20 Jul Generous Spaces

Greetings Westwood Community,

Last week, I visited my parents’ home in Colorado, and then drove from there to the farm my dad grew up on in central Nebraska. I visited to help host our annual Field Day for the non-proft Grain Place Foundation we started to continue the legacy of this pioneering organic farm.

There is, on the farm, a row of trees that parallels the long gravel driveway. I have distant memories from my childhood, of the grown-ups planting these trees in rows of seedlings. Now, they tower over my head. In the middle of the trees, there is a pathway mown through, opening up a passage under a canopy of walnut trees. I’m told that the point of the passageway was to make it easier to move the cattle from field to field; I appreciate that it opened up a cathedral-like space, rich with birdsong and abundance, and even a few wild mulberries. Because the procession of trees is set perfectly in an east-west line, the sunlight both illuminates and then backlights the verdant aisle, with the daily rotation of the earth. Passing through this tree cathedral has never failed to fill me with a sense of wonder. It elevates my spirit.

I was thinking of Gaudi’s spectacular Sagrada Familia in Barcelona–how he shaped the elegant pillars by imitating the form of tall trees. How the light filters through the glorious windows, painting the cathedral floor with rainbows as the sun moves across the sky each day. Such wonder and beauty!

Sacred architecture holds open generous space. It gives us pause, and invites us to lift our eyes. It fills our senses with reminders of wonder that transcends, and that connects us to the holy. It connects us to ourselves and to our community.

May you find moments for contemplating such connection, and may you savor the goodness of beauty.

grace and peace,
Pastor Molly