison from the Community Steering Committee listed below.

Community Steering Committee:
Nature Sacred & Landscape Architect Team
Remy Shaffer Gomes, President – Nature Sacred
Zolna Russell, Principal, Director of Sustainability – Floura Teeter Landscape Architect
Maura Roth-Gormley, Landscape Designer & Arborist – Floura Teeter Landscape Architects

Initial Community Input Committee Members
Cecilia Amaral – Well for the Journey
Ginny Barnhart – Well for the Journey
Beth Bugnaski – Kol HaLev
Jamie Cahn – Lutherville Volunteer Fire Company, President
Greg Cochran – Well for the Journey, Executive Director
Gordon Creamer – Well for the Journey, Program Director
Gregg DeHoff, Orchard Hills Community Association, Treasurer
Arlene Fatzinger, Church of the Holy Comforter
Judy Gerb – Kol HaLev
Rick Reiches – Kol HaLev
Pam Shaw – Lutherville Community Association, President
Scott Slater – Well for the Journey, Co-Founder

Firesouls (https://naturesacred.org/our-work/firesoul-network/)
Greg Cochran – Well for the Journey, Executive Director
Kristan Joice – Well for the Journey, Office Administrator

FINAL LANDSCAPE DESIGN DRAWING (Floura Teeter):
Download final design drawing/plans here.

PROJECTED TIMELINE:
• Mid-April – May: Final Design Adjustments (stake out design elements, conversation with arborist, complete design decisions)
• June: Receive contractor bids
• Mid-July: Award Contractor bid
• Late Summer – Fall: begin Construction (depending on contractor schedule)

All Nature Sacred Projects conclude with a bench being dedicated at the sacred place to serve as a spot to pause, rest, or meditate and if one chooses, to write a note, message, or thought in the bench book that is housed safely underneath each seat.