We are building a Field of Dreams north of The Claremont Presbyterian Church sanctuary at 1111 N. Mountain Ave. The space between the church building and Mountain View Elementary School includes a labyrinth built a couple years ago with funds from a bequest by Bill and Nancy Arce. And now, we have an almost finished meditation and prayer garden.

Sam Atwood and Karee Galloway took the leadership among the members of the Contemplative Ministry Team at Claremont Pres. to design and supervise the construction of a tasteful desert garden, shaded by trees and—if the new irrigation system works—surrounded by drought tolerant plants.

Along the sides are two handsome wooden benches that offer rest for the weary, support for those in meditation.

And in the center is bolder fountain. Water, and the symbolism attached to it, cascades down the sides into the pebbles below.

In the sentimental 1987 movie "Field of Dreams," an Iowa farmer, troubled by the broken relationship with his late father, creates a baseball diamond in the middle of a cornfield after hearing a voice whispering, "If you build it he will come." The ghost of the father does appear—as a young catcher—and the two are reunited.

While the actual field in Iowa has become a tourist attraction, metaphors attached to "the field of dreams" have grown faster than Middlewestern corn. Depending on the writer, the phrase connotes father-son relationships, struggles against oppression, or the Garden of Eden. For me, a field of dreams links action to hope.

My dream for the garden is that it becomes a place that is welcoming to all, religious or not, to rest, pray, and be at peace. And that the church extends that invitation broadly.

Sam Atwood drills the anchors for the new teak benches.

Stuart Lillich tests the benches and declares them fit for meditation.

Postscript: For $500 or more a night, you can stay in the old farmhouse next to the field near in Dyersville, Iowa. Major League Baseball has bought into the nostalgia, and just weeks ago the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees played a real game in the field surrounded by corn.