Living Garden Retreat Kicks Off Earth Month Activities Across the Diocese

Cathedral’s Simpler Living Garden Retreat Kicks Off Earth Month Activities Across the Diocese

In a prequel to Earth Month and leading up to Creation Care Sunday, our Simpler Living Ministry held a Garden Retreat on Saturday morning, March 26 at the home of Cindy Schurict and Britt Palmer.  The annual retreat provides an opportunity to “be present” in God’s creation: the very Nature that we strive to protect.  Participants  – members of the Cathedral, St. Mark’s, and Mission Hills UCC – found that you cannot walk Cindy Schuricht’s lovely garden labyrinth without becoming a tree hugger, as one particular tree insinuates itself into the seeker’s path, requiring its support for balance.

Our host, Cindy Schuricht commented, “Saturday’s garden retreat was a reminder of God’s abundance. It was an abundance of work to get the yard as ready as possible by tending to what we’ve planted. But Spring is when God gets carried away with an abundance of what I call free-range and feral flowers who go wherever they choose and make some paths impassable. From the opening morning prayer to the end, we also experienced an abundance of fellowship, conversations with nature—flora and human fauna, and faith flowed back and swirled all around  . . . and scones appeared on the kitchen counter.”  Another guest observed, “We were graced with the experience of nature in her full spring glory, and reminded that the time we make to be present in God’s peaceful creation can ignite within us renewed energy to act on climate change.” 

The Garden Retreat was one of several events celebrating Earth Month throughout the diocese.  Others include an Earth Day Festival, Electronics Recycling and Composting events, Creation Care Sunday (4/24) services and activities, Youth v. Gov, a film screening with discussion, and A Day in Nature on 4/30 inviting you or your church to schedule a walk or hike in a nearby natural landscape.  To find an offering near you, go to EDSD Earth Month 2022 events