In September, 2017, we dedicated our Gratitude Garden on the grounds of the congregation.  This interactive installation provides a place where people from the community can share thankfulness publicly, yet anonymously — a powerful gift for the givers, the receivers and our world.

It is made of “prayer flags” on which visitors can write words of gratitude and thanksgiving. Year-round, visitors will find a weather-resistant bin in the garden containing cloth and clothespins for creating and hanging their own flags.  Over time, we expect the number of flags to grow, creating visual evidence of abundance in our world.

Modeled on a similar installation in Northampton, Massachusetts, the Gratitude Garden is a memorial to longtime congregation member Mildred Romero, who died in 2016. Mildred was involved in the early creation of TUS and was an active participant in the congregation.  She and her husband, Joseph Romero, were active in multiple civil rights and Native American causes. Mildred sang in the Rutgers Choir and had strong ties to the local community.

It is our hope that this Gratitude Garden will become a place of both celebration and refuge in times when our community must come together.  If you are interested in learning more, please click here to contact us.