St. Joseph Parish to hold dedication of garden, waterfall

By KATIE LEFEBVRE , Globe staff reporter
October 5, 2004

MILFORD - Mary's Garden and Babbling Brook Waterfall at St. Joseph Parish in Milford will be dedicated on Oct. 15.

The dedication and blessing of the garden and waterfall will begin about 11 a.m., following the 10 a.m. Mass at St. Joseph.

According to Msgr. Kenneth Seifried, pastor at St. Joseph Parish, the idea for the garden and waterfall came about when St. Joseph added a $1.6 million parish center addition in November of 2004.

"I think what happened was when they put up the new facility, the parish center, they wanted to preserve the stained glass window side of the church. They wanted to keep the church intact so they put the parish center parallel to the church," said Msgr. Seifried. "They started with some shrubbery and people started donating things like benches and then the statue went in there."

Landscaping around the new facility was completed by the parish custodian, Bill Cook with the help of his son, Cody.

"It seems as though people are constantly going out there, before Mass, after Mass and on weekends," said the pastor. "I think it is just the peace and the quietness. The good Lord is working in nature."

Mary's Garden and the Babbling Brook Waterfall at St. Joseph were made possible through memorial contributions and an anonymous donor.

Memorial money was given for a pond by Verlyn Jipson in memory of his wife, Marie. Msgr. Seifried added that this was followed by a contribution for flowers in memory of Don McClain.

"Another anonymous parishioner stepped up and contributed funds for the waterfall and suggested the name as 'The Babbling Brook and Waterfall,' after former pastor Father James A. Bruch, now at St. Boniface in Sioux City," said Msgr. Seifried. "The 'babbling brook' line can also be found in the favorite hymn of many, 'How Great Thou Art.'"

Lorraine Jungers and Virginia Hermanson donated stone benches in memory of Les Jungers and Richard Hermanson respectively.

Msgr. Seifried expressed his thankfulness to the people who supported the projects that are part of the garden.

"This area is very peaceful and provides a wonderful meditation area for all," said Msgr. Seifried. "Many non-Catholics have pulled into the parking lot to view the waterfall. Many a wedding picture has also been taken along the path of the garden. This spring a family of frogs found their way to the pond and made it their home."