Good morning.
Today, can you see anything special or anything new on me?
I have put on this - it looks like a long scarf, but it’s a stole, and it’s very precious to me. I want to share with you a ‘treasure’ that is stitched on it. I think this treasure is a beautiful symbol of our faith.
Does anyone want to model this stole and let friends see and touch what is stitched on it? (…answers...) What do you see? (answers may be a tree? Grass? Leaf? Roots..? Branches?)
Today’s treasure of faith stitched on this stole is the arbutus tree.
Have any of you seen an arbutus tree up close? (Did you touch it? What did you notice? How did it feel?) Do we have anyone here who knows about arbutus trees? Can you share anything you know about arbutus trees? (Shows them some pictures of arbutuses, as I listen to their stories.)
Here is some reddish-brown bark from an arbutus tree. (prop)
We don’t see arbutus trees all over Canada. It seems that we’re the only place in Canada (the West Coast of British Columbia), except for one small ridge in West Vancouver. We can often find them beside the sea, rooted on an exposed rocky bluff, on that very thin soil.
First Nation people honour the arbutus tree as their Tree of Wisdom, because it knows how to find the Sun. It twists and turns and somehow knows to drop one branch when there is not enough sunlight. Then, it will grow a new one where the sun can reach it. They never give up hope, they never give up seeking the light.
One friend of mine shares that what she really admires about this tree is that even when one part of the tree dies off, it keeps growing anyway. This tree shares with us the power of life; even when there’s very little rain, even when the soil is mostly rocks, it will not die. It will live. Have you seen how arbutuses have two colours on their trunk? You may have seen that, beneath the old red bark, the younger, smooth, green bark is emerging!
Another inspiring thing about them is that their seeds seem to pop-up in the oddest places, which means if you try to actually plant a tree at a certain spot, it would never happen. It’s like they are part of God’s plan to where they are going to grow.
Arbutuses are unique, bold, courageous and beautiful. And I see in you that spirit of the arbutus – every one of you is different. Every one of you is unique and strong. You are bursting toward the Sun and the sky. The Spirit of God within every one of you is shaping you in a way that is true to you; find the colours of the arbutus tree in yourself and in your friends. How interesting it is to imagine that the two colours of creation – green and brown – are creating you, shaping you, and helping you stretch your dreams. It’s good to let the treasures you find in nature teach you, as the Holy Spirit guides you.
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