Prayer Garden — Central Presbyterian Church

Vision for the Central Presbyterian
Prayer Garden

The Vision

When Jesus was asked ‘what is the greatest commandment?’ he responded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matt. 22:36)

The Purpose

“WHY a garden or patio? Such a space would provide a visible and tangible location for the grace of God which we are blessed to receive in our CPC church sanctuary. I believe each congregation is set in a place that is intentional. God intends for us to share God’s grace and to minister to the neighbors in our community. Such a space would become a place where everyone can just come and be with God or with one another. It is meant to be open for all to use because we are all God’s own. Finally, we should prepare this space because Jesus has reminded us of the importance of “Loving our neighbors as ourselves” (Matthew 22: 37-40).

CPC youth celebrating diversity & inclusion

The Concept

The prayer garden concept began with a vision from Jane Deford (see below) to create a peaceful outdoor space where people can come to spend time with God and to fellowship with one another. The germ of the idea occurred during a Wired Word Sunday School lesson, which triggered a memory of a church garden from her own ministry work. Her words have shaped the committee’s thinking about the space since the beginning (as another way for us to experience, and to share with everyone, the love of God.) The other aspect of setting aside such a space outside the building is, simply put, that an outdoor prayer garden provides a less intimidating access to God. For some, crossing the threshold into the building, to be greeted, or merely asked to record their presence, is enough to keep them from entering the sanctuary. The prayer garden space allows them to meet God where they are.

At a time when CPC is building bridges to the local community as never before, the Prayer Garden allows the church body to have a space where neighbors can drop by on their way to or from town, to spend a few minutes in quiet reflection when something is on their hearts without formal invitation. Even when people are comfortable entering the building, recent steps taken to ensure a safer environment for members, visitors, and staff have put the concept of “dropping by to pray” beyond the reach of those seeking some time with God. The Prayer Garden makes that possible again.

The Prayer Garden Provides:

A Place for Prayer

Stepping into a natural setting to pray mirrors Jesus’ own practice of seeking out peaceful, solitary places to connect deeply with God. This then is a sacred space where everyone is invited to seek the solace of God.

A Place for Worship and Study

This special space allows for an expansion of our worship space to the beautiful outdoors. The uniqueness of the Garden/Patio space will highlight the uniqueness of the worship moment. Many of our small groups will benefit from using the outdoor space for their meetings and study events. Our presence in this space will allow our neighbors to observe the purpose of the space and that they are welcome to participate with us outside of our normal worship hours. The Prayer Garden is our witness to the community that God is never sleeping and is always ready to hear us when we pray, worship or study.

A Place for Celebration

Celebrating in the out of doors allows us to step into a vibrant tradition of feasting outside to honor God's abundant harvest with joy and gratitude (Deuteronomy 16:14-15). This festive, natural atmosphere invites us to echo the joyful praises of the Psalmist, Reflecting on God’s goodness and faithfulness. (Psalm 98:7-8).

A Place for Fellowship

The Garden/Patio becomes a space for fellowship without walls. CPC will welcome neighbors and friends to this area for memorable events of the congregation and for the community. Getting to know our neighbors is a big first step to loving our neighbors. This is an essential element both scripturally and a major feature of our CPC Mission Statement:

Determined to love; Invited to wonder; Inspired to serve

Proposed Uses for the Prayer Garden

There are many ways in which the Prayer Garden can be used to reflect the glory and grace of God and provide a safer, more stable area for outdoor events. Many of the activities envisioned to take place on the patio area are done in some form today (especially when we were forced outside during COVID). These activities will continue and be enhanced by the presence of the new accessible paved walking surface and flexible garden seating. All of the possible uses will be known only in the fullness of time; some potential uses discussed already include:

Personal prayer, praise, and contemplation open to all
A space for neighbors to walk to, sit, chat or pray, and then return home refreshed
Spending time with God through all aspects of life, joy, and grief
Small group prayer, worship, and celebrations
Youth activities and meetings
Seasonal worship
Music events and rehearsals
Church-sponsored community events and mission activities
Scouting activities and meetings
Small group meetings
Fellowship gatherings and picnics

Key Features of the
Prayer Garden

The Prayer Garden is designed as an accessible (ADA-compliant) garden that will allow church and community members to come together in prayer and fellowship. The pandemic, as well as subsequent outdoor events held by the church, have illustrated the importance of having a safe space outside the walls of the church where people can connect with God, either alone, or with others.

Quiet Prayer: The primary focal point of the Prayer Garden is a “disappearing” water fountain, which will provide a seasonal source of bubbling water for both visual and auditory connection to God’s Living Water. The fountain will be surrounded by plantings and seating to create a private space for prayer and reflection. For safety and maintenance, the fountain will have no pond or standing water.
Active Contemplation: Leading away from the fountain will be a winding “river walk,” which will be a flat surface level with the surrounding patio but accented by a contrasting paver pattern. The river symbolizes the Holy Spirit as Living Water going out into the world, as we are guided to go out into our community and share God’s love.
Sustainable Garden: Surrounding the Prayer Garden is additional garden space around its perimeter, which we intend to contain new trees, shrubs, and perennials. The goal is to create a sustainable, native garden that does not need a high degree of constant maintenance. A combination of permanent and flexible seating will be provided, so that visitors can create their own seating for small groups as needed.
Safety & Accessibility: The center of the Prayer Garden is comprised of an open patio, which will provide level space for table and chair seating for gatherings, such as small worship services, picnics, community events, etc. From the very young to the very old, our congregants and guests should have an outdoor space that is free of tripping hazards, surface roots, uneven ground, and deteriorating sidewalks.

The Prayer Garden will be easily traversed by walkers, canes, and wheelchairs.

The primary sidewalk at the north entrance will be replaced due to its ongoing deterioration.

The sidewalk from parking lot to Preschool door will be widened and made more complaint with ADA regulations for width and slope.

Critical Property Maintenance: Building the Prayer Garden will allow overdue property maintenance projects to be fast-tracked, increasing the personal safety of our visitors, as well as repairing building and site systems.

Rapidly aging maple trees at the North entrance will be removed, avoiding damage or injury from falling branches.
Failing roof drainage pipes and settled stormwater inlets will be removed and replaced with a new underground drainage system to reduce the risk of flooding and standing water along walking and parking surfaces.
Permeable pavers in the patio area will decrease accumulation of surface runoff and ice.

Multi-Use Functions: From small group outdoor Bible Study to congregation-wide picnics, the Prayer Garden must be capable of supporting a wide range of activities for its full potential to be realized. Power and electric will be provided to the Prayer Garden, which will allow temporary connection for microphones, music, and lighting. Additional low-level LED lighting will be built into the pavement to provide ground-level lighting for evening events.

The Apostle Paul writes: “What happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.” (Gal. 5:22-23)