PLAINVIEW, TX — Wayland Baptist University celebrates a new campus space for prayer, reflection, and spiritual renewal with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 21.
The ceremony for the prayer garden, beautifully located just east of the Brown Family Conference Center, marks a milestone for a project rooted in the university’s Christian heritage and a longtime desire to create a dedicated outdoor setting for prayer.
“This reflects our mission — our commitment to faith, community, and the development of the whole person,” said Dr. Donna Hedgepath, president of Wayland Baptist University, during the garden’s September groundbreaking.
Hedgepath plans to offer remarks at Wednesday’s ceremony. Teresa Young, associate vice president for Advancement, will welcome guests and recognize donors, and Mike Hammack, vice president for Institutional Advancement, will offer the closing prayer.
University leaders, trustees, donors, landscapers, and honored guests will participate in the ceremonial ribbon cutting. A reception will follow in the lobby of the Van Howeling Education Complex.
The vision for the garden originated with Betty Boone, a granddaughter of Wayland founders Dr. James and Sarah Wayland. Boone and her late husband, Ralph, made the original gift toward the project. Wayland’s Sally Society women’s giving group also provided significant funding.
At the groundbreaking, Young described the garden as “a visual reminder of the importance of prayer and the daily reliance on God that has been both Wayland’s heritage and its lifeblood since 1908.”
Designed to accommodate individual prayer and small-group devotionals, the garden incorporates Christian symbolism and places to pause and reflect. Its design includes a Trinity Entry Gate representing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; a Nature Chapel and vine trellises; limestone seating areas; and a Memorial Walk connecting the Brown Family Conference Center and Van Howeling Education Complex.
A $20,000 grant from the High Plains Water Conservation District supported water-conservation features, including a soil cistern designed to capture rainfall and direct it into the landscape, as well as native plants suited to the region’s semi-arid climate.
