Hope trees in Brasenose woods

...the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness...

and us in to Brasenose woods, well-managed to encourage the wilds of life. It's the 1st Sunday in Lent. Readings about temptation, wilderness, a voice from heaven, the kingdom coming near. We learnt a new song in Homebase carpark (very 'thin' place, if ever there was one) while we waited for people to arrive, then headed off into the woods with directions chosen by our 4 year olds. We followed an Iona Community wee worship, but injected our improvisation after the readings. A tree grows. Branches form and give it shape. Each branch a decision, an intervention, an accident? Look at a tree today, where is it's growth? Is it pleasing? To understand why you need to have seen it grow. Trees can change, themselves, or by surgery. And there's always the unthinkable hope of the other side, of fruit, nut, seed being reborn in new soil. We found trees that spoke to our own stories, of self, community, faith. We marked them out in silver to reflect our hope. We looked for things we could do, and we looked for signs of things we could see happening that we just need to wait for. See photos (we removed the tin foil after our improvisation!)