The Christ Church Chapel Grove
The idea of a memorial garden that could be developed on parish property to the north and west of the parish hall was first introduced at the annual meeting on October 23, 1994. Almost to the day, six years later on October 4, 2000, we celebrated the completion of Chapel Grove with a grand liturgy that included a blessing of the new garden; the hallowing of its earth with the ashes of five Christ Church parishioners who had died during the period of Chapel Grove's construction; and the consecration of a beautiful three-and-a-half ton sandstone altar in the garden's center. Ohio's Suffragan Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Arthur Williams, presided.
The sign on the entrance gate to the memorial garden says it all: "Chapel Grove, a place for prayer, meditation, worship and the celebration of life." We have made a previously nondescript space into beautiful and holy ground. Even in the midst of winter, it shines forth as the perfect metaphor for this parish to be as a well watered garden in our lives and ministries with each other and to the community beyond.
The creation of Chapel Grove would not have been possible without the faithful leadership of the Christ Church Clergy and Vestries, nor would it have been possible without the generous financial support of parish family members, friends, and special funding sources.