‘We Feel Blessed’: Through 10 Years, Gospel Garden at St. Mark’s Emerges as Vehicle for Shared Abundance

Before the Rev. Peter Walsh could process parishioner Brian Hollstein’s pitch to build a garden behind St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, the crews were in the lot and the land was being cleared. It had been less than a day since Hollstein proposed his plan. Walsh liked the idea, so rather than think too much about the logistics, he surrendered and held on for the ride. On a recent afternoon, a thoughtful Walsh observed that the garden “yields so much more than just vegetables.”

“The garden has been fruitful in terms of community by being a place where people who wanted to be part of a good thing could collaborate and execute on that desire,” he said.

Did You Hear … ?

New Canaan Police say residents have reported multiple break-ins of unlocked vehicles, including overnight last Friday. Several items were taken from a Mill Road vehicle, unlocked in its driveway, and two more cars on Silvermine Road were illegally entered. Darien saw 22 motor vehicle burglaries in a three-night stretch. Officials are urging residents to safeguard their valuables and lock their cars. ***

There are about 514,000 gallons of water in Waveny Pool, Recreation Director Steve Benko said during a Parks & Recreation Commission meeting Wednesday night.

Town Renews Lease with St. Mark’s for Food Pantry through Year’s End; Facility May Be Relocated To Publicly Owned Building in Future

New Canaan’s food pantry, long operated out of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, may be relocated to a town-owned building following a report due at summer’s end, officials said. A newly appointed committee is studying the condition, needs and uses of 40-plus publicly owned buildings, and the food pantry may at some point move to one of them “that may be under-utilized,” according to First Selectman Rob Mallozzi. “That will be determined as we look at our buildings and what we have,” Mallozzi said during a special meeting Tuesday of the Board of Selectmen, held at Town Hall. “I will heave that in other hands for the time being.”

The comments came as the selectmen approved unanimously a $1,250-per-month lease with St.

Did You Hear … ?

Dr. Sven Englund, 93, received a standing ovation at the October 20 meeting of the Inland Wetlands Commission after it was announced by Chairman Daniel Stepanek that the longtime commissioner and former chair would step down from the post after more than 30 years. “From the bottom of our hearts, I want to thank you very much and everyone else does too,” Stepanek said during impromptu remarks following roll call. Englund described his time on the commission as “in many ways very rewarding, very exciting, very interesting.”

“And unfortunately I’m getting a little older than I used to be,” he told more than a dozen attendees, most of them on hand for the Weed Street subdivision/driveway item. “I’m 93 years old, I move a little slower and I think it’s time to begin back away from some of the commissions that I am a member of, so I will say it’s been a very interesting time, I’ve met a lot of interesting people, the members of the commission have always been interesting, thoughtful and when they joined they’ve been neophytes but they learned their lessons rather quickly and everybody has done a wonderful job.”

Stepanek said celebrations marking Englund’s tenure and contributions are planned for December. ***

Clients of the New Canaan Food Pantry are doubly fortunate this growing season for the generosity of Lexi Gazy and the Farmers Market for the produce they’re donating to the pantry: Word is that groundhogs this summer got into the wonderful Gospel Garden right there at St.