Our mission as the parish community of Our Lady of Hope is to give witness to the love of Jesus in our families, our parish community and the world.
Our parish has a wonderful spirit and all of us together make that possible. Many people, who were here before us, believed that God is bringing us together and guiding our steps. They often asked, "What if …?" or "Why not …?" They gave thanks for what is and they hoped for what could be. We ask the same questions and share the same hope. Those who come after us will continue the same tradition that has been fashioned by the people of Our Lady of Hope, St. Bridget, St. John Vianney, Sacred Heart and Holy Cross.
The Universal Prayer Garden is located behind Our Lady of Hope Church at 8074 Rt. 22, Copake Falls, in beautiful, rural Columbia County, NY.
The Garden was a project nurtured by a small group of people to provide an outdoor prayer-sanctuary for all. It was carefully and beautifully designed and built by Landscape Artist Robbie Haldane. It is his copyrighted design. The Prayer Garden honors the Irish immigrants who founded and built the parish in the village of Copake Falls in the 1860s.
The Garden is a circle of Irish-style dry-laid wall, with openings to the four directions, topped by a hawthorn hedge. Interspersed in the hedge-mound are eight oak trees and eight crab-apple trees. These trees--hawthorn, oak and apple--are three tree species considered sacred in Ireland.
Surrounding the walled garden are standing stones donated, blessed, and sent by elders of the Skatioke Indian Tribe. Within the Garden is a cobble-stone 7-circuit labyrinth.
The Garden location was initially dedicated on the Feast of the Assumption in 2003, and the completed Garden was consecrated and blessed as a prayer-sanctuary on the Feast of the Assumption in 2008.
We invite you to stop by and spend some time in this lovely liminal space when you are in the area. Copake Falls is tucked into the Taconic Hills near Taconic State Park close to the border of Massachusetts. The church and Garden are situated on NY Rt. 22 between Millerton, NY, and Hillsdale, NY.
Walking the Labyrinth is a Pilgrimage - Prayer Possibilities