Dedication of The Garden of Peace and Remembrance at St. Anne’s Cemetery honors the memory of all those buried here, known and unknown, enslaved and free
May 4 - Garden of Peace and Remembrance Dedication at St. Anne’s Cemetery
PRESS Release: May 4, 2025
Dedication of The Garden of Peace and Remembrance at St. Anne’s Cemetery honors the memory of all those buried here, known and unknown, enslaved and free
Annapolis, MD- On Sunday May 4, The Right Rev. Carrie Schofield-Broadbent, Bishop of Maryland led a gathering of 160 from St. Anne’s Episcopal Church and the community to dedicate The Garden of Peace and Remembrance at St. Anne’s Cemetery, known historically as the city’s “Cemetery for All”.
Commissioner Elinor Thompson of the Maryland Commission on African American History & Culture served on the Steering Committee for the garden and shared the following reflection on the history of slavery, the suffering of those enslaved, and what this garden honors.
Commissioner Thompson began “we must realize it and accept the fact that we were all born and we will all die. Our time on this earth is not determined by us But by our creator.”
“Since 1649, it has been stated that the first Europeans settled in the ancient city of Annapolis, which is the capital of our state. It has been said that the first founding fathers of Anne Arundel County came through various places and entered through various ports. The shipping port of Annapolis was a very lucrative business. The vessels that entered the ports brought imported precious cargo, which included imported dry goods, tea, whale blubber, and other materials to survive here in America.”
“These imported goods included human beings—individuals and families that had been stolen from their native land. The effect of the slave trading industries shouldn’t have happened to no man, no woman, no child. The newfound business has played a part in our shared histories and has caused major catastrophic situations that are ingrained in the history of the United States, changing the lives of others forever and ever. The businesses of slave trading industries provided financial stability to the Europeans. After all they had much to pray about because of their financial growth in this newfound land. Many of the clergy owned slaves, and then it was stated around 1811, it was illegal for any clergy to own slaves or to harbor enslaved people. The slaves had their own spiritual beliefs. They prayed to a God, a being or spirit that they never known but only felt in their hearts, minds bodies and souls. They never stopped praying or lost their faith or continuing to pray for their families to be released from this act of cruelty forever. Because of the language barriers many of the enslaved people didn’t understand what their masters were saying. The men were humiliated, beat whipped, hung and lynched for disobeying their masters. The women were forced to have relationships with their master’s often they would become impregnated, and we’re forced to abort their children or when the children were born they were taken away from them never to be seen again. To add insult to injury those children were often drowned or smothered to death. The enslaved people were psychologically, physically and emotionally abused. However, they still had something to pray about! They paved a way for our future generations to have a better way of living, loving, while continuing to teach them how to pray.”
“We must acknowledge the first part of healing is to accept the fact that the church played a part in the history of slavery. The second part of healing is forgiving one another for the acts of cruelty. This garden is dedicated to the people who had to go through all the suffering trials and tribulations during those uncertain times. This garden is also dedicated to those courageous men, women who continued to pray for this generation and all our future generations. We can reflect on the past and embrace the future with a different Spiritual outlook knowing that we all must come to the conclusion that we will see our ancestors again on the other side. May they continue to rest in peace.”
“If you have ever heard me say—the churches are the core of the communities, and the cemeteries tell of our very existence—this peace and healing garden will hopefully heal each of us as we begin the process of building hope for our future generations,” concluded Commissioner Thompson.
Bishop Schofield-Broadbent continued the dedication service with a libation ceremony to honor the ancestors. “By pouring libations, we honor and uplift the memory of all those buried here, known and unknown, enslaved and free. We remember them all as Children of God, equal in His sight. May their souls rest in blessed peace.”
The Rev. Dr. Manoj Mathew Zacharia, Rector of St. Anne’s Episcopal Church reflected, “two universal truths exist in the world. We are born and we die. It is quite fitting that our cemetery strives to be the ultimate resting place on earth that breaks down barriers that humans have selfishly erected. As we reconcile our past, living in the present, and offer our future to God with the dedication to live as Jesus did on earth, may this sacred space, consecrated to God, be a haven of peace.”
The garden is part of St. Anne’s Truth and Reconciliation Ministry’s ongoing efforts to acknowledge our church history. It is St. Anne’s hope that the garden will be a tangible, physical sign of our commitment towards being the Beloved Community.
The design of the garden was a collaborative effort led by a Steering Committee that included the church’s Cemetery Committee and community members. Working with the Annapolis-based Nature Sacred Foundation, the garden was designed to be a space where the parish and community can come to seek solace and peace, and locally owned Bay Ridge Lawn & Landscape installed the garden. This event is supported by the Nature Sacred Firesoul Network.
About St. Anne’s Cemetery: From its inception, St. Anne’s Cemetery was the city burial ground, serving all the citizens of the Parish of Annapolis, no matter faith or race. St. Anne’s, a historic parish of over 330 years, operates St. Anne’s Cemetery and St. Anne’s Cedar Bluff, located on the bank of College Creek and accessed through entrances on Northwest Street in Annapolis. Learn more about St. Anne’s Cemetery at https://www.stannes-annapolis.org/location/#cemetery, St. Anne’s Parish at https://stannes-annapolis.org and St. Anne’s Truth and Reconciliation Ministry at https://www.stannes-annapolis.org/reconciliation-ministry.
About Nature Sacred: https://naturesacred.org/
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