Friends, family and community business leaders gathered in the Meditation Garden at Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) yesterday afternoon to dedicate the revitalization of the church’s Meditation Garden.  The garden was in need of some new life. 

Highland Park High School Freshman, Nathan Smith, chose the garden for his Eagle Scout project.  Smith, with the guidance of Troop 70 Eagle Project Advisor John Shipes,  and help from fellow Troop members, cleaned and weeded the garden and installed a raised vegetable garden. They also turned a large bed that lines an atrium of floor to ceiling windows of the church into a nature garden that will attract butterflies.

After all this work, who will tend the garden? 

Connecting Point of Park Cities, a day habilitation program for young adults with disabilities is housed in the educational building of Central.  Known as “teammates,” each day the participants learn life skills such as current events, telling time, shopping and preparing simple meals to enable them to live an independent life.

They will tend and harvest the garden—a new life skill.

Smith’s multi-faceted Eagle Scout Project clearly resulted in meeting the needs of several organizations.

After the ceremony, guests enjoyed a huge cake beautifully decorated with the Connecting Point logo, and donated by Society Bakery, lemonade and seed packets for take-home favors.

Smith thanked everyone who had helped and supported the project and then presented Connecting Point director Jamie Reynolds with a big bucket of garden tools.

“Now let’s have a piece of this ‘ginormous’ cake,” Smith said.  

Central Christian Church is located at 4711 Westside Dr. just off Mockingbird Lane.  

Worship is at 11 a.m. Sunday mornings and all are welcome.