The Sisters of St. Anne, joined by residents of Alliance at Marie Esther Health Center, Marlborough, planned and celebrated the Sept. 1 Day of Prayer for all creation and the first day of the Season of Creation with an outdoor Mass and blessing of a new meditation garden.

Women religious from the five resident communities -- Sisters of St. Anne, Sisters of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, Sisters of St. Chretienne, the Little Sisters of the Assumption -- along with other residents of the facility, joined by Father Robert O'Grady, gathered in thanksgiving for the new meditation garden. The meditation area was built by the Alliance Corporation and funded by a grant from the Cummings Foundation.

The accessible area has walking paths where one can sit quietly and prayerfully in front of a statue of the Blessed Mother, enjoy the sounds of soft gurgles flowing from the waterfalls, sit under a pergola and enjoy a book, garden in raised beds, or also try out the putting green. Each area was blessed by Father O'Grady as he moved through the garden while the group sang "For the Fruits of this Creation."