I-na-da-do-lis-ta

is Cherokee for “Let us pray.” The Rev. Bude VanDyke ends each of his emails with this phrase. This unique email signature honors Bude’s heritage, invites others to learn more about the Cherokee people, and gives a gentle reminder to pray, even in the midst of a busy day.

Bude, a Cherokee descendant, is also the rector of The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Decatur, which was originally part of the tribal lands of the Cherokee people. Bude and the community at Good Shepherd have found unique ways to weave Cherokee and Episcopal traditions together into their own tapestry, something you’ll only find at Good Shepherd.

In 2022, Good Shepherd received a $54,750 grant from the United Thank Offering to create a Cherokee Heritage Garden. Indigenous people modeled their planting after what they observed in creation. The Three Sisters (corn, beans and squash) were planted together, not segregated into a single crop, because they helped each other survive and produce the basic staple of the Cherokee diet. With the UTO funds, The Church of the Good Shepherd has transformed land at the back of the property and created a beautiful garden. In May, they planted their first seeds which came all the way from Oklahoma. While traveling the Trail of Tears, Cherokee carried heirloom corn, squash, and bean seeds to Indian territory to preserve traditional foods. Good Shepherd planted descendants of those very seeds. The garden will provide education, demonstration, and reproduction of these heirloom seeds for generations to come.

During the months between the UTO grant awards and the actual building of the garden, prices of materials and services soared. Bude shared his concerns about the growing costs with his parents on a visit to their home in Bowling Green, KY. As he was leaving, Bude’s 93-year-old father handed him a check, a gift to help cover the unexpected costs of the Cherokee Heritage Garden. They hugged goodbye, but when Bude started to move away, his father held him more tightly for a little longer. The next day, Bude’s father fell and subsequently passed away. Their last moment together was one of giving, gratitude, and love.

The Church of the Good Shepherd holds a three-night fire vigil from Maundy Thursday until sunrise on Easter Sunday that blends Episcopal and Cherokee traditions. Bude served as the Firekeeper for the Oklahoma IV Consultation between the Presiding Bishop and Indigenous Elders in 2010. He brought that Indigenous rite into Holy Week to incorporate the fire in the courtyard on Maundy Thursday night and the fire at the cemetery in the story of the burial and resurrection of Christ. Parishioners and friends take turns serving as firekeepers during the Triduum. Following Bude’s father’s death, parishioners put together a four-day fire vigil honoring his father. People who had never met Bude’s father held him and his family in loving prayer while sitting vigil as a sort of wake that honors Bude’s ancestry.

Part of Bude’s vision for the church was to install a stone altar near the fire ring for communion at the Easter sunrise services. When he was talking with his parents about their gift to the garden, he asked if that would be a good use of any remaining funds, and they agreed wholeheartedly. Once the rock was quarried and engraved and the altar was installed, Good Shepherd contacted the bishop’s office to request the altar be consecrated, a rite explicitly reserved for a bishop. Bishop G was thrilled to perform the rite, her first altar consecration, and the altar was ready in time for Easter Sunday.

There are so many signs of resurrection and new life at Good Shepherd. In the Cherokee Heritage Garden, old traditions and old seeds are reclaimed and planted anew. They’ve created their own rich mix of Episcopal and Cherokee practices by holding a fire vigil during Holy Week. And the new altar, given by one father at the end of his life to the many parishioners at Good Shepherd, is a powerful reminder that all things are made new in Christ.