The Faith Community Church is inviting anyone to come celebrate the dedication of their new Planted in Faith Garden on Saturday, Aug. 15.

The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a free meal served from 11 to 1. The church and the garden are located at 1110 East Cass Street in Prairie du Chien.

Gardens are a powerful symbol in Christianity — mankind started in a garden, if you remember — so it's no surprise that the church’s design is intrinsically tied to the congregation's faith.

"This is our garden," said Mike Mullikin, who attends the church. "Lisa [Bierman] is one of our church members, and she had this vision. She put it all together here with the help of quite a few of the church people."

Bierman designed the garden, and other members of the Faith Community Church's congregation assisted with putting her vision onto the land outside of the church building.

She credited other church members for making various donations to help with the project. "Some of them donated the mulch, the swing — all of that stuff was donated."

Bierman came up with the idea when she saw children coming to the church property to use the playground equipment. "My focus was on Jesus, and I wondered if these kids go to church somewhere. Maybe they do, maybe they don't, but are they learning about him? That was why I wanted to do this."

The garden has several biblical components as part of its design, including a Ten Commandments hopscotch, the Romans Road and the Fruit of the Spirit. During the dedication event, there will be a scavenger hunt to give kids the opportunity to learn and explore.

"When we do the scavenger hunt, for instance, they'll have to go there to find the answers," said Bierman. "They have to go to each of these things, so they're learning as they go through the garden."

The garden also utilizes art projects kids have made at the church, including a prop of Jesus's empty tomb and painted rocks done by Vacation Bible School students. 

"Now they'll be able to come see the garden and find their rock or stepping stone they created," said Bierman.

There are plans to add more to the garden, including handmade musical instruments similar to the ones offered at the Memorial Gardens and an area exclusively for plants found in the Bible.

Although Bierman originally envisioned a place for children, she said the project evolved as they started putting their hands in the dirt. "In the beginning, I was making it as a children's garden, but it kind of developed into a lot more, and I thought, 'There's [sic] a lot of adults that don't know about Jesus, too,' so I thought, 'Let's make it into something for the whole family to spend time with.'"