Some Thoughts on Cathedral of the Trees.

 

                                                  Cathedral of the Trees Worship Service -- Algonquin Park

1 Morning has broken like the first morning,

blackbird has spoken like the first bird.

Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning!

Praise for them, springing fresh from the Word!

                                               Voices United 409

 Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 

For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

                                                                 Matthew 18:19-20

My thanks to those of you who have been reading and commenting during my absence this past week. I wrote eight timed blog posts for your perusal but it is a tedious process to respond away from my computer-- so I didn't!

We were in Algonquin Park where I conducted worship on Sunday morning as one person in the July/August roster. This is a ministry we now call Cathedral of the Trees, homage to the towering pines of the area. This ministry existed for decades, lost steam, was revived in 2018, was forced to shut down for two summers during the pandemic, and has now resumed. Our goal is to invite participants into an appreciative experience of woods and water and wind as the Creator's creatures in the midst of a multitude of other creatures.  

Because the Park and the Friends of Killarney won't allow us to include any advertising in their publications  we must rely on limited signage within campgrounds and at the site of the trailer the worship leaders use. The number of worshippers varies from week to week and has nothing to do with the presider since the signage is generic. A hardy two showed up in the rain one week, impressive for an outdoor service. Our forecast was for rain as well but it held off until later in the afternoon. 

At five to ten, our worship time,  a couple arrived and I figured that was probably our congregation. Within a few minutes we were at 30 and thanks to my accomplished guitarist brother, Eric, we were able to sing our hymns with some gusto. It was interesting that most of the folk were from evangelical Christian communities. After the service I was able to chat with some of the participants. One of them slipped away during the service, I thought to go to the washroom, but actually to take the photo above. 

I have to admit that the "suburbia in the woods" camping experience is just not our thing. The campground was almost constantly noisy and much of that was from the gear brought along to make outdoor living more like indoor living. Go figure. 

This said, it was good to celebrate the gifts of Creation and Creator in such a marvellous setting. And during the week we kayaked and cycled, swam and hiked. At the risk of engaging in some grade school "what I did on my summer vacation" I'll share a couple of experiences in the days ahead. 

2 Sweet the rain's new fall sunlit from heaven,

like the first dewfall on the first grass.

Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,

sprung in completeness where God's feet pass.

3 Ours is the sunlight! Ours is the morning

born of the one light Eden saw play!

Praise with elation, praise every morning,

God's recreation of the new day!