This month’s podcast episode features Regina Laroche as she bears witness to the healing and transformation that can come when we risk stepping into the wounded places in our neighborhoods and in our world. Regina cultivates food, connections, and community in her work with DIASPORA GARDENS, Planting Connections, Planting Hope, and the St. Mark Giving Garden. These integrate farming or gardening with art, cultural identity, and celebration; and are dedicated to nourishing and healing earth, bodies, spirit, and communal relationships. The emphasis is on communities of color with histories of racialized trauma and land-related violence. Regina invites us to deepen our birthright connections to healthy land, healthy food, empowering traditions and resilience in ways that bring justice and repair to all.  These offerings draw on Regina’s life of small-scale farming on the edge of Lake Superior, her mother’s rural South Carolina upbringing, and her father’s Haitian Afro-Caribbean culture. Regina is experienced in the creative dance and story work of InterPlay, is trained in spiritual direction, is an alum of the Two-Year Academy for Spiritual Formation, and holds a theatre degree from St. Catherine University. You can follow Regina’s work and offerings at www.diasporaonmadeline.com.

Be sure to check out Regina’s latest offering called, “Seeds of Repair,” which begins with a free online event on Sunday, February 26, 2023.

Show notes:

The song Regina shares in the episode is called, “Water is Life,” by Sara Thomsen from her album Song Like a Seed. The full lyrics to the song can be found at https://sarathomsen.com/track/1907929/water-is-life. Song used with permission of the artist.

Episode tracks: “Far Side of the Sea,” “Versailles,” and “Fearless” by Amy Stroup, used with permission.

For more information and resources visit: academy.upperroom.org/resources