The Return to Nazareth

Bringing the Gospel to Life

the Return to Nazareth prayer garden

Have you ever been lost? Really lost. Fear, anxiety, panic – they set in and it can be difficult to regain control. The feeling for a parent losing a child must be at least ten-fold – compounding that same fear with an ominous dread of what might happen. Even when that child is the Son of God, those feelings would be inevitable – you can feel the tension as Mary and Joseph frantically search and search for Jesus. But with their reunion comes great joy and understanding – it is this joy of discovering Christ and the Holy Family that the Easterday Family and the monks hope to share in the Return to Nazareth Garden. “For decades my wife, Mary Alice, had wanted to construct a roadside chapel, somewhere that people could stop along their way and spend time with God,” Mike Easterday said. “During a retreat I took a walk around the Abbey grounds; as I passed by the overlook on the East Lawn I thought, ‘this would be a great place for something!’ The Gospel account of Mary and Joseph finding Jesus in the Temple struck me, and I had an image in my mind of the Holy Family walking along the path.” In November of 2017 Mike took this vision to Abbot James Albers Mike & Mary Alice Easterday who, along with the monastic community, immediately embraced the project. “Abbot James brought in architecture students from Benedictine College and they transformed my vision into something beyond my imagination, – it was

incredible!” Easterday recalls. “Benedictine College students took a simple concept – just 10 verses in the Bible – and this is what they were able to create!” Abbot James approached Architecture Professor John Haigh with the project; it was his hope that students would be able make this a project for Benedictine College’s annual Discovery Day. Margaret Jones and Adèle Bischel were selected to bring the Easterday’s vision to life. “We started by reading the scripture and trying to figure out how the East Lawn specifically could represent the Holy Family,” Jones said. “The part that really stuck out was the verse about obedience – that Christ, in his humanity, was obedient to Mary and Joseph. This is in keeping with the monks’ vow of obedience as well. The whole garden forms a cross, representing Christ’s obedience to the Father – with all this in mind we wanted the whole garden to be a representation of obedience.” In the Return to Nazareth Garden we are presented with a unique opportunity to physically enter into the Gospel, “The statues are not on pedestals and are sculpted to be life size,” Mike Easterday points out, “so you can walk the path with the Holy Family.” Anne Trimble, daughter of Mike and Mary Alice, sees the garden as a thank you to the monks and a way to honor her parents’ legacy, “The Abbey has always been a big part of our lives and having this at the Abbey is a great way to honor my parents and the monks – to give back to them for their years of service to us. You leave a legacy by living it – the monks have lived their legacy and it’s a great way for my parents, who have lived their legacy as well, to leave their mark.” As the plan continued to come together, Adèle and Margaret suggested separating the statue of Jesus from those of Mary and Joseph; from a distance they would appear to be together, but as you approach you first encounter Christ – he is the one beckoning you forth and inviting you into this place of prayer. Kate Marin (at right), a Benedictine College alumna, was selected to bring the sculptures to life; her prayerful Kate Marin - Sculptor approach to the medium is evident in her final rendering of the Holy Family. “My hope is that each visitor, no matter their background or beliefs, will be welcomed into an encounter with the Divine through this sculpture of the Holy Family,” Marin said, “and that they might find rest and reassurance on their own personal journeys through the example of these holy people: Jesus, Mary and Joseph. “It has been an honor and a gift to sculpt this monument. This work has been special to me for many reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is because it is for the monks of St. Benedict’s Abbey... It is an incomprehensible honor and joy to install a monument of love, gratitude, sacrifice, and prayer in a place that already holds such a large part of my heart.” The final piece of the garden is the shelter, resting atop the bluff overlooking the Missouri River Valley. Margaret recalls her and Adèle’s vision for the building. “Originally there was going to just be a small shelter (Mary Alice wanted people to be able to visit in inclement weather) – but the pergola became a destination. As you walk through the garden you are journeying with the Holy Family to the destination to experience God’s wonder in the views – as you’re traveling east you’re traveling to the head of the cross.” For decades an oak tree on the bluff had been a backdrop for countless marriage proposals and other special moments. Now the shelter will serve this same purpose as well as offering a destination for people to pray. Mary Alice Easterday is overjoyed that her dream has finally become a reality: “We wanted to create a place for people to stop, to have a place to rest, and to spend time with God – this garden will be a beautiful place to simply be with God.” Page 24 Photos by JD Benning | Page 25 Statue Photos by Christa Rieger | Photo of Kate Marin by Jackie Marko | Sculptures by Kate Marin • katemarinart.com

Putting downs Roots by John Paul Haigh, Architect

The monks live the life of prayer and work par excellence – rooted through their vow of stability to this specific place. Throughout my adult life I have struggled to lay down roots. I have turned to the monks’ example of commitment for the confidence to invest, for the first time in a decade, in building and gardening projects on my property in Atchison. Further, it overwhelms me that God did not see equality with Himself as proper for us, but he saw something better and more fitting for us: that he should take on our likeness, which was created in his image! He comes to us in our own flesh with all its weaknesses and disease! When Abbot James came to me with this project Adèle and Margaret were proven leaders. Adèle possessed a maturity that naturally derives from experience and hard work as well as a confidence in her design – she’d already been published in a national architectural publication. Margaret had the academic wherewithal to take on an additional year-long project without missing a beat in her coursework. I appreciated Margaret’s naturally outgoing personality, which I knew would benefit from the experience of interaction with members of the team: patron, client, and contractor. I knew these students had the talents and presence-of-mind to prepare their design ideas and then present them to the Easterdays, as well as to members of the monastic community. I hope that all who visit the garden see that the beauties of the natural world look even more radiant when clothed in supernatural vision.

Prayer by Design by Adèle Bischel, Co-Designer

Being a student at Benedictine allowed me to have the monks as teachers for class and also as a good example. I loved seeing them around campus! They were always happy to talk about anything and they were so joyful. Designing this garden for the monks allowed me to get to know them better and make the garden fit their needs as much as possible. We received their input throughout the design process and we were able to adjust the design as needed. Ultimately I wanted the monks to have a peaceful place to pray and meditate. The overall theme of the Return to Nazareth project is a representation of obedience. It shows Jesus’ obedience to his parents and ultimately to God the Father and to the cross. It also ties that into the unity of the family, the attachment they have for each other, and the roles they each play. I am most proud of the way we tied in so much symbolism within such a small project. It makes it meaningful to every visitor and provides a peaceful and spiritual environment. I hope that anyone who visits the garden is able to think more deeply about this Gospel passage and discover that the story goes into much more depth than one would first imagine. In the visitor’s search for meaning, I hope they find understanding through the design of the garden, the placement of the statues, and the statues themselves.