Rockland Community Church set to open five-acre public prayer garden in April

Rockland’s non-denominational community church is in the final stages of completing its five-acre public prayer garden and plans to open it to the general public at a Saturday, April 29 morning ceremony, including federal, state, and local officials, as well as church representatives from throughout the Shenandoah Valley.

Visualized some three years ago by deacon and landscape designer Sheron Smith Piazza, the small — about 50-member — congregation came together to raise $200,000. A dedicated group, they met every Thursday evening since August 2021 to plot the progress of the project up until now. Unfortunately, the group’s guiding light, Sheron Piazza, did not live to see the end of the effort most dear to her heart. She died of cancer last year, leaving her husband, John, to take over the reins.

“Now, we are just about ready for the opening,” John Piazza told me as he proudly showed off the garden, just about 75% finished, at a recent walk around. “Now, we’re waiting for good weather to lay the turf, pave a parking lot for the handicapped, and take delivery on 5,000 more bricks to be laid, some as they are inscribed with additional sponsors’ names. When we finish, we will have what I believe to be a “Field of Dreams” where all members of the public may have a quiet place to sit and meditate and perhaps reflect on what he describes as “the resurgence of religion that is taking place in our country.”

Piazza feels the garden, unique to the area, will be a spectacular venue for many Americans and perhaps foreign tourists as it becomes known throughout the state of Virginia and perhaps the nation. “How small is our church and how enormous an attraction this will be to churchgoers and non-churchgoers alike,” Piazza, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, said.

Already in place is a life-sized marble statue of Jesus Christ standing at the head of a 40-foot-long pond, his feet in the constantly running water, which ultimately will be home to koi and decorated by lilies and other water-borne plants.

The walkways, of inscribed red brick, honor, among others, veterans, first responders, and other loved ones. Fourteen “Stations of the Cross” surround the garden, featuring benches, pink and white dogwood trees, planters, flowers, and other landscaping features.

Engraved personalized bricks may still be purchased and installed in the pond’s walkway. Trees may still be purchased. To order bricks and trees or to make a special donation, call 540-635-8312. Rockland is situated in Warren County, north of Front Royal, a small once Civil War-torn Northern Shenandoah Valley town with a population slightly above 15,000 of the county’s approximately 40,000 residents. Front Royal and Warren County are about 70 miles west of Washington, D.C. on I-66.

Jennifer Avery has produced a highlight of the garden in this short video. Enjoy.