by Laurie Klein
An annual date dedicated to celebrating trees
Say you have one day to live. This one. What would you do?
See the ocean? Meet your hero? Sky dive?
Perhaps you’d fund a new well in an African village. You might leave notes inside your books for future readers to find. You could pre-order a single rose, to be delivered each month to someone you love.
Renowned poet W. S. Merwin declared, “I’d plant a tree.”
When I read his answer, I pictured the literary giant’s final act taking root—literally—unfurling a legacy both sturdy and verdant. Talk about an encore.
Then I learned about his sideline.
Up until his death at 91, Merwin painstakingly restored 19 acres of wasteland in Maui, Hawaii. He and his wife regenerated thousands of native plants and trees—including one species considered technically extinct. “Putting life back into the world” enlivened him.
Merwin, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, embodied the spirit of Arbor Day. Dropping to his knees most afternoons for 35 years, a poet considered a “national treasure” established one of the most lush and diverse palm gardens on earth.
Today amid tropical breezes the Merwin Conservancy rustles and sways, home to the plover and Chinese thrush, whose songs join the endless anthem of arching fronds.
Do you sense a biblical echo? “And all the trees of the field will clap their hands,” Isaiah wrote.
Poet e. e. cummings praised “the leaping, greenly spirits of trees”—suggesting simultaneous dance, sport, and standing ovation.
An unknown psalmist, on the other hand, compares believers to trees: “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree . . . They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.”
And doesn’t our faith’s ongoing renewal, by its very nature, suggest countless ways to leave our hallowed, harrowing world more vibrantly fertile?
By the Master Gardener’s design, vital commonalities link trees with humanity. Attentive, generous community helps both species not only survive, but thrive. People network via language, touch, and actions. Trees hook up via roots, exchange predator warnings, share water and nutrients—especially when one member struggles.
And we all struggle.
Last summer, my brilliant, beloved critique partner of 25 years was diagnosed with a vicious cancer: Multiple Myeloma. And then, a brain tumor. Her subsequent treatment amid pandemic protocols has precluded our meetings. Will we have a shared future? Many a ragged sigh has since escaped me while rambling nearby woodland, where towering pines offer resinous comfort and shade. There’s also tacit collaboration: I pray aloud, and the trees absorb my expelled carbon dioxide. Within bark and heartwood inert traces linger—a shared memory of breath.
One day, while picturing the countless reams of paper my friend and I have exchanged and recycled, I longed to meld, as Merwin had, the literary with the literal. When a writing award came my way, I invested in trees, planted in her name. Long may they and their descendants furnish paper for writers who will one day succeed us.
Now, more than ever, the earth needs trees. “Land given a chance will come back,” Merwin said. Arbor Day participants agree. The hands-on celebration dates back to 1872, when acclaimed journalist J. Sterling Morton inspired Nebraskan volunteers to plant over one million saplings, awarding prizes for the most trees planted by individuals and counties. Morton’s event caught on. His vision expanded. The following year, more states joined the effort—this time, on Morton’s birthday.
“Other holidays repose upon the past,” Morton wrote. “Arbor Day proposes for the future.”
Before long, the entire nation was involved—and thereafter, the world. I like to imagine tree limbs raised in pulsing applause for our Maker. Can’t you almost hear wind sonify the patter of aspen and cottonwood leaves? One grand timbered ovation.
To this day, tamping a tree’s tender roots into soil remains a radical, healing gesture of hope, born of the bended knee and the outstretched hand. The overflowing cup of cool water.
Across the planet people of all ages are sowing acorns, seedlings, and saplings. We’re picking up litter. Tending the land. Afterward, sunburnt and weary, nails grimed, many will raise a glass. Perhaps an old Irish blessing will come to mind:
A toast to your coffin:
May it be made of 100-year-old oak,
and may we plant the tree together . . . tomorrow.
If not a shovel and sapling, how might you sustain greener tomorrows?
We each have this day. What will you do?
***
Song: “Blessed Is the Man,” written and performed by Bill Klein.
- If you photograph nature, or write nature poetry, consider submitting your work here, where part of your submission fee goes toward planting trees.
- Visit the official Arbor Day website here.
- You might also like A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems, by Wendell Berry
Sources:
- https://merwinconservancy.org/about-w-s-merwin/
- https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/15/obituaries/w-s-merwin-dead-poet-laureate.html
- Photo: Laurie Klein
Spirituality of Gardening Online Course invites you to connect your senses and spirit with awe and wonder in the garden.
photo above and writing by Jean Andrianoff,
Our home in the Pacific Northwest lies across the road from waterfront property. Our neighbors on the other side of the road have stunning views of Puget Sound. Our view, on the other hand, is limited to a small peek-a-boo area through the trees.
by Jean Andrianoff
One morning recently, I walked out of the kitchen into the living room to be greeted by an intense blaze of light shining through the southeast side of the living room window as the rays of the rising sun reflected off the water. I had never before seen light coming from just that spot. My point of view at that particular moment perfectly revealed the glory of the sunlight on the water. The angle of the sun relative to the water and to the gap in the tree branches created the perfect perspective.
Perspective also matters when you attend a ballet or concert or sports event. There’s a reason tickets closer to the performance cost more. Twice in my life, I was privileged to attend a performance of the Bolshoi Ballet. The first time, I sat in the “nose-bleed” section of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, entranced by where I was and who was performing, but with only the most remote view of the performers. The second time, I was in the Thailand Cultural Center, where the Bolshoi had come to perform in honor of the Thai king’s 60th birthday. There, I could afford seats near the front, where the difference in perspective was breathtaking. I could see facial expressions and perceive the effort and skill required to create the illusion of weightlessness. From that viewpoint, I could appreciate the full glory and beauty of the performance.
Bolshoi Ballet – wikimedia commons (public domaiin)
On this side of eternity, our perception of the glory of God is limited. As God explained to Moses, no human can see His face, or the fullness of His glory, and live. Jesus showed mankind glimpses of God’s glory, but He wants more for us. He wants us to see the full extent of that glory, a glory that we will ultimately reflect (2 Corinthians 3:18). In His final prayer for all believers, Jesus prayed:
Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world (John 17:24, ESV).
His desire is that we may stand with Him in Heaven where we will enjoy the perfect perspective of God’s glory as we gaze at Jesus, our perception no longer constrained by human limitations. As Jesus acknowledged, His glory is a love-gift from God. Jesus wants to pass along that love so that we may perceive His glory and, as we see it, ultimately to reflect it.
This new bundle is on sale until May 11th and includes our best selling book, To Garden with God and The Gift of Wonder Prayer Cards.
by Sue Duby,
I’ve been pondering. If you ask Chuck, I do that a lot. Maybe wondering how I can squeeze yet another flowering plant in the garden. Or how to create dinner out of what’s left in the “need to go shopping soon” refrigerator. Perhaps hunting for a new walking trail we’ve yet to discover. My mind stays busy – all day, every day!
Today, my thoughts keep looping back to a question. Not related to circumstances in the moment or things looming on the calendar. Just a question that won’t go away. I know the nudge and beckoning when that happens. An invitation by Him to pause, wait, explore a bit deeper and trust He will bring clarity. Look for reminders in the daily. So, the question. . . “What does LOVE look like?”.
Yesterday, 12-year-old grandson, Sam, came over to hang out before his basketball practice. Always a delight and I know the first question to ask… “So… what would you like for dinner?”. Always, the same answer… “Mac and cheese!!”. Not the boring old box kind. But the “we make it together from scratch” kind. It’s our thing. Cooking and experimenting as a team.
Sam never forgets to add his own request. “So, what weird thing can I try this time?”. Chuck’s pickled mushrooms in the frig rated a big “Yuck!”. Then I pulled out a ginger root and we crafted some Ginger Lemonade. Success in the making, but it earned sorry faces from the two of us. Chuck loved it!
With adventures complete, Chuck and Sam headed for the garage en route to the basketball courts. Suddenly, Sam pivoted around and ran over to me. With a spontaneous hug and “I love you, Nana!”, he left to follow Chuck. Not without a second, “Love you Nana!” before disappearing out the door.
I smiled… with a warm heart. Somehow, making cheese sauce, boiling noodles, chopping ginger and squeezing lemons filled Sam… time, attention and care. As he got filled, love spilled over to me.
With the crazy times we’re all navigating, my heart reminds me often that I want to love well in the midst. Be a place of calm in the storm. Listen to other’s stories. Guard my words. Follow His lead in encouraging others. With that, I also realize the key truth… I can’t do any of it without first understanding His love for me… and from that I will be able to love others well. I want my love to be a “spill over” of His love for me… much like Sam’s love spilled over to me.
Psalm 139 so clearly details the kind of “spill over love” He promises us.
1 You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
- You have searched me (you’ve checked me all out! I can’t hide anything from You)
- You know me (such freedom in being fully known – every thought, action, secret… all of me!)
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
- You know when I sit & rise (watching, aware of me, never out of Your sight)
- You perceive my thoughts (You understand my thinking… and all my pondering!)
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
- You understand with clarity all my movements (always watching, your eye is upon me)
- You are familiar with ALL my ways (even things I’m not aware of!)
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
- You know all my words before they are spoken (going before me – always)
- You hem me in (picture a child snuggly tucked in bed for the night -safety!)
- You lay Your hand on me (reminding me of Your presence)
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
- You are everywhere I ever go (there is nowhere I can escape Your love and presence with me)
- Your hand guides me (leading the way, I’m never alone finding next steps)
- Your hand holds me “fast” (not just a loose grip, but totally secure)
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
- You are with me in the darkness (I’m never hidden from You; even when I can’t “see” or “feel” Your presence, You are there)
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
- You created me… “knit” me in Mother’s womb (Your design, fashioning and creative hand… intentional and purposed)
- Your works are wonderful (that means I am wonderful!)
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
- You watched me develop (again I’ve never been hidden from You)
- You’ve written all my days in Your book (I can relax. You have my life, start to finish!)
Now that is some kind of love! Fills me to the brim and more… when I truly allow the truth to settle deeply in my heart. Enough for plenty to “spill over” to whomever crosses my path. As long as I remember to remember the depth and breadth of His love for me.
May we be joyful “spill over” people… all day, every day… as we continually marvel in His gracious love for each of us.
PS – Sam gave me permission to tell his story ☺
Photo by Greggalas.fr from Pexels
Spirituality of Gardening Online Course invites you to connect your senses and spirit with awe and wonder in the garden.
by Christine Sine
Yesterday, my morning contemplation was derailed by a book… and a novel at that. It is called The Dictionary of Lost Words, and tells the story of Esme whose father is one of a group of lexicographers who are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. One day, as Esme sits under the table where they work, a word flutters to the ground. She rescues it, discovering that the word means slave girl and so begins a delightful adventure in which the rescuing of words becomes the center of Esme’s life. She realizes that the words and meaning relating to the lives of women and ordinary peoples’ experiences were often deliberately ignored by this and subsequent groups of dictionary men who consciously or unconsciously worked to shape the dictionary based on their own view of the world.
So, Esme complies her own dictionary – The Dictionary of Lost Words, a title and a story that deeply impacted me. A couple of years ago, I read another fascinating book, Landmarks by Robert McFarlane. He, too, was a gatherer of lost words, mainly, words about nature. He, too, discovered that when the Junior Oxford Dictionary, was updated a few years ago, some words were deliberately removed and others added. All those removed had to do with nature, and those added were about technology. He talked about how our loss of descriptive words for nature meant that we are losing “a literacy of the land” and, as a result, see nature more as a thing that does something for us rather than something to us so it easily becomes “more vulnerable to unwise use and improper action.” Our selective use of language, he argues, has “stunned the world out of wonder”.
As I thought about this yesterday, I was reminded that throughout history we have deliberately “lost” words and languages as an intentional way to suppress cultures and races. Terrible, you might think, but we all consciously or unconsciously “lose” words so that the world around us reflects our own world view or so that we can fit into the worldview of those in power over us. We consciously or unconsciously judge people accordingly. We love that English has become a universal language, but rarely think about the impact on other languages and their cultures. Even the English that is acceptable is shaped by those in power, once by Britain and now by America, and by white America, at that. That is the English we view as superior, we teach it at school, and we expect people to speak it in order to get a high paying job.
I must confess that when I first travelled to non-English speaking countries, I was relieved that I did not need to learn another language. I could easily and lazily communicate, unconsciously communicating my superiority to those around me. Even the English I used, grounded in a university education, was more complex and difficult to understand than what some of my colleagues used. Changing my language so that others understood me was called “dumbing down” the language. I was definitely superior. My use of words said so.
Christian world views, too, are defined by language. In conservative circles, one only calls God, Father. In more progressive circles, one calls God everything but Father. All of us, I feel, have lost the rich array of words we could embrace to describe the Creator of the universe.
Love Your Neighbour – Create A New Dictionary of Lost Words
Has it ever occurred to you that loving your neighbour could mean loving their language as you love your own? Could loving your neighbour mean helping them rediscover their own language with pride?
Imagine how fun it could be to create a new dictionary of lost words, one that helps all of us keep cultures and nature alive and vital. Maybe one of the spiritual practices we all need for the future is to rediscover a lost word each day and then use it at least 5 times each day for the next week. Or we could help someone else rediscover a word that our superior attitude towards them has forced them to discard from their language. The challenge would be learning how to adopt that word into our own vocabulary without making our friend feel put down or ridiculed. Wow this dictionary of lost words could be quite a challenge.
Here are a few prayerful exercises for you to consider over the next week:
- Make a list of 10 words you used as a child but have lost from your current vocabulary. Which ones would you like to transform into “found” words? What is one step you could take to make that happen?
- When I left Australia and settled in the U.S I had to lose some of my favourite words like “fair dinkum, G day and arvo. Talk to a friend from another English speaking culture. What are words they have lost in order to fit into your culture? In what ways could you help them embrace these words again?
- If you are white, talk to a black friend. What are words they have had to lose from their vocabulary in order to feel accepted in white society and be able to get a job? How has this made them feel? How could you learn from them about how to reintegrate these words into not just their culture but into your’s as well? If you are black you might like to have this conversation with a white friend and help them to understand what you have had to give up in order to fit into white society.
- In your Christian worldview what are the acceptable words for God? Speak to a friend with another Christian perspective. Make a list of 10 words that are acceptable to them that have been “lost” from your Christian world view. What do you feel you have lost by not using these words? Choose 2 of these words. What are ways that you could comfortably reintroduce these words into your language?
Another beautiful Taize style service from St Andrews Episcopal church in Seattle. Carrie Grace Littauer, prayer leader, with music by Kester Limner and Andy Myers.
Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-710-756
by Tom Sine,
Celebrating my 51st Anniversary. I realize from looking at the picture that I look a little older than 51. Let me explain. This story begins on that first Earth Day, 51 years ago. We all need to celebrate this remarkable anniversary and strongly support those working for Climate Justice in the 2020s!
On April 22, 1970, I was working as the Dean of Students at Maui Community College in Hawaii. I heard an announcement that James Dator, a political scientist from the University of Hawaii, was coming to speak on the subject of America’s First Earth Day. I was curious and had no appointments so I joined 40 students and a handful of fellow staff members to hear Dr. Dator.
Dr. Dator spoke compellingly about a range of environmental and political challenges that we would face in the future. I was totally overwhelmed by his presentation. The more he spoke, the more troubled I became. As a young 30-something, I prided myself on keeping up with what we used to call “current events”. However, I had no sense that the world was changing or a host of new challenges threatening our common future.
Immediately after Dr. Dator concluded his address, 35 students started heading to a motel three blocks along the coast from where the community college was located. I joined them. They stopped at a grocery store and purchased over 50 large black garbage bags. When we reached the motel, we saw that it was beautifully situated on the beach overlooking the ocean. But we also noticed that the beach was covered with huge mounds of garbage from the accumulated waste of the past week. Apparently the motel routinely placed their garbage on the beach for the ocean to take away.
The students bagged over 50 huge bags of the garbage and brought it into the lobby of the motel. The manager of the motel immediately flew into verbal rage ordering the students to put the garbage back on the beach. They refused and we literally spent the rest of the day in a protest of this environmental pollution. By the end of the afternoon, after many heated conversations with the manager, he finally caved in and promised to secure garbage services in the future and the students transported the garbage to the dump.
The students I was with were delighted. I suddenly realized my future had just been turned upside down. Three months later, I was on a plane to Seattle to start a doctoral program at the University of Washington. My major focus was in intellectual history. However, I persuaded my advisor to allow me to create a minor area of study in strategic foresight. His approval enabled me to take courses in urban planning, business forecasting and the social management of technology. I also taught in this program for three years at the UW.
While I was very interested in intellectual history, my wake up call in Hawaii focused me with a desire to enable Christian leaders to learn with me the importance of how to:
- Anticipate the incoming waves of change so they and those they work with have time to respond;
- Research innovative ways to enable people to respond to the waves of change that are threatening the good creation and all of our lives, so we can become active agents of change-making;
- Reflect on their Christian values in responding to the incoming waves instead of allowing us and coming generations to allow our lives and actions to be shaped by the influence of popular consumer culture.
As I became acquainted with several of my professors at the UW, I shared with them that several states had created statewide projects to address these new environmental challenges as well as societal changes in the 80s. These included California Tomorrow and the Maine Manifesto.
We were able to secure a meeting with governor Dan Evans, the Republican governor of the state of Washington at the time. As we described some of the other state futures projects, Governor Evans started to become interested. In fact, he decided to actually launch a Washington 2000 project that started with several thousand citizens from all over the state convening to learn how citizens could participate. The two professors and I were invited to participate in that first meeting.
Another new Christian friend of mine, who had arrived in Washington the same week I did to become the President of Whitworth College, was Edward Lindaman. Lindaman had just left a position heading the Apollo Space Craft Project. His first action at Whitworth, out of his concern for the environment was to start an alternative food program for students.
Ironically, the professor for my first class at the UW was Utopia Dystopia. It was taught by Science author Frank Herbert. Frank was also glad to get involved in the state futures prime project, too.
Dan Evans asked Edward Lindaman, president of Whitworth College, to head the Washington 2000 futures project. However, it was the only state futures project that invited a citizen participation from all over the state of Washington. Remarkably Governor Evans actually used the input from citizens to change the policy in areas of environmental stewardship and other areas as well before we left office.
I finally graduated from the University of Washington with a PhD degree in history and my minor in strategic foresight. In 1981, I published my first book, The Mustard Seed Conspiracy, in which I challenge church leaders to learn from business innovators and urban planners about the importance of anticipating the incoming waves of change so they have time to respond. The book did very well as the first of my 10 books. My latest that I’ve co-authored with my friend, Dwight Friesen, is titled 2020s Foresight: Three Vital Practices for Thriving in a Decade of Accelerating Change, published with Fortress Press.
I’ve also enjoyed teaching courses on Christian Worldview at Fuller Theological Seminary at the extension in Seattle for 32 years. We always focused on the importance of not only anticipating the new waves of change but also exploring the ways that western culture has shaped our personal and societal values in ways that are often in tension with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I invite you to join me in celebrating my “51st Celebration of Earth Day”. I also invite you to support all of those working for serious climate change like President Joseph Biden, Sojourners Magazine and Young Evangelicals for Climate Action. We all need to move rapidly to work for serious climate change… so that a new generation has a hope and a future. Nothing is more important as we race into the 2020s than to work together for global climate change.
Drinking from Easter Cups…
THE CUP OF PEACE
It’s still Easter… the season of Easter. We are closing out week three and beginning week 4 of Eastertide. But there has been so much happening in our country and our world, maybe you’ve forgotten all about Easter. Maybe it’s cold and grey or even spitting snow again, and signs of new life are hard to find. We all held our breaths as we waited on the jury in Minneapolis.
We prayed for peace and justice to roll down like mighty waters!
Easter got lost in gun fire and senseless loss over and over again since Easter!
We need the cup of Peace today!
When Jesus appeared to his followers, who were hiding in a locked room, after his resurrection, his first words were
“PEACE BE WITH YOU”.
And the PEACE of Jesus that he gave and gives to us, too, is SHALOM… so much more than our small definition of peace!
Shalom is wholeness… harmony. Peace & completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility!
I sure need to drink from this cup of peace today& drink in the Shalom of God!
Make a Cup of Tea
Make a cup of tea (a drink of peace & hospitality) and drink in God’s Peace today.
Take time to drink in the Shalom of Jesus.
And continue to pray for peace, too, and true shalom to overflow in America and our world.
Along with the CUP OF PEACE, Jesus gives us the CUP OF FORGIVENESS.
Jesus poured out love and forgiveness to his disciples,
to his followers who’d betrayed him
And denied him.
To those who were afraid to forgive themselves.
Jesus gave the cup of forgiveness to those who doubted that he was risen, or at least doubted the beliefs of their friends.
Jesus gave them all the cup of forgiveness so they could drink it in and truly know that they were forgiven.
And he told them that their new mission was to pour out forgiveness to other people all over the world!
Hold your Cup
HOLD YOUR CUP
What if we all drank from that cup of forgiveness today?
What if we truly received the cup of forgiveness and wholeness?
What if we realized that Jesus didn’t ever shame his followers for their shortcomings,
or for their doubts,
or because of their unbelief
or for their fears.
Jesus NEVER gave out cups of shame! Instead, Jesus hands out overflowing cups of his LOVE and FORGIVENESS.
He gave his disciples the cup of forgiveness to drink deeply from each day.
And Jesus gives this cup to each of us too!
How have you been drinking from the cup of shame rather than the cup of forgiveness this week?
How have you drunk in bitterness, or criticism this week?
Talk to Jesus about this.
How have you poured out shame or criticism rather than forgiveness to other people?
Ask Jesus to forgive you and pray for those people.
As you hold your cup… imagine Jesus sitting across from you with a large mug.
This cup is filled to the brim with LOVE and FORGIVENESS.
Jesus reaches across the table and hands you that large mug!
Jesus smiles and his eyes are filled with compassion and love for you.
Jesus knows how often we don’t drink from this cup for ourselves.
Jesus knows how often we don’t let ourselves hand this cup to other people who’ve hurt us, or people who’ve broken our trust, or don’t think or believe as we do.
Receive the Cup of Forgiveness from Jesus
Receive that large cup of FORGIVENESS from Jesus today.
DRINK deeply.
Drink in forgiveness…
forgive yourself, allow Jesus to help you forgive others.
Allow Jesus to help you receive and drink from this cup of FORGIVENESS!
Ask Jesus to help you and to refresh you!
EACH day this week as you make your tea or coffee, consider who needs to know God’s peace and forgiveness and pray for them, and then DRINK in peace and drink in Forgiveness from Jesus for yourself.
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
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