This weekend, I went to church … ‘Garden Church’. What’s “Garden Church”? Mmmm, well, if a church is a place for worship, and worship is an expression of praise, reverence, joy and thanksgiving, then surely a garden with flowers and bees, colour and birds, fruit and grass, trees, bushes, and even bugs and weeds can be a place of worship.
And if so, surely an encounter with Garden Church can nourish the soul, nurture a sense of deep gratitude, and be a gentle reminder of the gift of creation and the miracle of birth, growth, life.
Garden Church … can be sacred and holy … and offer an opportunity for reflection, worship, praise, healing, thanksgiving, prayer, joy – gentle, spiritual growth.
Over the years, I’ve found Garden Church “calling” to me on sunny days as I take it all in … whether it’s a back yard, a rented veggie bed in a community plot, a deck with flowers/veggies in planters with colourful flowers, bees, burgeoning strawberries, fruit trees, bugs, shrubs, weeds, silence, shining sun, gentle warmth … sweet peace.
And not just sunny days! Garden Church can “call” on overcast and rainy days as one takes a walk around the neighbourhood, listening to the calls of the birds, the chatter and joy of the children, enjoying the beauty of flowers and plants in the front yards of my neighbours. I love it when Garden Church is enriched by nourishing rain, gently watering the plants, grass and flowers in the garden (like these pansies), and bringing beauty to my day.
Garden Church … thank you. You deepen my appreciation of nature. You nourish my understanding of the created order. You deepen my sense of spirituality in ways that touch my soul. And you bring an awareness of the blessings around me in ordinary ways, often when and where I least expect them.
Truly, I am blessed when I experience Garden Church.
In these difficult days when peace and tranquility, calm and joy can seem to be difficult to access, may we make time in some way to experience Garden Church.
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Photo & Text © June Maffin
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It is always a special place to give thanks in a garden where one can see so much creative change daily.
My garden is my church. As soon as I slide the heavy iron bolt away and open the tall, solid doors to my garden church, I feel more alive, grateful that I have the luxury of this messy English country garden mixed in with my vegetable garden; even at its messiest (as it is just now) there is always a miracle in there to sustain me, to nourish my soul, and to remind me that I am one of the lucky ones. It’s been a rough year for the garden with a cold spring, a sizzling early August, then torrential rains and now extreme heat — unheard of in September here in the Cowichan Valley. Still my garden soldiers on, providing me with beauty and nourishment daily.
This is so true. I love to find a spot in my garden and just sit and watch everything. I could do this everyday, all day.