Lake Junaluska, NC -The Lake Junaluska Biblical Garden Dedication Service will be held Wednesday, June 6 at 11:00 a.m. at the Bethea Welcome Center. The Lake Junaluska Biblical Garden has been created as a place of beauty and peace.
The brief service will dedicate the garden to the Glory of God and offer it as a gift to the Lake Junaluska community. In case of rain, the dedication will be held in the grand entrance hall of the Bethea Welcome Center.
Since before the Bethea Welcome Center was opened in 2007, Roddy Ray and Sarah Tippett shared a dream—to establish a Biblical garden at Lake Junaluska. Nearly four years later, the Lake Junaluska Biblical Garden has becoming a reality.
“The Biblical Garden will serve as a place of spiritual reference and invitation, offering to all a place of reflection, meditation, and education,” explained Ray, who is director of landscaping and grounds at Lake Junaluska. “It began to be a reality in 2009 when we first went to the Associates with our proposal and they donated the initial funds that established the garden.The Associates, the Tuscola Garden Club, and other donors have been instrumental in making the garden a reality.”
The Biblical Garden incorporates plants that both are included in the Bible and that are representative of those mentioned because of the limitations of the climate and soil of Lake Junaluska. Each plant in the garden emulates those from Biblical times.
“The garden, which was designed by Lake Junaluska resident Margaret McCleskey, is going to be an ongoing project,” said Tippett, head of the Biblical Garden Committee. “Right now we are focusing on having the garden flourishing for the Centennial Celebration in 2013.”
“We hope in the future to share our fortune of fruits and vegetables from the Biblical Garden with others,”continued Ray. “Next year, the children from day camp will once again have the opportunity to plant and harvest the fruits of their labor to share with others.”
In the future, the garden will include markers with a scriptural reference in addition to identifying the plant being viewed, along with benches for rest and reflection, and an arbor for grapes and other vines.
“We want to invite people into the garden,” concluded Tippett. “We are working to ensure that each plant in the garden is representative of our Biblical heritage. The garden will be a significant asset and resource for the hundreds of confirmands and youth who attend retreats at Lake Junaluska.”