All Saints Open Gardens 2020
For the last two years members of the congregation have opened their gardens to visitors. This year it is unlikely to be possible. However, so you don’t miss out we are are hosting a tour of the gardens on our website. Those who wish to participate are sending in photos at two week intervals and they are being displayed here so that you can marvel at the beauty and wonders of God’s creation.
Previous Weeks
15 April 2020
1 April 2020
The Significance of Gardens
From the long distant point in history when mankind started to cultivate plants there have been gardens and gardeners.
Gardens are practical providing fruit, vegetables and flowers in abundance for us to use. But they offer far more than that: leisure space for downtime: social space for meeting family and friends: the space to wind down and de-stress in challenging times: for many they offer therapeutic opportunities to connect with the natural world: they can provide a haven for wildlife: they inspire artists: they are a source of human creativity: In short they are spaces where human beings can find peace, contentment and fulfilment.
For Christians there is a greater significance. Gardens figure prominently throughout scripture from the Garden of Eden to the Garden of Gethsemane and the gardens of the New Jerusalem portrayed in Revelation 22. And, the risen Christ appeared in a garden on the third day.
In her book ‘Saying Yes to Life’ (Our Lent study book) Ruth Valerio considers the meaning of created ‘in the image of God’. She concludes that God has given mankind the ability and understanding to look after his creation. The ‘image of God’ is not therefore some other-worldly spiritual quality, but rather a job-description of what our role on the planet should be. Our dominion over the natural world, God’s creation, is like a sacred mandate to look after it, care for it and restore it. So we are the caretakers and gardeners of the world.