By Miguel Rios, Staff Writer
April 3 marks the seventh annual tree planting service on campus.
The service will begin at noon on the lawn north of Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel. It will be composed of prayers and scripture readings about the crucifixion as well as a student singing a cappella while the dirt is thrown onto the tree’s roots.
The service takes place on Good Friday to help people reflect on the sacrifices of Jesus.
“We invite people who want to participate to grab handfuls of dirt and throw it into the hole,” said the Rev. Rodney Newman, director of religious life. “It’s symbolic of what it is in our lives that we want to get rid of – that we want to bury with Jesus.”
Good Friday is a traditional Christian day of prayer, and is believed to be the day Jesus was killed, according to umcdiscipleship.org.
“Good Friday is important as it reminds us of the greatest sacrifice anyone has ever made,” said Philip Younts, religion senior. “Jesus more than just gave his life, but suffered more than any of us could have ever imagined. He died so that his message of love for God and for all creation could be carried out throughout the world.”
Everyone is encouraged to attend, even if they are a little late. The service will be short and informal, but the tree will remain for people to visit and reflect.
“The people that come tend to be very moved by it,” Newman says. “It’s a very simple service but, because of its simplicity, it focuses on the solemnness of the occasion.”
The inspiration for the service came from Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai, who spoke at OCU in 2008 as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series, and suggested a tree planting ceremony on Good Friday.
“When Jesus was crucified someone had to cut a tree down and make it into the form of a cross, which became a symbol of death,” Newman said. “And so what we’re doing is that we’re planting a tree as a symbol of life.”
Newman encourages people to participate and reflect on the death of Jesus and what it means for their own personal faith.
“It’s also a chance to make that real by actually putting your hands in the dirt and throwing it next to the tree as a symbol – both of what they are giving up and what they’re hoping to receive,” Newman said.
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