St. Aidan's Grounds
St. Aidan's is located on eight acres of park-like woods and green spaces that include labyrinths, a community garden, and a memorial garden.
Labyrinths
St. Aidan’s is home to two labyrinths: The labyrinth inside the church is an integral part of seasonal worship services and workshops. The outdoor labyrinth is adjacent to the memorial garden and modeled after the cathedral labyrinth in Chartres, France. Parishioners and visitors are welcome to walk the path to help center and quiet their minds.
Community Garden
In this sheltered space adjacent to the church, it’s not unusual to see fellow parishioners catching up with each other and sharing seeds and news as they pause from tending their gardens and enjoy a quiet moment in the sun. Like so many other activities at St. Aidan’s, the garden brings us together and rewards us with a bountiful harvest. During the growing season, St. Aidan’s offers plots to parishioners and members of the community. Anyone can contact the church office to be added to a list for garden plots, which are assigned in the spring.
Memorial Garden
From the earliest Christian times, Church history and tradition supports the interment of ashes as a logical completion of the natural cycle of life, blessed and celebrated in the religious observances of the Church.
Located next to the outdoor labyrinth on the church grounds, the St. Aidan’s Memorial Garden offers a sanctified and peaceful resting place where ashes can be interred and where benches, trees, and flowering bushes create a welcoming setting for meditation, reflection, and conversation. Those whose ashes are interred in the garden are remembered on a bronze plaque within the garden, and more information about the life of the departed can be included in the church’s Memorial Book. Gifts to the Memorial Garden Perpetual Care Fund and gifts in memory of the deceased to the St. Aidan’s general fund are welcome. To learn more, please contact the Parish Office.
Nature Trail
St Aidan’s has a nature trail through the woods that leads to two outdoor areas with tree stumps for sitting and reflecting on the beauty of our wooded area.
Along the paths are signs with inspiring quotes that capture the many wonders of nature as you follow the trails. The signs were created by Kevin Coneway and the Nature Trail was an Eagle Scout project led by Silas Wright.
Please take time to visit this wooded area and immerse yourself in the sights, sounds, and smells of the forest. Feel the breeze through the trees, listen for sounds of birds and other forest creatures, and smell the fragrance of the plants around you. These observations help us be more aware of the many blessings of the world so often overlooked in our rush to get from one place to another. Take time to thank God for the good gifts of the Earth and renew your commitment to care for them.