WHO WE ARE
Vision
To demonstrate the ‘New Creation’ in Christ, ‘here and now’ in the world.
Mission Statement
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We are a Christian community that loves God, people, and His creation.
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We operate communal gardens, grow, harvest, and donate the best of our produce with local charities such as homeless shelters, hospices, nursing homes, group homes for people with special needs, neighbours and the needy in our community.
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We are called to serve the poor and the needy in the 4 areas of caring: ‘Creation,’ ‘Community,’ ‘Culture’ and ‘Church,’ through educational events, retreats, worship, service, and community gardening activities.
Core Values
& Statement of faith
Our belief is grounded in the Bible and our faith statements confessed in the words of the
The Apostle’s Creed & Nicene Creed.
We envision the ‘New Heaven and Earth’ (New Eden) to come, described in Revelation 21-22.
Thus, we emphasize active participation in God’s work in the world.
We see ‘garden’ as the symbol of ‘new creation’ which reveals God’s peace, welfare, restoration, joy, and hope. We are called to be stewards to take care of the ‘garden’ here on earth where God has entrusted us to do so.
History
New Eden ministry was launched in Spring 2013,
in the response to participate in God’s
work of a new thing in wilderness, described in Isaiah 43. Through witnessing the Fukushima
Nuclear Disaster and the destruction of God’s beautiful creation, the Holy Spirit inspired the
vision for New Eden and to launch the communal garden ministry, to demonstrate the
significance to care for Creation, Community, Church & Culture as God’s stewards.
Over the years, many people from around the world have joined us, from children to seniors.
Our participants have included people from approximately 30 different countries and ethnic
backgrounds.
WHAT WE CARE FOR
4 C CARE is NEF’s unique mission model to holistically serve for Christ’s New Creation.
LEADERSHIP
Board of Directors
Meet Our Leadership
Shihoko Warren
New Eden Foundation President
Shihoko was born and raised in the Tokyo area of Japan. She received theological training from Discipleship Training Centre in Singapore and Regent College in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Shihoko has been involved in church plant ministry throughout her life. Her passion is to build a community in Christ. As she grew up in the concrete jungle, she had always felt that soil was dirty, alien, and full of germs. She didn’t pay attention to the sense of wonder in God’s creation and the call of stewardship. Shihoko didn’t discover the joy of tending a garden until she met her husband, whose passion has been in gardening throughout his life. She still has a ‘brown’, not a ‘green thumb’, but enjoys gardening and working together at the New Eden communal garden with people from all different ages, races, and backgrounds! She loves traveling, watching movies, good food, oceanside retreats, and art. She and her husband have raised two children who are both now adults.
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Soohwan Park
Chair of Trustees of A Rocha International | Executive Director of Global Learning Consortium
Soohwan, a native of South Korea, has spent over two decades of her life outside Korea, for instance in Bangladesh, Thailand and Canada. She worked among the poorest of the poor, and directed multi-cultural training programs, global human resources, and consulting projects concerning leadership in Christian nonprofit organizations before responding the call to go to Fukushima, Japan in March 2011. After forming a consortium of international Christian NGOs and local churches in Fukushima to create holistic disaster response to the unprecedented triple disaster (earthquake, tsunami, and ongoing nuclear crises), Soohwan continued the relationship with churches in Fukushima. She facilitates prayer retreats, writes, lectures and speaks at conferences on social justice and spiritual formation. Her primary focus these days is to reflect deeply on how to shape single-mindedness out of single-heartedness against multi-tasking, overachieving, anxiety-driven lifestyles. She obtained a Master of Christian Studies at Regent College in Vancouver, Canada. Soohwan and her husband, Jonathan Wilson, live on Vancouver Island where they are part of a vibrant local congregation.
Ken Warren
Horticulturalist & Arborist
Ken was born and raised in Ontario, Canada. Ken grew up with a strong background in gardening and was inspired to a career in horticulture by his parents and grandparents. As a young boy, Ken spent many hours working beside his grandmother in her greenhouse. This ignited a long passion for plants that has now spanned more than 50 years. He is a professional horticulturalist / ISA certified arborist. Ken and Shihoko were called to start the New Eden Garden Ministry through the events of the 2011 triple disaster in Fukushima, Japan. Ken has been the operational lead for the garden ministry since it’s inception. He loves plants, nature, and God’s beautiful Creation. He was also blessed in his experience as a teacher for special needs students in Japan. Ken enjoys music, art, and spending time with family.