No Longer Abiding

No Longer Abiding

Near the fence in my back yard is a fabulous Eastern Redbud tree that was nearly split in two a few years ago by a large branch falling from a neighbor’s murderous Tulip Poplar. I worked for days cleaning up the mess and putting the tree back together. It involved rope and pulleys and scaffolding and lots of grunting. Its main branches are now thru-bolted and held by cables. Thank you, YouTube.

For four seasons it flourished, then last year it seemed to me that basically half the tree looked just a little skimpier leaf-wise. This year it’s nearly bare. So, I grabbed a ladder, climbed up, and discovered something I couldn’t see from the ground. That part of the tree has slowly and nearly imperceptibly separated from the trunk.

Because it’s no longer rightly connected—what you might call “abiding”—it simply cannot bear the fruit of buds and leaves which it so naturally and vigorously did before. For the health of the tree itself, it will have to be pruned.

This, for me, is a very concrete example of a danger Jesus addresses in this week’s Gospel reading.

I look forward to exploring it with you Sunday.

Steve+

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NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Second Sunday Sandwiches—this Sunday following worship

Baptisms—Sunday, May 17

May Vestry Meeting—Sunday, May 17, following worship

ADLW Missions Conference & Synod—May 28–30, McLean, VA

5th Sunday Potluck/Membership Sunday—Sunday, May 31

Bishop Julian Episcopal Visitation—Sunday, June 7

Weekly:

Around the Table—A prayer time for women, Thursdays, 9:00am at the Wishart’s. Email Lauren for details.

Youth Formation (ages 10–13)—Sundays at 9:00am.

Morning Prayer—Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday 8:00–8:30am on Zoom.

Men’s Bible Study—Thursdays, 7:00am @ 1309.

Photo: Stacey Haden on Unsplash