Well, be careful what you wish for. A couple of days ago I lamented what seems to be the demise of winter in these parts. Now we have entered spring with a snowfall warning across much of Ontario.
We got out for an early morning ramble in the woods before the impending storm and enjoyed the loveliness of a maple swamp, cathedral-like in any season. We always feel better after time with our arboreal kin and we're blessed to live in an area where there is a host of possibilities to do so.
I almost missed the International Day of Forests which would have been a sin. Especially since I'm leading worship on the first Sunday of Earth Month (April) with a focus on trees. I will mention my experience at the Little Forest seminar I wrote about a couple of weeks ago and explore the importance of trees in scripture. There are hundreds of tree passages to chose from but one of the biblical texts I've decided upon is from Matthew 26 where Jesus goes out from the Last Supper to the Mount of Olives and the "little forest" of the Garden of Gethsemane.
I'll probably note that Vincent Van Gogh was fascinated by this aspect of the Passion of Jesus and in the final weeks of his life painted a number of works depicting olive trees in groves near the psychiatric hospital where he spent those last days.
There is a holiness to trees recognized by most religions. I'm reading Between Earth and Sky: Our Intimate Connection to Trees by Nalini Nadkarni, a tree canopy biologist, college environmental studies teacher, and something of an evangelist for trees. Here is a link to an inspiring CBC Tapestry interview with her: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/tapestry/connecting-to-our-roots-the-spirituality-of-trees-1.6373297
We'd love it if you joined us for worship at Trenton UC on April 7 or watch later on Youtube.
2 comments:
Trees! What time does the service start?
10 AM, in person, and the service on Youtube is posted the same day but is not live. I hope you'll join us Laurie!
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