Walk in Love: Labyrinth Memorial Project
Dear Saint Stephen’s,
One of my favorite prayers offered in worship comes from the fifth chapter of Ephesians and is often said as our Altar is being set for Holy Eucharist. The prayer is “Walk in Love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God.” Could any one statement better capture the call of the Christian faith! The response to God’s faithfulness is simply to walk in love.
Following last summer, a small group led by our Sr. Warden Katherine Owens, and including Rob Elsner, Anne Markham Bailey, Annette Reynolds, Emily Woloshuck, Conley Knott, Chris Boles, Casey Ruiz, and the Rev. Dr. Becky Bridges began exploring how to create a place of pilgrimage and healing as a response to the events on June 16. The group felt strongly that their goal was threefold: remembrance for our victims and survivors and their families, healing for our congregation, and to further strengthen our connection to the community. A tranquil labyrinth garden is envisioned, where those from the community and the church may find peace through meditation and prayer. The project is designed to be accessible to all and will match our beautiful campus. The estimated cost is $300,000.
In January, our Vestry fully adopted the plan and Katherine Owens and Leslie Carlisle began making connections in our community including presenting plans to the city of Vestavia Hills at their annual city council planning retreat. What has been clear in conversations is our community wants to help with this project. For our Labyrinth Memorial Garden to be a place of pilgrimage and healing for the whole community, the more hands that contribute to this project, the more hopeful this project becomes.
On Monday, our church softly launched a $150,000 community-wide campaign using an online platform called Give Butter at www.givebutter.com/labyrinth. On behalf of our Vestry and Labyrinth committee, I invite you to share the campaign with your friends and family who have been touched by Saint Stephen’s. For parishioners who are interested in supporting the campaign, we encourage you to make a gift by check or through Saint Stephen’s online giving platform. You can learn more by visiting www.ssechurch.org/labyrinth.
To date, over $50,000 has been raised through this project seeded by gifts given from the Green Bow fundraiser, a grant from Independent Presbyterian Church Foundation, and other individual contributions. Our hope is that the project can be completed by June 16, although it will require a lot of prayer, some good luck, and some unusually dry months for that to be a reality. Fingers crossed!
Please visit www.ssechurch.org/labyrinth to learn more about our proposed labyrinth or to make a gift. Please share www.givebutter.com/labyrinth with those who you think are looking for a way of supporting our larger community. Your vestry and leadership believe that the more hands that support this project, the more hopeful, our project becomes. We appreciate gifts of any amount! Please spread the word.
I am grateful for your support and look forward to Saint Stephen’s continuing to deepen its commitment to “Walk in Love” and be a place of hospitality and refuge for all.
Faithfully,
The Rev. John B. Burruss