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Dear Glen Morris,

Last Sunday afternoon the church was filled with music, stories, dance, laughter, and tender moments during the community event, “Our Roots Are Showing.” At the end of our time together, I was asked to reflect on my own experience of putting down roots in the Glen, having now lived here for just a bit over a year. This was what I shared: 

“It has been such a joy to arrive at the Glen to discover, as a highland dancer, that this community has many Scottish roots. When I showed up in my kilt for the Robbie Burns event in 2020, it was a great moment of feeling like God had led me into ministry in the right place. I also bring with me roots that are new to this area (I have yet to learn about any other Japanese people who have lived in the Glen) and I've appreciated being able to share parts of my culture and my family's story with all of you. As a settler, it remains a continual challenge and commitment for me to live into the treaties that govern this land and to show respect to the Indigenous nations who have and will continue to steward this land. 

As the minister of this church, we spent the season of Advent of 2022 preparing for Christmas through the theme From Generation to Generation - which was a perfect opportunity for this community to reflect and worship around this deep love we have for who we are and where we've come from. Whenever someone asks me "isn't it creepy to live surrounded by a cemetery?" I tell them not at all because in the Glen the ancestors are known, loved, and very much alive in our hearts.

I think one of the best ways to share with you what it's been like putting down roots in the Glen is to talk about how that's happened literally with the garden beside the manse. Stu Aiken and Bill Labron both helped haul up the grass, Liz DeGroote and Jim Norris insisted I use their rototiller to prepare it, Jayne and Ross Miller provided some straw to mulch the land, Donna Jarvie helped me track down some sheep manure to compost, I was with Ingrid Douglad when I found most of the plants that actually made it into the garden last year, John Graham was around and helped my partner Johnny get the fence set up, and I've had many conversations with people about this little adventure. When I said I wanted to garden in the Glen I was told that the most bountiful crop in this area were rocks but actually, I think it's community.  

The Glen is a place where people love and support one another - our roots are intertwined. It's a place where you can not only put roots down but can also grow and flourish as well.”

May the peace of Christ be known among us when we honor and celebrate our roots, 

May the peace of Christ be with us in our collective flourishing as a community, 

Yours in Christ, 

Rev Michiko

 

(Photo from Reddit.com)