by Rodney Marsh
“… reality is a dynamic, ever-changing, flowing process, not an assemblage of things” (Iain McGilchrist)
“(now the ears of my ears awake and now the eyes of my eyes opened)” (e e cummings)
“see without looking, hear without listening, breathe without asking” (W H Auden)
Before I began my 200km 12 day walk in the Jarrah forests of the Darling Range near Perth, Western Australia, I had read and been mulling over the words above. I wanted to see, with e e cummings, “the leaping greenly spirits of trees…” and know “everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes”. I wanted to “see without looking”, like the trees. Trees and all creation (except we humans apparently) have a simple capacity to always leap and see by being ‘in the moment’ they always ‘are what they are’. I sense trees ‘know’ it too (ie: experience their ‘isness”). If only trees could speak and tell us how to simply be. Maybe trees do speak and “gossip like old friends, sharing stories of all they have seen” (Christine Sine), but it is we humans who can neither hear nor understand. Perhaps, like all created things, each Jarrah tree’s very being is a ‘show and tell’ of the God who is, and it is we who are blind and deaf to what they have to teach us. I thought, perhaps, on my walk, I could learn a few words in old Entish and tap into the secret life of trees. Then I could, perhaps, learn to simply be, and know as a tree knows. But there is a catch-22 here: You can only learn from a tree how to just be, by first just being, then, and only then, will a tree consent to teach you to be.
I imagined that each and every tree I met on the track had a story to tell me. I do not doubt it, for every ‘thing’ in creation, has their own lyrical contribution to the flow of the river of life. The story of each tree, like our own story, is still being told. Each ‘thing’s’ story in is an essential part of God’s voluminous, developing universal book of nature. As I walked in the forest I sensed that each tree’s story was concealed and revealed in the scars and wounds of its body, just like we humans. And so when I passed a tree I tried to open my heart to hear its name, its story.
To some, this may be excessive anthropomorphism, but, I reply, that attributing human characteristics to nature is natural since I am part of nature, as are they. Indeed, a stubborn unwillingness to ‘love’ a tree as it is, is choosing an artificial, life-draining separation from nature. Since “reality is a dynamic, ever-changing, flowing process” an inner emptiness, openness and receptivity is essential to experience the wonder that nature is always offering to me and all creatures. If I objectify nature and separate myself from the tree, I cannot receive this gift of wonder. Not because it is withheld, but because my heart is hard.
When the Ent, Treebeard, from the Lord of the Rings, is asked what his name is, he says he will not say, for “… it would take a long while: my name is growing all the time, and I’ve lived a very long, long time; so my name is like a story. Real names tell you the story of things they belong to…”. Treebeard’s name is his story. Eckhart taught that “every single creature is full of God and is a book (story) about God”, so every tree’s name/story is a book about God. I, in human terms, am old now (74), but I thought that I too am still growing into my true name known only to God. The trees of the forest teach me that my name too is a story even now being engraved on God’s palms (49:16). Why God’s palms? – because her hands are always open. Now, walking amongst the Jarrah and Marri had also framed a question to me (via Tolkien): “Where, to whom and to what do you belong?”
From my first steps into the Jarrah forest, the trees seemed to welcome me home to the bush of my childhood. They seemed to say “We’re glad to see you”, and I felt glad to see them. This was my ‘heart response’ to walking in the bush and confirms that “… reality is a dynamic, ever-changing, flowing process, not an assemblage of things”. Only the attention of the heart can sense the flow of all creation or can hear the voice of the trees. Facts or photographs are not sufficient to ‘know’ any ‘thing’ in creation let alone a living tree. . ‘Scientific-knowledge’ of facts (eg “trees are an assemblage of roots and shoots”) or viewing a nature video are no help to discover the true ‘life of trees’. An entirely different mode of attention to reality is needed – the attention of the heart. Presence is essential – your own and the tree’s – but not sufficient to give heart knowledge. Presence must be accompanied by attention. Then presence with attention will lead to encounter, and our heart will leap with wonder and joy as we catch a vision of “the leaping greenly spirits of trees” or dimly begin to hear each tree’s story.
So when walking with trees I attempted to ensure I was present (not lost in thought) and had open attention. I used the prayer word I use whilst meditating to (mostly) ensure I was present to the bush as well as physically present. Nothing ‘magical’ happened, but I do believe that when I am present and attentive in this way I am praying, and a deep peace settles within me. That deep peace heals and unites and that is the inner gift that walking with the Jarrah trees gave me – the knowledge that “I am” just as they are. We are one. Only through heart knowing could I discover the ‘oneness’ that includes even me.
By walking with trees with presence and attention I learned that ‘knowing’ is not observing the river of life, but diving in and being part of the flow of reality. Learning to enter the ‘silence and stillness’ of Christian meditation (‘resting in the Lord’or ‘the ‘prayer of the heart’ or ‘pure prayer’were the Desert Mothers and Fathers descriptions for this form of prayer), helped me welcome the trees of the forest on our walk, just as they welcomed me. I learned that the experience of walking with trees is prayer and brings the gifts of union, communion, peace, acceptance, joy and gratitude. These gifts come with the practice of pure prayer and are the gifts of God for the people of God (via the trees).
When I arrived home I led the weekly online meditation meeting and ended it as I usually do, with this blessing:
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you;
may he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm;
may he bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders he has shown you;
may he bring you home rejoicing: once again into our doors.
I realised that I had received this blessing on my walk and arrived “home rejoicing at the wonders” I had been shown. Such is the blessing all receive who learn to walk amongst trees with presence and attention.
IT TREE
Love for trees IS traditional knowledge.
Bill Neidjie (circa 1910 – 2002) was probably the last speaker of the Gagudju language of northern Kakadu). In 1982, bfore he returned to his home country to die, Bill was interviewed about the stories of his country – he was concerned that his traditional knowledge not be lost. The transcription of the interviews is published in “Story About Feeling” (Magabala Books). Bill’s ‘oneness’ with all creation shines through his stories. He says “Don’t go round and put your head down. Listen carefully, careful and this spirit e come in your feeling and you will feel it… anyone that. I feel it… my body same as you. I telling you this because the land for us never change round. Places for us, earth for us, star, moon, tree, animal, no-matter what sort of animal, bird or snake… all that animal same like us. Our friend that.” Here’s a section where he talks about his love for a tree….
…………………………………………“I love it tree because e love me too.
……………………………………………..E watching me same as you
……………………Tree e working with your body, my body,
…………………………………………E working with us.
……………………While you sleep e working.
…………………………………………Daylight, when you walking around, e work too
…………………………………………That tree, grass … that all like our father.
……………………………………………Dirt, earth, I sleep with this earth.
……………………………………………..Grass … just like your brother.
…………………………………………..In my blood in my arm this grass.
………………………………………..This dirt for us because we’ll be dead,
…………………………………….………We’ll be going this earth.
………………………………………………..This the story now.
……………………….… Tree e follow you’n’me,
……………………E’ll be dead behind us but next one e’ll come.
……………………….Same people. Aborigine same.
……………………We’ll be dead but next one, kid, e’ll be born.
………………………………………………………………Same this tree.”
……………………………………………………………Bill Neidjie “Story about Feeling” Magabala Books, 1989, p4
Heading quotes are from:
Iain McGilchrist The Matter With Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions and the Unmaking of the World Perspectiva Press
“i thank You God for most this amazing” e e cummings https://artandtheology.org/2016/04/27/i-thank-you-god-for-most-this-amazing-by-e-e-cummings/
Excerpt from For The Time Being by W. H. Auden https://fourteenlines.blog/tag/for-the-time-being-by-w-h-auden/
Blessing from: https://commonprayer.net/
Don’t forget we have many Thanksgiving and gratitude resources available. Take some time to explore what we’ve gathered over the years.
As many of you know, I tend to feel like the calendar just races by me! I saw my first Christmas tree this week in the window of a neighbor. While his porch and front door are decorated for Fall/Autumn. He now has his Christmas tree lit up in his window. I saw a blurb on Instagram that said that people who decorate early are happier….hum. I’m not sure that’s true. At least not for me. I definitely take decorating for the holidays slowly and I like to enjoy each season as it comes. I have been enjoying the colors of the leaves and the pumpkins. I just wish that it wasn’t so hot here in Nashville so it would actually feel like Fall/Autumn, but maybe next week. But as we turn the calendar page, I’ve started thinking about Advent. Celtic Advent starts in mid November. November 16th. This gives us forty days to prepare our hearts for the birth of Jesus.
I think this year, with all the strife, suffering and violence, I need ADVENT more than ever. I need that slow waiting. Being still and walking slowly towards Christmas.
A group of youth leaders were in Nashville this week and I had the opportunity to set up some Advent Prayer stations to give them some ideas to take home with them to use this December. These are from the Sacred Space Kit called ADVENT WAITING. The one with the manger hit me hard.
kitchen counter manger
I invite you to create or find a manger ..it can be a basket filled with straw or a wooden bowl from your kitchen. The concept is to have a physical reminder of the place where Mary laid Jesus.
Consider these questions:
Who are you waiting for?
What are you waiting for as you move towards Christmas?
What do you need from Jesus?
Is your manger dusty, filled with spider webs and old straw?
Or, you might have never had a manger.
Do you need to find a manger or build one this year in preparation for the coming of the King?
Can you imagine your heart as a manger for Jesus?
WRITE on a piece of wrapping paper: your name and what you need this ADVENT.
PUT YOUR NAME & PRAYER IN THE MANGER… TELL JESUS WHAT YOU NEED.
I am waiting for peace
I am praying for peace and cease fire and for compassion AND THE END OF GUN VIOLENCE.
I desperately need the Prince of Peace to be central in my heart and mind. I have totally felt the cobwebs in the manger of my heart in recent days!
I am putting the manger on the kitchen counter to remind me to keep my heart open and allow my heart to be a manger this year. A place of birthing and safety, a home for Jesus. AMEN
You can purchase an ADVENT WAITING sacred space kit at freerangeworship.com
Take some time to consider what you’d like your Advent season to be like this year. Do you want to read a book? Rest? Ask Jesus to show you what you need this Advent and take time to prepare Him Room!
by Barbie Perks
Yesterday I spent a good amount of time thinking on baobab trees as we were driven through the Ruaha National Park in Tanzania. It is the dry, hot and dusty season and it was 35ºC in the shade. There wasn’t a single baobab with leaves or fruit on it. It only buds, flowers and fruits in the wet season which is from late November to around March. Even though the tree looks dead, it is very much alive because it has a very long tap root that reaches deep for nourishment.
These remarkable trees provide sustenance to elephants in the dry season in a very self-sacrificial manner. Their trunks are spongy, storing up water which the elephant can get to by using its tusks to gouge strips of the baobab bark off, which it then eats – juicy provision! The tree, although damaged, heals itself, and in fact seems to grow wider as time goes by. The scars remain and are quite symbolic of the elephant population.
Bees also settle in the trunk, and honey gatherers will poke holes into the tree to siphon off the honey. Hornbills create nests in the trunk as well. In some cases, people have hacked holes into the tree to hide either themselves, or contraband (think poachers).
Some trees we saw, you could see right through a hole in the trunk. In all these cases, the baobab has proved quite resilient, and just slowly heals itself and continues to provide what it can – that seems to be the nature of a baobab.
As I thought on these baobabs, loving their different shapes and sizes, I was reminded that we too can be like them. We grow and nurture those around us as needed. Sometimes we are hurt and scarred by those we seek to nurture. Sometimes it is life and its varied circumstances that damage us. Sometimes it’s the death of a loved one that leaves a hole inside of us. And yet, because of the faith we have, we continue to grow and reach out to others. We continue to support, to nurture those around us even when it is difficult. We can go through dry seasons when it seems there is no life in us but then the rain comes. Even a little shower can take the dust off and freshen us up. A good season of rainfall can set us up to continue ministering and serving in the church or community where God has placed us.
I think it’s wonderful how God uses nature to teach us truths about himself or ourselves. Some scriptures to help us reflect on trees are Psalm 1:1-3, Revelation 22:14, Isaiah 61:3, Joel 1:11-12 and the promise in Joel 2:22-25, Jeremiah 17:8, Habakkuk 3:17-18.
As you go about your day, look at the trees around you and thank God for how they nurture you.
Don’t forget we have many Thanksgiving and gratitude resources available. Take some time to explore what we’ve gathered over the years.
by Sue Duby
Some ordinary routines have a way of sending our focus quickly back to Him.
As Chuck backed the car out of the garage, I grabbed the overloaded trashcan to drag it to the curb. A few steps along the way, my foot landed in a puddle of water. My feet flew, my body sailed into the air and I crashed onto the concrete floor. Cautiously, I waited. Curiously, no pain. All limbs intact. Clear vision. I rose easily and continued my journey to the curb.
Chuck looked at me, wide-eyed. “How did you not crack your head, break your wrist and fracture your hip???” I smiled and whispered, “I think an angel cushioned me!”. Not a single bruise the next day! But God.
I rounded the final corner on my walk to find two of Chuck’s buddies chatting. I waved and jokingly called out, “Hope you guys are figuring everything out!” Bob turned my way with a somber look. “I just found out I have a mass in my abdomen”. That wave turned in to a long chat, prayer in the middle of the street and commitment to wait together for news. Two days later, after emergency surgery, we heard. “While I was in recovery, the doctor came by my side and smiled. ‘There is nothing there!!!’”. Somehow, a blood clot had appeared as a mass on the scan, then unexpectedly dissolved just before surgery. Four hours later, Bob was home in his own bed. But God.
A friend showed up for her quarterly exam to check the progression of her macular degeneration. Each time, a scary visit. After more tests, the doctor entered the room and paused. “That’s weird. Your eyes are totally normal. I’ll see you in a year!”. But God.
Matt began experiencing seizures as a teen. One summer day, he convinced his Dad to take him for an afternoon of boating on the lake. Just before leaving the dock, his Dad had one of those unexplainable nudges. “Hey guys. Just in case Matt has an episode in the water, here’s what you need to do”. Less than one hour later, Matt’s arms frantically waved at them, yards from the boat. Clearly a seizure. Everyone jumped, followed protocol and Matt was soon back in the boat, recovering. But God.
I’ve read the wild stories. The ones where no human explanation can be found. The wonders. Always somewhere else. Yet, somehow, I’m realizing, if I pause and pay attention, I can see them too!
So many places in Scripture, He reminds us. But God. The One who does wonders. Who acts on our behalf. Who fulfills His promises. Who invites us to fully trust His ways.
Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace. Acts 7:9-10 NIV
From human eyes, Joseph’s future looked hopeless. No possible turn of events or way to fix his circumstances. Yet, the story did not end with his slavery. “But God was with him”. . . Just as He is with us. Letting His story unfold in our lives, with the final chapter lovingly in His hands.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever. Ps 73:26 NIV
No matter how much time I spend trying to love like He loves, keep my words kind, not worry about the future and trust His plan for me, it’s not quite enough for that perfect peace. Thankfully, it’s not up to me! “But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever”.
“What’s the price of two or three pet canaries? Some loose change, right? But God never overlooks a single one. And he pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! Luke 12:6-7 MSG
For the myriad of questions and concerns that float through our minds in a day, there is always a P.S. to each of them. “But God _______”. His focus on each of us is sure. His care beyond imagining.
Just think—you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all! All God’s gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that. 1 Cor 1:7-9 MSG
May we fully trust Him in our journeys. Looking for the “But God” stories in our own lives and those around us. Celebrating His goodness when we see them, knowing He is always at work on our behalf.
Here we are in the last week of October. Halloween is in a week and the holidays will be here shortly. This season can be so exhilarating and so draining; it really behooves us to remain constant in our spiritual practices and even to add a little extra to our usual routines. Christine is traveling today, so I’ll take this opportunity to remind you that you can still sign up for all three virtual retreats, even though the first two are done you get recordings of the first two retreats along with the chance to participate in the third. The final retreat in the series is an Advent Quiet Day on December 9th; you can also register for that retreat alone.
The next week and a half includes All Saints Sunday, All Saints’ Day or Day of the Dead and Halloween. If you’re looking for a practice to make Halloween a more sustainable and green holiday, Christine shared a Halloween practice last week. As we look towards (American) Thanksgiving in about a month, I encourage you to look into the Thanksgiving resources we have compiled over the years.
This week in her Meditation Monday – Life Giving or Life Draining? Christine reflected on discerning what we should say yes to and what we should reject as we enter this upcoming gratitude and Advent Season. I recommend it as a starting place for your own reflections about what sustains you – during the holidays or regular days.
As someone who grew up in Washington state, one of the main apple growing regions of the United States, I was very interested to read Carol Dixon’s post for Apple Day. It reflected on apples from biblical times to recent festivals in England and encouraged me to think about the amazing blessings that are sometimes just sitting on our kitchen counters.
Lilly Lewin followed on a theme last week, gratitude and grief in her
FreeRangeFriday: Gratitude and Grief Practices post. In life, and especially in this time of harvest and of war, it is so important to have practices for both grief and gratitude. Jean Adrianoff shared a particular gratitude practice using photographs in her post A Practical Way to Share the Wonder while The Rev. Elaine Breckenridge encouraged us to share her encounters with woods through poetry, art, and reflection in her post In the Heart of the Forest.
May you have a blessed week,
Melissa for Godspace
Don’t forget we have many Thanksgiving and gratitude resources available. Take some time to explore what we’ve gathered over the years.
by Christine Sine
You probably realize by now that I love to mess with traditions and reshape liturgical practices and seasons to better fit my own state of mind and the issues I am grappling with. As the war in Israel/Palestine rages on, I find my gratitude season has become instead a season of grief and gratitude. I blogged about that last week, but today realized there is another aspect of this that I wanted to share.
This week my focus revolved around the question “What is life gaining and what is life draining at the moment ?
I wrote “say no to what is life draining” then began to list what came to mind.
- Turn my back on negative thinking about what I am doing, the future, the world around me. That only leads to despair and depression.
- Say no to Christmas shopping. I find it overwhelming and very draining to do Christmas shopping in the weeks before Christmas. Even the steady stream of ads and hyped up incentives to buy more that flood my inbox leave me feeling exhausted. So during November I will try to keep this exposure to a minimum.
- Switch off the news. Watching too much news about the wars in Ukraine and Israel/Palestine, climate change, political upheaval and polarization, refugee crises, and hurricanes devastation overwhelms and drains me leaving me feeling inadequate and useless. Switching off the news doesn’t mean I don’t take notice of it, but it does mean I don’t allow it to control my life.
- Say no to too much food and “Christmas cheer”. The guilt that goes with over eating and over consuming is not only draining but actually makes me want to eat more and it seems to begin earlier every year, usually as the cold weather sets in. Now is the time to choose which gatherings are life gaining and which are life draining and say no to the ones I don’t really want to go to anyway. One of our favourite gatherings over the Advent season is going to the Messiah and we have already booked our tickets for that.
Then I started to think about what is life gaining for me. Part of what I realized is that there are solutions to my life draining challenging that are actually life gaining.
- Negative thinking can become hope and promise if I focus on where I see God’s love and joy breaking through – Instead of saying “I can’t do this” I can say “This is hard but I can persevere.” Or I can say “in the midst of this difficult challenge I am grateful for friends and family that support me.” We can also do what my friend Sue Duby taught me to do – look for the joy spots. Instead of asking “Why did God let this happen?” ask “Where is God already at work in the situation that drains me? How can I join in? “
What could you do to focus away from negative thoughts onto the positive?
- Transform crises into opportunities for generosity. Watching the news about the devastation of the wars and earthquakes, floods and droughts as well as speaking to friends who work with refugees, the homeless and those at the margins of society spurs me to be generous with my giving and my volunteering over the next few months.
How could you respond to the crises in the world around you? Is God prompting you to be more generous to others with your time or resources?
- Plan for shows that are life giving. Over the last few months Tom and I have found an array of wonderful programs on Netflix and Britbox that are very life gaining for us – stories about creativity about animals and the natural wonders of our world. Stories about families that care for each other and their neighbours. It has transformed our TV and live-streaming focus. Thinking about the “shows” that are life gaining for me spurs me on to plan our Advent and Christmas watching in advance – Messiah, Advent carols, Advent retreat. There are wonderful life gaining alternatives.
What entertainment over the next couple of months would be life giving for you? How could you say no to those that are not?
- Plan parties that are life giving. By now you probably realize that I love to plan parties and the Advent season is one of my favorites to get ready for. Since COVID we no longer hold big gatherings in our house, but I still do lots of cooking for friends and family across the country. Next week I will pull out my copy of The Godspacelight Community Cookbook to get some new ideas. I will soak fruit for the English style Christmas cake that is always so popular. (yep it needs to soak for a month before I make the cake) I might even get my first batch of Scottish shortbread though of course that can encourage me to start overeating early. Cooking at this seasons, knowing that I will share in with others is very life-giving for me.
Planing parties and cooking may not be life giving for you, but what are the ways that you like to bless others? What are the sharing activities you love to participate in or plan for over the Thanksgiving/Advent and Christmas season?
- Plan for a zero waste DIY Christmas. What if I aim at a zero waste Christmas this year? Making Christmas gifts is life gaining for me. What about a totally home made gift Christmas this year? It’s time to pull out the knitting needles and maybe make some of those photo albums Jean Andrianoff talked about in her post A Practical Way to Share the Wonder Not only is that a fun and life gaining thought, it is also an inspiring and joy filled one.
Maybe homemade gifts doesn’t appeal to you but how could you reduce the stress of Christmas gift giving this year?
- Create spiritual practices that are life gaining. My focus on gratitude is just one of the spiritual practices I plan to use in the coming months. I hope to paint leaves, and pine cones at our community meal – a wonderful beginning to the season and something that helps all of us slow down, reflect and relax. Meditation gardens are part of my delight at this season too, becoming more and more a part of how I love to prepare for a new season. I plan to refresh my memory by rereading the section in Digging Deeper: The Art of Contemplative Gardening on how to create a contemplative garden and will then get to work on an Advent garden which I plan to create before the beginning of Celtic Advent on November 15th. Other practices enrich the season for me too. The Advent Quiet Day retreat is something that I find I value as much for myself as for the enrichment of others. -I will also start to add Advent images to use as I redecorate my sacred space for Celtic Advent.
What are the practices that are life giving for you over the Thanksgiving/Advent and Christmas seasons? How can you make sure that you protect these practices?
The upcoming seasons of Thanksgiving and Advent are meant to be joyous and celebrate. Prayerfully consider ways that you could make this more of a focus in the coming month… and maybe you could join us for our retreat December 9th as a start .
NOTE: As an Amazon Associate I receive a small amount for purchases made through the links above. Thank you for supporting Godspacelight in this way.
by Carol Dixon
An apple a day . . . . . . keeps the doctor away is a common saying that comes from an old English adage, ‘to eat an apple before going to bed, will make the doctor beg his bread’.
The apple dates from Biblical times and, depending on the Bible translation, it is referred to several times. It is often thought to have been the forbidden fruit that Adam and Eve picked from the Tree of Life, although most Biblical scholars will tell you that the fig is a more likely candidate, especially as they covered their nakedness with fig leaves. According to Christiananswers.com ‘There is currently no clear evidence that apples grew in Israel in ancient times (possibly due to the heat). But they were certainly not unknown in Israel, and the land does have cooler hill country. They grew north of Israel in Lebanon and the ancient Romans cultivated apple trees extensively. It is also possible that climatic conditions may have been more favourable in ancient times in Israel. Today, more than 40 types of fruit are commercially grown there in the northern hills of Israel and in Gaza. The apple is thought to have been domesticated 4,000–10,000 years ago in the Tian Shan mountains between western China, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. It then travelled along the Silk Road to Europe, with hybridization and the transfer of generic material between species of wild crab apple from Siberia, the Caucasus and Europe. The earliest known named English apple variety is the pearmain which was first mentioned in 1204, having been introduced into Britain by the Normans.
In 1990, Common Ground, a Dorset charity, decided it was time to boost the social standing of the humble British apple by giving it a special celebration day, aptly called ‘Apple Day’ to be held on 21 October each year. Apple Day was intended to raise the awareness of the danger of not only losing the traditional British apple but to also highlight the richness and diversity of our landscape, ecology, and culture. It has, says Common Ground, also played a part in raising awareness in the provenance and traceability of food.
Common Ground describes themselves as ‘a small, grass roots organisation that collaborate openly to reconnect people with nature and inspire communities to become responsible for their local environment.’ They believe that enjoying where you live and celebrating the connections people have with the wildlife and landscape on their doorstep, is at the root of meaningful conservation.
Raising awareness of the British apple is an excellent example of their ambitions. Did you know, for example, there are about 2,500 varieties of apples in the UK alone — worldwide the number is about 7,000. It has been calculated that you could eat a different variety of English apple every day for six years, so why not start by trying some different varieties on Apple Day this month.
The success of Apple Day has shown what the apple means to us and how much we need local celebrations in which, year after year, everyone can be involved. In city, town and country, Apple Day events have fostered local pride, celebrated and deepened interest in local distinctiveness. We would still like Apple Day to become the autumn holiday in Britain. Apple Day is now an integral part of the calendar of many villages, local authorities and city markets. It is a focus for activities organised by the Women’s Institute, National Trust properties, Wildlife Trusts, museums and galleries, horticultural societies, shops and restaurants as well as for schools, colleges and environmental study centres. The first Apple Day celebrations, in the old Apple Market in London’s Covent Garden, brought fruit to the market after 16 years’ absence. Forty stalls were taken. Fruit growers and nurseries producing and selling a wide variety of apples and trees rubbed shoulders with juice-and cider-makers, as well as writers and illustrators with their apple books.
We will never know just how many people came to that first celebration – it was certainly thousands and even now we meet people who effuse about it as a memorable event. Many wanted it to be repeated, but our intention was to spread the idea far and wide, encouraging people to celebrate Apple Day for themselves in their own city, village, parish, allotment or garden orchard.
And so the tradition of Apple Day began. Over the next few years, the number of events being organised around the country grew from more than 60 in 1991 to 300 by 1997 and over 600 in 1999, some attracting thousands of people. Apple Day has played a part in raising awareness not only of the importance of orchards to our landscape and culture, but also in the provenance and traceability of food. It has been one impetus behind the developing network of farmers’ markets and is helping people everywhere to discover they are not alone in valuing the links between food and the land, between natural resource use and the impact we have on nature.
We have used the apple as a symbol of what is being lost in many aspects of our lives and shown that anyone can take positive action towards change. Over the years, Apple Day has been celebrated in a wonderful variety of ways by a diverse range of people. Doctors’ surgeries, coronary support groups, and the Cancer Research Campaign have taken Apple Day as a novel way of encouraging healthy eating. Each year, alongside tasting, juicing, baking, pruning and grafting, an imaginative array of games and creative activities have flourished – ranging from simple apple printing to mummers’ apple plays, new songs and poetry evenings. But invariably, year after year, the most popular event is the display, tasting and buying of numerous varieties of apples and the presence of an expert to aid identification.
The 18th century English mystical poem ‘Jesus Christ the apple tree’ by an unknown writer uses the analogy of Jesus as the tree of life that is even more wonderful than the wonder of apple trees.
https://youtu.be/XYNNVLKuyJg?feature=shared
The tree of life my soul hath seen
Laden with fruit, and always green:
The trees of nature fruitless be
Compared with Christ the apple tree
His beauty doth all things excel:
By faith I know, but ne’er can tell
The glory which I now can see
In Jesus Christ the apple tree
For happiness I long have sought
And pleasure dearly I have bought:
I missed of all; but now I see
‘Tis found in Christ the apple tree
I’m weary with my former toil
Here I will sit and rest awhile:
Under the shadow I will be
Of Jesus Christ the apple tree
This fruit doth make my soul to thrive
It keeps my dying faith alive;
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the apple tree
Based on an article in St James’s URC, Alnwick church magazine (used with permission)
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