Tree Planting as Spiritual Practice

 
 Sugar Maple

 Praise the Lord from the earth,
    you sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and frost,
    stormy wind fulfilling his command!

Mountains and all hills,
    fruit trees and all cedars!

Wild animals and all cattle,
    creeping things and flying birds!

Psalm 148:7-10

On Saturday morning I headed out early to pick up some tree seedlings for our back yard. Although I ran another errand first I arrived half an hour early for the 9:00 AM start for the distribution and huddled in the cold -- and snow flurries! -- awaiting my opportunity to receive up to five wee trees. It turned out I was first in line and got a red oak, a white birch, a sugar maple, and a serviceberry, which now reside in our backyard. Of course they are small and while I hope they'll flourish it's doubtful that I'll see them attain a metre in height, let alone provide shade or berries. Yet it's important to look beyond ourselves to the generations to come. By the time I had my trees the line behind me was at least 20 people long, well before the official start.

We have planted a number of trees in our yard already and they have flourished despite the rabbits. A "rescue" heirloom lilac survived the transition from Bowmanville to Belleville, a cherry tree we brought home in the back of our vehicle six years ago is now four metres tall, and a pagoda dogwood is growing nicely. 

 
Red Oak

I've been researching trees in the bible for our summer ministry in Algonquin Park, which will have the theme of trees this year -- the weekly worship will be called Cathedral of the Trees. I'm struck by the hundreds of references to trees and they are often named by species. Trees sing and clap and praise their Maker in scripture, and they regarded with respect. Our bible begins with the the trees of Creation, and concludes with the heavenly city with a river lined with trees. 

We're told that if we planted a trillion trees around the planet (actually a "doable" project) we could mitigate a significant portion of the effects of climate change. In the end though, trees are more than utilitarian. They are a beautiful gift from God and planting them can be a spiritual practice.

Have you planted a tree lately? 

To Live With Respect in Creation Gary Crawford