Update on Memorial Garden: Construction Coming Soon

Dear Saint Stephen’s, 

I am thrilled to share with you that we are very close to raising 100 percent of the estimated costs of our Memorial Garden expansion. We are now able to begin the project without any project financing. You are always welcome, at any time, to donate to the project or purchase a plaque or niche for you or a family member.   

We have entered into an agreement with Landscape Services Inc. (LSI), a nationally recognized leader in landscape services, for our building project. Over the next week, two sets of temporary fencing will be installed. The first will be a small fence around the existing Memorial Garden, where ashes are interred, in order to protect that space. Our plans call for preserving the memorial garden, and we want to minimize any disturbance to this sacred space. The second fence will be much larger and will go around most of the construction area limiting access to our current memorial garden, patio, and walkway around the building. For safety reasons we ask that you do not enter the construction area until the fences have been removed. Parents, please make sure your children do not enter the construction area. If you would like to see the progress of the project the windows on the east side of the Nave will give you a bird’s eye view! 

The two parking spots next to the staff entrance (under the altar in the Nave) will be reserved for material and equipment loading as the primary staging area. A secondary staging area will be in the back corner of the overflow lot across Crosshaven.   

For any church campus undergoing a major renovation or capital project, there are some pastoral implications. Related to this, I want to share information in hopes of alleviating concerns. 

  • LSI will work to clean and return equipment and materials in an orderly fashion on Friday afternoons in preparation for our Sunday worship. 

  • LSI will refrain from heavy machinery and construction activities on Wednesdays from 10-11 a.m. when Centering Prayer meets, and we will suspend construction when funerals and other pastoral services are taking place. 

  • Our architect, John Wilson, is working with Lois Chaplin and Chris Boles on our plan for removing and retaining plants and trees impacted by the construction. 

  • The internment of ashes in the Memorial Garden will be suspended until the project is complete. Saint Stephen’s will still hold services of the Burial of the Dead; the internment (known in the Prayer Book as the Committal) would then be scheduled for a later date. 

  • Access to the Memorial Garden from the Narthex will also be closed off.   

  • Construction should not impact preschool drop-off and pickup. 

The construction will impact much of the woods of our campus between the Nave and Overton, but in a way that the Vestry believes will enhance our property while preserving the ethic of our deep connection with our sacred outdoors. This project is anticipated to be finished by the end of April, barring any major weather delays or unforeseen circumstances. I am grateful for the hard work of our Memorial Garden Committee, our Vestry, and especially the generosity of our community as our campus becomes a place where ‘heaven meets earth.’ 

Faithfully, 

The Rev. John B. Burruss, Rector

John Burruss