Lessons from a Cypress Swamp

Great American Egret

At the Bethany Center in Lutz, FL, there is a cypress swamp between the cottages where we stay by Lake Mary and the building we meet in by Lake Martha. My 3-4 round trips a day give me about 2 miles total. From a bridge above the swamp, we can stop and observe. This afternoon, Larry, one of the facilitators, gave us a visual tour.

The theme of this workshop or Clergy Institute is The Geography of Grace, looking at our own lives and at our communities. After we had spent about 30 minutes observing and learning, Larry asked us to reflect on what the swamp might have to teach us about our own community.

In that small space thrives an enormous ecosystem. What we can see above the water in the trees has great diversity, as does the water level, and underneath the water. Spanish moss depends on the trees, while the tree does not really depend on the moss but supports it and tolerates it. How important is it to support ministries, programs or groups that may not “feed” the church directly still be an important part of the ecosystem to support?

Since the roots of the cypress trees are under water and cannot readily access oxygen, the tree raises up “knees” to absorb the vital gas. These knees might be right next to the tree trunk, or they might be several feet away. A knee that sits in the middle of several trees could belong to anyone of them. What ministry, program or group that appears unconnected really could be a vital source of oxygen and therefore life to the congregation?

I can apply the same reflections to my own life as well as our community. This is a deep time, and I am grateful to you all for allowing me to deepen in this way.

1 Chronicles 16:32-34

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. O give thanks to the Lord, for God is good; for God’s steadfast love endures forever.