St Mary, Lewisham garden bears new kind of fruit

The therapeutic garden at St Mary the Virgin, Lewisham, has blossomed since lockdown.

It has been a haven for the local community, sometimes with more than 100 people using it in a day.

However, one thing seemed to be missing. Reader Marion Watson said:

“We were concerned that many of the people using it supposed it was a garden run by the council. They didn’t seem to realise that it was connected to the church. So, to try and make our Christian heritage more obvious, we decided to create a Prayer Tree.”

The Revd Steffan Mathias, formerly the curate at St Mary’s, helped to make this idea a reality. After his final service at St Mary’s in August, a few parishioners joined him in the garden, where he blessed the tree and tied on the first ribbon as he prayed.

Marion added:

“It’s his legacy to us, and we’re really grateful. It was a very simple ceremony, but one by which we’ll always remember him.”