Update on the Graveyard Wall

Photo by Post and Courier

Dear Friends in Christ –
 
"As its last order of business City Council approved the settlement (11-0 with one abstention)."

This refers to a settlement between the City and our business neighbor The Dewberry Hotel and it's owner John Dewberry. The particulars you may have read in numerous Post and Courier articles, but with this agreement the City, The Dewberry and Second Presbyterian Church will move forward with the restoration of the failing graveyard wall on Charlotte Street. A long time coming! Remember, we don’t quit!

Day of Service: Clean up the Graveyard

Come clean up the graveyard on Saturday, September 4th from 9:30-11:00 a.m.

There are rakes and two mowers but if you can, please bring a rake, leaf bags, or a weed eater. Children are welcome- and we could use their help picking up sticks. Remember, many hands make light work, so let’s all pitch in!

Contact Rob or Dawn McCready for more information.

If you can't make it on Saturdays, there is always mowing or raking to be done as you are able. Please contact the church office or the McCready's with any questions.

Day of Service: Clean up the Graveyard

Come clean up the graveyard on Saturdays, Feb. 13th, 20th, and 27th from 10-12, as weather allows.

If you can, please bring a rake, leaf bags, or a leaf blower. Children are welcome! They can run around and help pick up twigs. Remember, the more people that help out, the quicker the graveyard will get cleaned up!

Contact Rob or Dawn McCready for more information.

If you can't make it on Saturdays, there is always plenty of raking to be done as you are able, just please take leaf bags out to the sidewalk curb for collection. Please contact the church office or the McCready's will any questions.

UPDATE: February 27th has been added to the calendar! One quarter of the graveyard has been cleared which amassed about 50 bags of leaves! Grateful to everyone who has helped out so far.

What You Need to Know to Best Tend to the Graveyard

photo c/o Chris Mai

It is a great blessing to have so many members involved in the upkeep of our graveyard. Thank you to all who have expressed the interest and desire to help maintain and clean up this sacred space.  

1. YARD BAGS TAKEN CURBSIDE TO ELIZABETH ST.

2. NO PRUNING WITHOUT APPROVAL  

3. NO BLEACH

Beautify the Yard Day gatherings are hosted the third weekend of each month in 2020. Sign up for Beautify the Yard Days here. You are invited to join the group to help beautify and maintain the churchyard on those Saturday mornings or Sunday afternoons, but you are welcome to weed or rake leaves in the graveyard any day of the week. We have a large graveyard with many deciduous trees, so there are always leaves to rake, paths to weed, and a side yard to mow. Feel free to bring a rake and some leaf bags (or stop by the church office to be directed to equipment), but note that leaf bags need to be brought curbside around to the sidewalk along the wall on Elizabeth Street.

The Graveyard Task Force has asked that any pruning be cleared by Jennie Harding or Sue Henderson. 

• Flowering trees and shrubs should only be pruned immediately after blooms fall. 

• Camellias should rarely be pruned. 

• Hydrangeas, Cassia, tea olive, boxwood and azaleas can be pruned, but care should be taken not to remove blooms that are “set”.  The rule of thumb for hydrangeas:  they may be cut from April to August. 

Also, please be mindful not to use bleach if cleaning headstones. We recommend D/2 Biological Solution, a cleaner that will not harm the stones nor the plants nearby--though some of the lichens and mosses can kill surrounding grass and plants as they die off the stone. D/2 cleans the stone from the outside in and will continue cleaning for up to a year.

D/2 can be used on all wood, stone, masonry, metal, vinyl, and roofing surfaces to safely resolve the problem of staining and soiling, which contribute significantly to the degradation and disfiguring of structures. D/2 is what is used to clean the Statue of Liberty and Arlington Cemetery!

There is a “No Scrub/No Rinse Method” and an “Immediate Results Method” for D/2 which can be employed as need be. Details can be found here.

For more information on helping around the church property, please contact Rob McCready or the church office.