Earth Day and the Trees

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you;
    the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
 ask the plants of the earth,[a] and they will teach you;
    and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
 Who among all these does not know
    that the hand of the Lord has done this?
 In his hand is the life of every living thing
    and the breath of every human being.

                            Job 12:7-10 (NRSV)

What to write about on this, the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day? How about trees? 

Emergence magazine published an excellent essay about the Church Forests of Ethiopia by Fred Bahnson earlier this year and there was much food for thought. I was captivated  by the reality of thousands of oases of trees sustained by Christian communities in a country largely denuded of forest over the past century. The Church Forests have a church building at the centre but these unique, bio-diverse woodlands don't just surround the structures, they are considered to be sacred in and of themselves.

Bahnson writes of watching an elderly woman entering the forest of her church and first crossing herself, then bowing reverently, and lastly wafting the essence of the trees and plants toward herself. I was so taken by this description that I suggested to Ruth, my wife, that we begin doing something similar when we go on walks or cycles or paddles. This curious, not-very-Protestant, practice seemed awkward at first, maybe even a bit goofy. Now it has become a habit, one which is both comforting and spiritually awakening as we enter the "holy of holies" of a woods or forest. We've done so even in encountering urban trees, including at the large cemetery in town where we cycle and walk from time to time. 



Maple forest in Fall, Ontario

We aren't worshipping the trees, I hasten to add. We are recognizing them as gifts of the Creator, indispensable companions on this journey of life which we should never take for granted. It's not an exaggeration to say that they are vital to our well-being in body, mind and spirit, and should never be taken for granted. Then again, we live in the midst of incredibly complex bio-systems which must be sustained so they we can live and our planet can flourish. 

Perhaps you can have some pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast and ponder how you'll sneak in your own little ritual when you're out for a walk amidst the budding trees. You won't literally hear them thanking you, but I'm convinced they'e grateful. Why not give it a whirl on this auspicious Earth Day? 

Read Bahnson's essay and watch the accompanying film here:

https://emergencemagazine.org/story/the-church-forests-of-ethiopia/

I've also written about the Christian connection with the founding of Earth Day in my Groundling blog today 
https://groundlingearthyheavenly.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-christian-origins-of-earth-day.html