Ante Brkic
Yesterday I found my way to a memorial forest in the making in the Bowmanville creek valley. I say "in the making" because so far there are just over forty trees planted in memory of loved ones by families and friends as a start to this forest. Some are planted to celebrate births while others honour the long lives of people still with us. Then there are the trees in memory of those who have died.
I was there as part of a group of ninety to a hundred souls dedicating trees this year, including one as a living memorial to a young man who was the son of one of our members and died two years ago.
It was a meaningful and hopeful occasion on a beautiful Saturday morning. Of course trees are biblical, with a fruit tree figuring prominently at the beginning of Genesis and a bunch of them in the final chapters of Genesis. Jesus was crucified on a "tree" and the "tree of life" is a Christological image.
Everything about this initiative makes sense to me. What are your thoughts?
5 comments:
You have captured the essence of the event,David. The initiative is personally very important to us; on its broadest level it enhances the entire community for generatons to come.
This in the form of an email from reader Anne who managed to anticipate my blog for today!
Look for a Connie Kaldor song called
"Down to a River"
It goes:
And I will go down to a river
And plant a tree
Something strong wild and living
Those are my memories.
Anne
The University of Guelph has an Arboretum in which alumni and others over the years have planted trees in memory of loved ones. Each year there is a service for the families of the loved ones who have had trees planted. After my father-in-law died, (he was a Guelph alumni as are many family and friends) friends donated a tree in his memory to the Arboretum. It was a lovely service in the Arboretum and is very nice to know that his memory lives on at the university, where he spent time as a young man.
What's interesting too is that all of this is organized by a funeral home, no doubt alumni themselves.
What a great idea. My thoughts and prayers to the family of the young man you mention, as well. What a fitting tribute.
I am so sorry we couldn't be there. I think it's a wonderful idea. A lasting tribute. Well done.
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