Sacred Path

Prayer garden #1 in the morning light

After years of dreaming, months of planning, and weeks of installation, the Sacred Path and Prayer Gardens officially opened on Sunday, October 23, 2011 on the property of Living Word Community Church.  

Come, rest and be still before the Lord. This rustic, half-mile mulch path meanders peacefully around the front perimeter of Living Word's property, weaving in-and-out of pine and maple trees and along fields of corn. There are five beautifully landscaped prayer gardens along this path, each having a sign post featuring a thoughtful quote or scripture for reflection and contemplation. Bring your journals and spend time with God in His creation and receive a little rest for you soul. Or simply take a quiet walk in His presence.

The Sacred Path's entrance is near the Belle Road driveway. It is a "point-to-point" path, meaning it does not loop. It ends near the Cape Horn driveway. You may find parking in the front of the church near the carport is best. That is pretty much half way between the path entrance and the exit. There are certainly not hard-fast rules about which place to enter the path, so be creative and begin where you feel lead. There are no lights on the path so please use it from dawn to dusk.

We'd love to hear your feedback about your experience with this Sacred Path and Prayer Gardens. You can email deAnn or leave a comment on the original blog post.

May you have a beautiful encounter with God as you walk the Sacred Path.

grace & peace,
deAnn
 

The most recent images of the builing process on on the top of this page...

The Sacred Path & Prayer Gardens are OFFICIALLY OPEN and ready for contemplation.

Path entrance off LW's Belle Road driveway

The long journey. 10-9-11

Be still and know...

It's for Him we live.

The beginning of the path. 10-9-11

Sit and rest. Hear His still small voice.

Walk with Me, He says. 10-9-11

The Path entrance from the Belle Road driveway. 9/22/11

Looking down the Path. 9/22/11

Looking back at the Path from the first prayer garden. 9/22/11

Looking forward on the Path from the first prayer garden. 9/22/11

The sand is going down for the pavers on the first prayer garden. The cross has already been set. 9/22/11

This is the Path leading to the fourth prayer garden. 9/22/11

The pavers are complete on the fourth prayer garden. Nice view too. 9/22/11

The beginnings of the fifth prayer garden back in the corner. There will actually be two smaller areas here. Very nice. 9/22/11

Travis Thompson of Garden Creations, LLC is excavating and will lay down the mulch on the 6 foot wide path that will hug the perimeter of our property (in front).

Sod be gone! Soon mulch will be in its place.

The path meanders around trees and bushes.

This is a work in progress.

Tim Diehl of Tim's Outdoor Services is helping out by lending us equipment for excavating.

Saturday, 9/17/11

Saturday, 9/17/11

Saturday, 9/17/11

Saturday, 9/17/11 - it's looking good!

I will post more photos of the Sacred Path and Prayer Gardens as installation continues through the rest of September and early October... weather pending. We've had so much rain that it's holding up the project.

We are just so excited to be able to offer a quiet and peaceful path for people to walk, contemplate, find solitude, and encounter our living God. There will be five beautiful prayer gardens that will feature a bench, hardscape, colorful landscaping, and a sign post with a thoughtful reflection, scripture, or quote. These signs will be changed out quarterly to keep the experience fresh.

We are in need of people who like gardening and would be willing to volunteer to care for a garden for a given period of time (like a month). Care includes weed pulling, deadheading, and watering, basically keeping the garden looking beautiful for others to enjoy. If you are interested, please email deAnn for details.

Again, more photos to come as progress continues around the rain drops. I will post here when the Sacred Path is open and ready for your visit.

thank you - deAnn