Three years ago, I set out to make a sacred space. Now I need some help.
What places in the world are most important, most meaningful, and most precious to you?
The Sistine Chapel or your own local house of worship?
Pennsylvania Avenue or the street where you live?
The Four Seasons or your own home?
The French Laundry or your own kitchen table?
What makes a place important, meaningful, and valuable is not its fame, Michelin stars, or price of admission. What makes a place special is the people who gather there.
It’s the little church where generations gather for funerals, potlucks, vacation Bible schools, and weddings.
It’s the block where neighbors host block parties, take evening walks, and visit over backyard fences.
It’s the modest home where children grow up and the family gathers for birthdays, Christmas, graduation parties, Thanksgiving, and wakes.
It’s the old kitchen table where thousands and thousands of family meals take place.
In the final account of our lives, the big and important places aren’t that big and important. It’s the little places the world never notices that mean the world to us.
What would life be without those places?
That’s why I’ve given so much to a little place called Lake Norcentra Park. Part of Rochester College, the park is a 14-acre wedge of land a short ride or walk from downtown Rochester, Michigan.
Decades ago, the park was the private country estate of Lou Maxon, a wealthy Detroit businessman. Maxon spent lavishly to lovingly landscape the property. It reminded him of the forests and lakes of his hometown on Michigan’s northern shore. He delighted in hosting associates, employees, families, and friends at his “farm.” In 1957, Maxon sold the property to what became Rochester College. From then on, Lake Norcentra became a special place to generations of alumni, faculty, and students. I was one of those students in the mid-1990s. Even after I graduated, I kept coming back.
To me, Lake Norcentra Park is sacred space.
I’ve laughed out loud there as I walked about in exuberant autumn colors.
I’ve prayed there while I listened to the wind rush through the trees like the Spirit of God.
I’ve stood still to know perfect silence under a slate sky and blanket of fresh snow.
I’ve enjoyed a good sweat as I worked side-by-side with volunteers building, cleaning, digging, painting, planting, raking, trimming, and weeding the park.
It may not look like much to some people, but for me Lake Norcentra Park has been my personal chapel, the place I go to meet God. It’s been the backdrop for daydreams, romances, prayers, shenanigans, studies, and worship.
I’m not alone. Generations of Rochester College alumni tell me they feel the same. As more people from the surrounding communities explore the park, they discover the latent magic calling to them. For all of us, this is a place that we get to make while it is making us.
Like your childhood home, your church, or your kitchen table, Lake Norcentra Park is a small place on the map that has a big place in people’s lives.
That’s why I care so much. That’s why I’ve given hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to the Lake Norcentra Park project since it began in 2013. I believe in the place we are making and the people for whom we are making it.
If this appeals to you, too, you have an opportunity to join me in doing something really special for Lake Norcentra Park. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) recently named Lake Norcentra Park to their “Public Places Community Spaces” program. As part of this program, Lake Norcentra Park is eligible to receive a $50,000 grant from MEDC if you and I can raise $50,000 in donations by October 22.
The funds we raise will pay for additions and amenities that will make the park an even better place for people to gather and make memories. Those additions and amenities include:
- Completion and installation of artwork and public picnic area
- Repair and restoration of Lake Norcentra, including fountains and fresh water circulation
- Two acres of new grass
- New lighting for better nighttime atmosphere and safety
If you believe in making special places where people can share special time together, I’m asking you to join me. Please do three things:
- Sign up to pray each day for the park and the people it will serve,
- Donate to the campaign,
- Share this project with people who would feel the same as you and I do.
I would be very happy to answer your questions, listen to your suggestions, and take you on a personal tour of Lake Norcentra Park. Please call me at (248) 797-3944 or email me at bt@btirwin.com.