Attached are a few pictures of the garden at St. John's taken by friend Laura Sims, home for deputation from the mission field. I think she has a wonderful eye for perception and form, and count her as a true artist with the camera.
Back in the 1980's, I remember talking with my predecessor, Fr. Robert Rademaker, about his vision for the corner of Broad and Wheeling street, where our parish church is located. He envisioned, and I quickly saw, the possibilities for a property which seemed a bit of heaven in the middle of downtown Lancaster. We imagined a place, consecrated by our Bishop as a chapel, where people would be drawn to meet God, and every approach to the church would naturally employ the beauty of God's creation to draw us to His font and altar.
Over the years, people have seen the possibility of this vision and have given of their time, their talent, and their means to accomplish this wonderful vision. The gardens and their accompanying memorial inscriptions are to me a constant reminder of the many people over the years who have served God faithfully in this place.
But the garden is also a reminder of the glories that await us in heaven. The luxuriance of the plants, the preponderance of Biblical herbs and medicinals, and the ever flowing fountain combine with the architecture of the building to remind us that there is a home prepared for us, a place not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
I hope that our garden, our slice of heaven, designed and planted with vision and tended with constancy and love, might be a place of peace here in the heart of Lancaster, and that in it people might find God.
Many thanks to all those who donated their labour, their time, their plants, their money, and their prayers to make this year's St. John's garden and clean up day such a success.
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