THE PEACE GARDEN

The Birmingham Friends Peace Garden is located behind the stone wall of the burial ground behind the meetinghouse and surrounds the marker of the common grave of many of the British and American soldiers who fell at the Battle of the Brandywine. The idea for the Peace Garden was conceived after the 9/11/ 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York
City. Quakers’ witness against the use of violence was a concern during this period when there was much talk of war. There are many monuments glorifying war but few that memorialize peace. Birmingham Meeting Quaker Toni Brinton, a peace activist and avid gardener, had the idea to create the garden in the burial ground, using granite stone markers with messages of peace. Harriett Wentz, another Birmingham Quaker and landscape designer, designed the garden around the Peace Stones. Many Quakers joined together to plant the garden and have maintained it. Over the years different people have donated stones with messages of peace that were meaningful to them. The Peace Garden was dedicated in 2005 to draw attention to Quaker’s belief in peaceful alternatives to deadly conflict, while honoring those who lost their lives here. The Garden, with its beautiful native plantings, is open to the public and is a peaceful place for contemplation.