Guadalupe Garden blessed
Friday, Oct. 07, 2016
IC photo/Laura Vallejo
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Los Danzantes Aztecas help celebrate the dedication of the Guadalupe Garden in Ogden. The garden is adjacent to the Give Me A Chance office building, which offers after-school education for children, family support programs and emotional support, as well as various services for low-income adults, including parenting classes, day care, counseling and a computer center. See more photos on the Intermountain Catholic Facebook page.
OGDEN — The blessing and dedication of the Guadalupe Garden, which is part of Give Me A Chance, a ministry of the Daughters of Charity Sisters, took place Oct. 1, culminating more than two years of work.
Sister Maria Nguyen founded Give Me A Chance, a nonprofit that helps those in need, in 2010. The original location was on Washington Street; in 2013 an office location was opened on Grant Avenue. The garden is adjacent to this building.
The blessing was given by Father Joseph Delka, parochial vicar of St. Joseph Parish.
“Welcome. We have this beautiful garden to honor the blessed Mother of Guadalupe, Mother of God, the patron of the Americas. We ask her to bless us here today with a special blessing,” said Sr. Maria as bookmarks with the prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe were distributed to those attending the ceremony.
The garden dedication was the last official event for Sr. Maria at Give Me A Chance; she has been reassigned and moved to California after the ceremony.
She said that the garden’s purpose is to serve as a place of relaxation and prayer. “We hope that those who come to this garden will find serenity in the midst of the noisy chaos and troubles in their daily life. This place will allow us to lift off our heavy burdens and worries. … The beauty of nature has us closer to God and helps us experience God’s love through the beauty of abundance around us.”
Sr. Maria mentioned Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’, which discusses the consumerism and wastefulness of modern life, linking stewardship of the natural world with justice for “the poorest and most vulnerable people” and calls for a transformation of economic systems and political policies to prevent a possible environmental catastrophe.
“Pope Francis, in his encyclical on the environment, told us to protect the earth and its beauty,” she said, adding that creation must be nurtured and cherished as God’s gift, “not only at the beginning of history but today. We are called to make the earth beautiful.”
Reflecting on how Give Me A Chance responded to the invitation of Pope Francis by building the Guadalupe Garden, Sr. Maria said that it is for the good of the clients, the neighborhood and the community.
Sr. Maria thanked every one of the benefactors that contributed to make Guadalupe Garden a reality.
“I especially would like to thank a special person that put his heart, mind and hard labor in this garden: Joel Romero,” said Sr. Maria.
Romero volunteered his time and labor work to plant flowers, lay the ground for the playground, and attended to each and every detail that the garden needed to become a reality.
“It’s a blessing. We are so grateful that we’ll be able to enjoy it,” said Jorge Cazares, who attended the dedication.
“This is the gift from many people that have worked so hard. It is on us to keep it up, working on it and preserving it. … It brings me a lot of peace,” added Dagoberto Mendoza.
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