The old American Chestnuts which dominated the high ranges a century ago are gone. These were beautiful trees that were large and expansive. They created a canopy that gave the floor of the forest a shady place in which smaller ferns and plants could grow. As western settlers entered the area, they brought with them small, viral pests that brought down the great trees.
The loss of the grand chestnut, almost killed the logging industry - which almost killed the mountains. Logs were taken at such a rate that erosion and mudslides were common. Gone were the protecting canopy and the fruit for squirrels and other smaller creations of God.
Over the last few decades, a remarkable thing has happened in the high country. Where chestnuts once stood, new forests are emerging. When you walk the ridge trails, you see the remains of the chestnuts, but you also see the cradle of a new forest. You see "nurse trees."
As I passed a "nurse tree" recently, I wondered if these shells weren't God speaking to the Church that we have known in the last century.
- Something has "blighted" our church structures
- The limbs are too big for the trunks to support
- The great structures are falling
- Losses, and unwelcome change bring bad news on a regular basis
- Are we to give up our massive structures to "nurse" smaller, stonger, and different growth in the forest of faith?
- The sprouting sapplings growing from the rich bed of decaying chestnuts are not chestnut. But, they are trees. Some small, others large and able to withstand the rough climate of the mountains.
- Some of the new growth bears fruit, but others bear only beauty.
Maybe the old structures have to fall in order for there to be new growth to give nurure and comfort. Time will tell. One hundred years from now, will pilgrims in the forests of faith see massive structures that hide the sky and block the rain and wind, or will they see wispy glades of moving trees whose roots reach deeply down into the soul-soil of those who went before?
- Simeon Stylites the Elder
