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Happening ... in the Local Church
Garden ministry at St. Mary Parish, Muncie
'You know, this is God's garden'
 There
are now 50 adopted flower beds on the grounds of St. Mary Parish, cared
for by dozens of volunteers. The parish’s garden ministry began in 2007.
At left: Garden 4 in front of the church is cared for by Sherry and
David Stagge and their children. (August 2009 photo by Louisa J. Reese) |
 Garden
38 is tended by Pat Taylor. (July 2009 photo by Louisa J. Reese) |
 A
sculpture of Jesus and children is the focal point of Garden 41, cared
for by Carol Deane. (July 2009 photo by Louisa J. Reese) |
 Hand-carved
fish can be found in Garden 28. The late David Hartig created the
carvings for the garden from fallen branches. (October 2007 photo by
Louisa J. Reese) |
By Louisa J. Reese
For
The
Catholic Moment
MUNCIE — The garden ministry at St. Mary Parish is blooming.
Since it began in 2007, the number of adopted flower beds on parish grounds has grown to 50, and there’s a waiting list for volunteers who want to help, said Anne Condran, one of four ministry coordinators.
Former pastor Father Ed Kacena founded the ministry. “Gardening is one of his great loves. … He is a visionary,” Condran said.
Her hope, she said, is that it “(becomes) a way for us to honor and glorify God and our Holy Mother Mary, and not just in May and October, but throughout the year. I think a lot of people truly love her and keep her in their hearts throughout the day.”
Also, she said, “The ministry is a vehicle for us to come together as a parish community, on a project. … It is a way to meet and really get to know people rather than just seeing faces at Mass.”
Gardening provides an opportunity to give emotional and prayer support to families, she said, as well as to practice and teach stewardship to children, unite various groups, beautify the grounds, and enjoy, relax and gain gardening expertise.
These are a few end-of-summer reflections from some of the 65 volunteers:
The first spring, the late David Hartig adopted Garden 28, a site covered with gravel where a dead tree had been removed. He chose it when he was undergoing cancer treatment. Hartig, a hot air balloonist, said that from the sky the round bed looked like a pond. He carved fish out of fallen branches and put them in his “pond.”
“Dave liked to fish,” said his widow, Debra. “He grew up along the Mississippi River and enjoyed fishing his whole life. I think that was a contemplative time for him; and that is why he put fish in his garden.”
When Hartig worked his garden, he came with his family and they brought lawn chairs.
“And when he would lose his strength, he would sit and have iced tea, rest and then go back and back and back,” Condran said. “He got all the gravel out, roto-tilled and planted.
“That’s a very special bed to us. It taught us as a parish community the dignity of death and how important prayers are.”
After the 8:30 Mass on Sunday mornings, families would circle Hartig’s garden and pray for him, she said.
“I know when Dave was sick … a lot of people told me they were going to Dave’s garden and praying,” Debra Hartig said. “… I was overwhelmed. I remember thinking how many people he touched. That they would go and pray (for him). He created a garden that brought people closer to God.”
Hartig, the father of seven, died Dec. 27, 2007, at 56. His wife now maintains the garden.
Garden 2, a long narrow strip in the parking lot west of the main church entrance, has been planted and cared for by good friends Dina Byrnes and Becky Hazen since 2007. Initially overwhelmed by the size of the plot, they asked parishioner and landscape architect Eric Ernstberger for help. He taught them some basic design principles.
The two women said they are glad to give back to the parish. At different times during the three years, all their children have helped.
“I think (we have) just a small part in a rebuilding of unity at St. Mary’s through this garden ministry,” Byrnes said. “It’s working. It’s bringing people together. … Everyone is taking pride in their contribution. When so many things weren’t feeling good and weren’t working, the garden ministry was working. The garden ministry was like the roots that kept so many of us connected.”
This year, Christopher Crowley and his daughter, Anne, joined them in working the garden.
For Carol Deane, a ministry coordinator, campus beautification was of prime importance. Her daughter, Sarah, is a student at St. Mary School, so Deane chose Garden 41, a small, sunny courtyard near the Cyr Center school entrance.
“The corner should be a highlight for the kids,” she said.
The focal point is a statue of Jesus and children which she surrounded with pink cone flowers and daylilies. “I love being outdoors and thinking of all the beauty and possibilities. It’s just you and nature,” she said.
“I like to work with flowers,” said Mary Rose Ayers, who adopted Garden 5. “It’s a relaxing type of therapy for me … Just being in nature and seeing the beauty that God created.” She moved the statue of an angel from her back yard to her parish plot and planted lamb’s ears and geraniums.
Ayers said she has learned more about flowers from the other gardeners and also from the winter educational program. That is also the time that gardeners are asked to make a one-year commitment for the next year.
Combined Gardens 34 and 35, in the parking lot near the chapel entrance of the church, are shared by Paula Morey, Darlene Gildersleeve and Pat Heintzelman.
“When I’m over there working, everybody coming and going will stop and say ‘Hi,’ which is nice,” Morey said.
“To see the flowers grow and to see what you’ve accomplished over two summers is very uplifting,” said Linda Hargrave, who tends Garden 14. “You know, this is God’s garden.”
Condran adopted Garden 15, just north of the rectory garage. A tall statue of the Blessed Mother welcomes people to the site. Condran placed a bench nearby for those who want to stop and visit Mary for a while.
“I’m the only gardener with 100 percent shade,” she said. “I have ferns, hosta and bleeding hearts,” plus coral bells and impatiens. She has cared for that garden for more than 20 years, from the time Father Paul Cochran was associate pastor. “Father Paul gave me a penance, one time — to clean the green algae off the statue,” she said, adding that it took a lot of scrubbing.
The sculpture was given to the late Father William Grady, a former pastor. “He chose that spot by the rectory because it is the home of priests,” she said. “He always felt like when he drove to his garage, he would look at Mary and say, ‘I’m home.’”
The gardeners range in age from six-month-old Lydia Hazen to Helen Lawrence, age 93.
“It was such a joy to see those gardens being taken care of,” Lawrence said. “I couldn’t do one myself and I wanted to so much.” So she contributed flowers which were planted in Jeanne Greer’s Garden 13.
The ministry includes a winter educational meeting, work days, parish spring and fall clean-up days, and summer socials. No parish funds are used. Judith Botkin and Jack Young also serve as garden ministry coordinators.
In July, the ministry held a tour for the parish and pastor Father Andrew Dudzinski blessed the gardens. He prayed that the care gardeners show their plants would remind them of God’s tender love for his people.