Dear Friends

The Improvement of our Grounds

Cross Roads, October 24, 1988

Dear Friends,

    If you notice the grass in front of the chapel dying, do not be alarmed.  That is by design.

    A generous gift has made it possible to landscape the grounds circumscribed by the semi-circular driveway, an area made particularly special during the last decade or so by the burial of ashes of parishioners.  Within a few weeks, sprinklers will be installed, sod will be laid over the then-dead grass, bulbs will be planted along the wall, top soil will rejuvenate the thinning magnolia tree, flowering bushes will be planted in the natural area, and a bench and stepping stones will be added.

    Children will continue to play there; ashes will continue to be buried; the buildings will continue to give witness to passersby.  But now all that will be enhanced by a sense of the beauty and the order and the peace of God.

    As more and more trees and bushes, which for many years had proclaimed the glory of their Creator and the care of their stewards, have died and been cut away, our grounds have grown barren and uninspiring.  At long last, sparked by the interest of many parishioners, a master plan has been developed for the refurbishment of the entire grounds.  This plan can be implemented in stages as funds become available, but it will insure that all is done with continuity and a central vision.  The landscaping of the chapel yard is a first step in the revitalization of the whole.

    In my last letter, I quoted a newspaper editorial from early in this century that declared our chapel a “potent seven day sermon.”  The grounds surrounding it could and should be an important part of that proclamation to the world and to ourselves of the loving, awesome, creative God.

    I am grateful to all whose energy and encouragement are helping to strengthen that witness.

-- Stephen