April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
SACRED HEART PARISH
Lake George kids create pathway to peaceful hearts
"It was like nothing we made into something," Alydia said of the outdoor prayer space, known as the Peace Path, launched by religious education students 10 years ago.
The girls remember raking and planting even as toddlers - and then participating in social, volunteering and learning activities there every Friday afternoon as they grew up.
The Peace Path was born after Kim Scott, a third-grade catechist at the time, took her class outside to a wooded area behind the newer church in an effort to reenergize a declining faith formation program.
The children ran with the "outdoor faith" idea, coming up with themed gardens and a groomed trail reminding visitors to walk in peace with each other and in harmony with the earth.
Peace reigns
They named the path and encouraged visitors to create their own paths at home with the hope that, as materials on the path propose, "one day, there [will] be no room for anything but peace."
Today, the path's enthusiasts want to see the concept spread worldwide. They believe several other states have taken up the cause.
The Lake George project has taken on "a life of its own," Ms. Scott said. In fact, she noted, all the features of the path are "from the mouths of babes."
The 75-foot-long trail is sprinkled with trees and plants, benches and religious statues, a "friendship handrail" originally constructed by a Catholic student and his Jewish friend, a "rosary rope" finished by an Eagle Scout and more.
About 20 past and current students and their families spent a week this summer sprucing up the space and adding a shrine to Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, hand-painted birds, a rock garden where visitors can write down and unload their burdens, a memory garden for the deceased, a structure for a statue of St. Francis of Assisi and a map and welcome station for the entrance.
Symbols all around
They also designated a symbolic "Bible garden:" At the end of the trail, a small cliff and a snake's hole symbolize the Garden of Eden after the fall. There's no bench, so visitors can only turn away from the "darkness" and walk back to the "light."
"If you stay down there and wallow in it, then you're not doing yourself any favors," Ms. Scott said of that disturbing scene. Though some of the symbolism has been planned, the children have stumbled upon other discoveries. In the shadow of a tree deemed the "faith tree," they see a cross on the ground. Through certain leaves, they've said they see the resurrection. And after graffiti was sanded off another tree, a picture of Mary emerged.
"I've seen things happen here that I know were little miracles," Ms. Scott said. "It's enriching our lives and it's teaching us to be more peaceful. I know it's changed my life. It made God come to life for me."
Ms. Scott said adults find serenity at the spot, and children value it as time to help others. Troubled teenagers often visit for some nature therapy, and visitors bring food for collections for the poor.
The students also walk the path to gain clarity after a bad day at school and to digest the teachings of the Church in a more comfortable atmosphere.
Kids' view
"It's not so strict and stuff," Alydia said. "It's just us being ourselves.
"It's such a loving place," she continued. "It makes you feel so much better about yourself. I think because of Kim [Scott] - she just, like, lets everyone into her heart, so everyone else kind of gets that vibe."
Grace agreed, remembering when her sister's friend died: "Kim talked to her and calmed her down. I think that being out there in the nature makes you feel more connected with God. When you're there, you can really relax - you're not being judged."
Dalia Wick, a 10-year-old parishioner, used the Peace Path to grieve the loss of her uncle and godfather when she was six.
"It was hard for a lot of people," she told The Evangelist, but seeing names of other deceased people in the path's memory garden helped. "It kind of teaches you that it's not just you who feels sad. It helped me get better about thinking of the good things that happened between [my uncle and me]."
Dalia's friend, Elisabeth Caron, attends Queensbury United Methodist Church in Queensbury, but has been going to the Peace Path since toddlerhood. Ms. Scott is her neighbor.
"This is one of my favorite places," Elisabeth said. "I can just walk anywhere and see things I've done."
Elisabeth enjoys the tranquility and the guarantee of no violence or fighting at the spot. Like Dalia, it's helped her grieve the loss of her grandparents and, most recently, her baby gerbil.
"It makes me feel better and it makes me feel like I'm not the only one," Elisabeth said. "I never really feel alone."
Bring a friend
Elisabeth and her neighbors have home paths that connect at Rush Pond in Queensbury. Hers features neon strings tied to trees.
"If anyone ever did get lost" on the path, she explained, "they would know that God is with them and all the spirits that have passed away are always in their hearts."
Elisabeth tells her friends about Sacred Heart's path and uses it to mediate conflicts at school. She says she'll bring her own children there and hopes to stay involved with path-related projects as she gets older.
"Then I'll never have to worry about forgetting about all the things I've learned - like about St. Francis and how nice he was, and about God and Jesus and how perfect they were."
Alydia said she'll stick around, too.
"Once you're here," she said, "you mainly stay here. I don't know what [my life] would be like without it."[[In-content Ad]]
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