While Abingdon Episcopal Church lost a tree, it gained something else—a unique carved statue of St. Francis.
The project began when the White Marsh church lost a large water oak in the Abingdon graveyard. “It was the second of its kind that we lost and we realized that the only one remaining was very close to the church,” said the church’s rector, the Rev. Sven L. vanBaars.
“Since the first two had come down in large storms and since we now had reduced windbreaks, we were advised to remove the tree to avoid damage to our colonial church. The tree was a great addition to our grounds and we were sorry to have to lose it,” he said.
A similar situation occurred at Grace Episcopal Church in Yorktown “and we thought it would be a good idea to do as they had done and find a new life for the tree.” Mr. vanBarrs said.
When the tree was removed, a large section of the trunk was left to dry out. The church reached out to several woodcarvers to find someone willing to create an image for them. Eve...