Dear Parishioners,

A late springtime outdoor project will be getting underway. It will be the creation of two Remembrance Gardens that face Portage Trail on the south east and south west side walls of the church. The landscaping portion is under the direction of an Eagle Scout Seth Carr who has begun seeking out donations from parishioners and others. (See flier in the bulletin.) The construction portion of the brick pavers in the garden and the installation of two 6’ angel statues will be done by the Ingersoll Landscape Company and funded through the estate gift of Rosina Potesta. Here’s a picture of the angel statue.

For a bit of history, IHM had a number of years ago an “Elizabeth Ministry”, a group of women who by celebrating the gift of life from the moment of conception through natural death, supported, encouraged, affirmed, and comforted women of our parish during their child bearing years. This meant praying for the moms-to-be, phone calling to see how they are doing, offering to visit, one time, many times, anytime!

Part of that ministry included a prayerful remembrance of children who have passed away, as well as a physical remembrance of these children with an “ornamented” tree naming the children and was positioned inside the church.

A number of years ago, I removed the artificial remembrance tree, but, saved the names and ornaments in order to produce another kind of way to hold in memory these deceased. When Seth Carr came looking for an Eagle Scout Project he embraced this remembrance garden idea and is now helping me to accomplish the bringing back, in a different form, our IHM remembrance of our family’s deceased children. If you desire an engraved brick in memory of a deceased child please send the completed form into the rectory no later than April 30, 2018.

As Seth Carr has begun seeking your financial assistance for the landscaping portion of this project, I want to thank those who have contributed already and invite others to see the flier in the bulletin if you haven’t noticed it as of yet and consider making an offering to help accomplish this outdoor landscaped remembrance garden project.

Many blessings,
Father Jim