Dear friends,
I have bittersweet news to share with you. The two beloved oak trees that stand on the North Decatur Road side of our sanctuary have reached the end of their lifespan and for the safety of the community must be removed. Emory has scheduled their removal for early March.
For decades, these grand trees provided shade for our gatherings and stood silent watch over our celebrations and worship. Moments and memories are as much a part of those old trees as the leaves they bear. How can we but grieve?
Please know that this decision, as painful as it is for all of us, was not hastily reached. The university has tended to these trees since they were transplanted here many years ago, but now they have reached a maximum lifespan for their species in an urban setting. Arborists have taken care to prune, thin, and support the branches to ensure maximum health, even cabling the broad heavy branches to stabilize the trees as they aged. But now those very branches that bring such beauty to our grounds pose a real threat. They have outgrown the trees’ ability to support their weight, and there is a danger that the branches or even the trees could fall. Emory has informed us, in fact, that the most recent arborists’ report showed the trees at an imminent risk of failure, especially during a high-wind event. If you have other questions about the decision, you can contact Emory’s Department of Roads and Grounds.
I can’t help but think of the words of the worldly old preacher of Ecclesiastes: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven …” It is right and good that we should pause and give thanks for a season now ending, counting blessed memories and, yes, acknowledging our loss. This Sunday, February 19, following our 11 a.m. worship, you are invited to gather in the shade of these trees once more to remember together and look ahead.
The good news in all this is that new trees will soon be planted in the place of the old. This congregation and university will watch them grow, and new generations will gather in their shade. Those new trees will remind us: The church is a place of life, not death. Yes, a season ends, but a new season begins. In our living together, in our giving together, in our serving together, we plant, nurture, and enjoy God’s never-ending love and grace … generation to generation.
In Christ,
Mark Westmoreland
Senior Pastor