For the past four years, a dead tree has stood watch at the entrance to the grounds here at Walter Scott before finally falling a bit over a week ago. It was never going to hit a building or a person so we instead left it standing. While some might say it was unsightly and needed to be taken down to increase curb appeal – this isn’t the ethos to which our faith calls us. We are called to be stewards of the rest of Creation and for dead trees like this one, this means allowing them to stand. In death they become even more vibrant ecosystems than those which are living. Insects take up residence to begin decomposing them, moles and voles create more homes under them, woodpeckers create nooks and crannies as they feed which woodland creatures move into.
Admittedly, dead trees don’t always meet human standards of aesthetics, but theologian Wendell Berry offers a faith filled perspective on our role in Creation,
“We have lived our lives by the assumption that what is good for us is good for the world. We have been wrong. We must change our lives so that it will be possible to live by the contrary assumption, that what is good for the world will be good for us.”
This is what leaving a dead tree up until eventually it falls and we can use some (not all of it) for firewood is – doing what is good for the world knowing it will be good for us too.
