‘The Canopy of Creation’

LOUISVILLE — More than a month ahead of Arbor Day, the Rev. Derrick Weston offered a webinar Monday through Presbyterians for Earth Care that made the case for giving trees even more love and care than we do. Watch Weston's presentation here.

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Weston, director of theological education and formation at Creation Justice Ministries, spoke for an hour on “The Canopy of Creation: Trees, Faith and the Work of Justice,” an online resource he helped develop for Creation Justice Ministries. Access it here. PEC’s the Rev. Dr. Shannan Vance-Ocampo, general presbyter of the Presbytery of Southern New England, moderated Monday’s session.

According to Weston, Creation Justice Ministries works with 39 denominations, including the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). “Our mission is to help churches think about better ways they can live with God’s Creation and how we bring that into outreach and activism,” he said.

In addition to a theology of trees, Weston touched on how they’re also part of American history — even the shady parts. “There’s a correlation between redlining maps and tree canopy,” he said. Lower-income neighborhoods have 26% less tree cover, and those areas on average are 6 degrees warmer than neighborhoods with more established canopies. In communities of color, the thermometer is on average 13 degrees higher during the summer months. “It’s a public health and a public safety issue,” he said.

Trees have numerous benefits, including some that aren’t as obvious as others, such as reducing stormwater runoff, improving air quality, buffering noise and reducing erosion. Creation Justice Ministries’ executive director, Avery Davis Lamb, “talks about trees as the best climate change-fighting infrastructure that we have,” Weston said.

Citing Genesis 2:9 and other passages, Weston said that outside of human beings, trees are the part of Creation mentioned most often. “Trees are engaged in God’s first provision. Trees are also involved in our first sin — not knowing our limitations,” he said. In Genesis 2:9, trees’ aesthetic quality is “the first thing Scripture mentions as a benefit for humanity.”

In both Acts 5 and Acts 10, Luke employs the language of the authorities hanging Jesus on a tree. In “The Cross and the Lynching Tree,” James Cone says that “trees were unwilling participants in one of the worst parts of American history,” Weston said. “Trees are witness and judge for the behavior of humanity.”

Then there’s Revelation 22:1-2, where the leaves on the tree are for the healing of the nations. Weston called that role “less a future eschatological reality and more of a present reality. They can be for our healing, right here and right now.”

The resource includes some program profiles, such as the Trevecca Urban Farm’s Treecycle Program in Nashville, Tennessee, and the goal of Mennonite Men to plant a million trees over the decade. “We often talk about how to get young people involved in the life of the congregation,” Weston said. “Tree planting is a great way to invite young people in.”

This online tool by American Forests can help people better understand the tree canopy in their own neighborhood or community. “Encourage your municipality to map the community’s tree coverage and heat risk,” Weston suggested. “Every summer, heat is a killer,” and because of global warming, “it’s going to continue to be a killer.”

He recommended churches identify potential community partners to work with. “In the environmental space, it’s good for churches to show up and walk alongside community partners already doing the work,” he said. “People are often surprised to see the faith community show up, and they’re really glad when it does.”

“The Canopy of Creation” has sermon starters and the scriptural basis preachers can use in their sermons, including Ezekiel 47:1-12 and Acts 10:34-43. “We are trying to get preachers to preach more on Creation justice,” Weston said. “Those churches that are doing this work are the ones who are hearing it from the pulpit.”

The resource also as a children’s resource, and here Weston offered a shoutout to Jessica Maudlin, Associate for Sustainable Living and Earth Care Concerns in the Presbyterian Hunger Program. “Every year, Jessica is one of the leading forces in creating our children’s resource, and once again she did a great job,” Weston said.

During a question-and-answer session following his talk, Weston encouraged participants to serve on local or regional boards “where you can have an impact. You can find people who will talk with you and are invested in listening to you.” Many people are surprised to learn their community has an urban forester. “Find your local forester and maybe befriend them,” he said. “They could use a friend right now.”

He recommended another resource produced by Creation Justice Ministries, “Truth, Healing and Repair: A Resource for Churches on Environmental Justice with Indigenous Peoples.”

“There have been people doing this work for generations and generations,” he said. “The Canopy of Creation” also has what he called “an extensive tree-planting guide. Think about planting the right trees,” he said, “and the maintenance requirements after we do the plantings.”