STEWARDSHIP

Good Shepherd Society sustains our work for the next generations

Wayne Presbyterian Church is blessed with a rich heritage of Christian worship, music, service and fellowship. We are also blessed with a beautiful and historic physical campus that enriches our faith and community. We have inherited this community and campus from the brothers and sisters who came before us, and we seek to enrich the lives and faith of those who come after us, all in service and glory to God.

One of the ways we do this is by building and preserving an Endowment Fund, which is a permanent or perpetual fund whose purpose is to provide long-term income to continue and extend the work and ministry of

Earth Care

Our Pollinator Garden overcomes a common gardening mistake

Since May 2019, the grounds on the east side of the Chapel (next to the Wayne Hotel) have been the site of a pollinator garden, consistent with WPC’s mission as a PC-USA Earth Care Congregation. From spring through fall, life in the garden is readily visible and abundant. Flowering plants provide nectar for rubythroated hummingbirds as well as many butterflies and moths. Many species of bees, laden with pollen, are invariably present. All stages of the monarch life cycle have been found in the garden, from egg, to caterpillar devouring the leaves of swamp milkweed, to chrysalis hanging from a leaf or even the church stone wall, to the newly emerged mature butterfly drying her wings. Seedeating birds such as goldfinches and house finches are nourished by the seed heads of coneflowers, sunflowers, and black-eyed Susans. Robins and catbirds relish the lavender berries of the beauty berry bush, and robins scour the soft earth searching for earthworms and grubs. The garden is beautiful, not just because it is full of colorful blossoms with interesting shapes, but also because it supports so much bird and beneficial insect life.

The garden in winter may at first glance appear just brown and “dead” – but in fact plenty of life remains. Many beneficial insects overwinter in the leaf litter covering the ground and in the hollow stems of herbaceous plants whose bloom time has passed.

our church. A sufficient endowment is essential to supporting the work, resilience and future of the church.

A campaign is underway to raise awareness of the ways in which members can secure the future of our church by joining the Good Shepherd Society – a group of faithful members who have made arrangements for contributing “legacy gifts.” Such gifts can be “direct gifts” over and above annual giving, and/or “bequests,” deferred gifts made through wills or through direct payments of accounts.

A legacy gift is an opportunity to express gratitude for God’s work in your life and uphold the work of our church in our community and for future generations. Please watch for announcements in our publications and mailings, visit waynepres.org/giving, or contact Frone Crawford at fcrawford@fcrawfordlaw.com for more information.

Goldfinches and house finches who remain here for the winter continue to eat the seed heads throughout the cold season. Thus, our little garden helps to support birds and beneficial insects throughout the year.

Unfortunately, last year a new church landscape contractor did not understand the year-round services that a pollinator garden provides – and cut back all the herbaceous plants to the ground as part of a fall “cleanup.” While this is a common gardening practice, it deprives birds and beneficial insects of food and shelter during the winter months and hence is not one that we intended or will repeat. The good news: the plants have started to re-sprout with the onset of spring, and hence our pollinator garden will again soon be full of colorful blooms and the life they support. Please visit often as the season progresses to see for yourself!

Contact Pamela Jensen at jens0581@umn.edu or Rutger Boerema at rutgerboerema@yahoo.com if you would like to learn more about our Earth Care ministry or join the team!