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Eagle Scout Tim Snyder refurbishes prayer garden at St. Stephen’s Parish

| 17 Sep 2013 | 12:44
    Photos by Roger Gavan On Sept. 8, the Rev. Michael McLoughlin, pastor of the Church of St. Stephen the First Martyr, blessed the recently refurbished prayer garden and statue of St. Francis, a project of Troop 45 Eagle Scout Tim Snyder.
    Photos by Roger Gavan On Sept. 8, the Rev. Michael McLoughlin, pastor of the Church of St. Stephen the First Martyr, blessed the recently refurbished prayer garden and statue of St. Francis, a project of Troop 45 Eagle Scout Tim Snyder.
    Eagle Scout Tim Snyder with the Rev. Michael McLoughlin, pastor of the Church of St. Stephen the First Martyr, at the blessing of the refurbished prayer garden.
    Eagle Scout Tim Snyder with the Rev. Michael McLoughlin, pastor of the Church of St. Stephen the First Martyr, at the blessing of the refurbished prayer garden.

WARWICK — This past July Tim Snyder, 15, the son of David and Erin Snyder of Warwick and a member of Boy Scout Troop 45, was awarded the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout.

To achieve the Eagle Rank, the small percentage of all scouts who do are required to complete a minimum of 21 merit badges, have leadership roles in and outside of the troop and participate in community service. And each candidate must complete a major community service project as the last requirement.

Snyder choose refurbishing the prayer garden between the Church of St. Stephen, the First Martyr, and St. Stephen’s - St. Edward’s elementary school. And on Sunday, Sept. 8, with Snyder’s parents present, the Rev. Michael McLoughlin, pastor of St. Stephen’s, blessed the completed project.

The ambitious task, which involved installing irregular stone paths, a statue of St. Francis, a fence, benches and perennials among other improvements required more than 330 service hours to plan and execute. And to purchase the materials Snyder raised more than $4,000 and appropriated another $2,000 in additional services or material discounts.

He also coordinated and led 54 volunteers who participated. Eight work sessions were needed to complete the project.

Snyder is a junior at Warwick Valley High School where he serves as a class officer. He is also a member of the varsity football team and participates in JV soccer, JV basketball and varsity track.

Ranking in the top 10 per cent of his class, Snyder is also enrolled in honor/AP classes. And in June he was selected to participate in the 2013 Rotary Youth Leadership Award conference at Mount St. Mary College.

- Roger Gavan