Spring is in the Air—Easter Resurrection—New Life is Here!!

Remember the pomegranate tree the children planted for me in September? It looked “dead”, like a stick with stick arms! But the children created red laminated “pomegranates” to bring this tree to life with good wishes for my ministry amongst you. They wrote special sayings on the pomegranates:

“I hope that you stay for a long time” (Seth)

“You make a great blessing of joy!” (Julia)

“I hope you like this church.”—with a drawing of a church on the back. (Jon)

“You are a great blessing here at St. Philip’s. We hope you can stay here at our church and help us to produce more ‘fruit’ in our community. Thank you for helping us at church.” (Alex)

“I love you.” (Rachel)

“I hope you bring joy to the people of St. Philip’s forever!” –with drawings of two figures, one says “me” the other says “you” (Chris)

“Please bring your generosity and friendliness with you everywhere you go. Love, a child at church.” (Abigail)

“May you bring joy to all the people in Saint Philip’s” (Nicole)

“You giv pese” (sic) (not signed)

“I hope you have fun!” (Brett)

“As a pomegranate symbolized joy, we welcome you to our church though you might be asking ‘why?’. We do it because we love you and we know you will bring us much blessing, so welcome to St. Philip’s, Reverend Mary Blessing” (Olivia)

“May you always be happy here at St. Philip’s” (Annie F)

“Never forget about St. Philip’s” (Chrissy)

“I hope you stay forever” (Sofia)

“Times change and people grow and leave but I hope this church and all its people stay in your heart. Love, K”

A drawing of a beautiful apple with a cross on the leaf—Lily

Finally, a prophet amongst us writes: “But Judah will be filled with people forever and Jerusalem will endure through all generations. Joel 13:20. Like Judah, St. Philip’s will be filled with people forever and you among us like Jerusalem, St. Philip’s will endure through all generations and you will help do that.” (Jessica)

The children tied their hand-crafted “pomegranates” to the little stick tree and waited and waited and waited…6 months later, SPRING has SPRUNG! Beautiful sprouts of green and red leaves have blossomed on our little tree. I carefully removed the laminated pomegranates to make room for the fruit which lies beneath--fruit which has been blessed by the love and care of these remarkable children. Please come to take a look at the “pomegranate tree poster” on the bulletin board, and give a prayer of thanks for the love our children share so freely.

Gardens are places of Biblical significance. The Creation story of Genesis describes humankind’s origins in a fertile garden, a place where God spoke freely to God’s created people. Jesus spent his last night of ministry praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, anguishing over God’s will for him—it is there that Judas’ kiss betrayed our Lord. But as God’s goodness always triumphs, we know also that it was in the Garden near the empty tomb that Mary Magdalene saw the Risen Lord, forever bringing hope to a world hungry for new life. As we move into the Easter Season celebrating new life in Christ, let us rejoice in the bounty of our St. Philip’s gardens, giving loving care to new plantings. Enjoy all that God has given to us in creation, giving thanks for the bounty and blessings bestowed upon us for the glory of our Lord!

Pastor Mary and Jim

The pomegranates with messages
to Pastor Mary from the children have
been brought inside to create a new Pomegranate Tree Poster, constructed
by Pastor Mary and Rachel.