Recently Alison and I went for a wee wander in one of our favourite places to go for a walk when visiting family in Oban, Sutherland’s Grove. A few years ago, extensive and laborious work was done to cut back rhododendron bushes.
This invasive plant had begun to dominate areas of the grove. It’s broad and numerous leaves block out any light to anything which tries to grow near it, meaning that other plants, trees, shrubs can’t grow.
The grove is at Barcaldine a few miles north of Oban. Barcaldine comes from the Gaelic ‘Am Barra Calltain’ meaning ‘hazel summit’, but the Rhododendron had become so thick the area was in danger of losing any new hazel growth, or indeed growth of anything which was not rhododendron!
New Life
The clearing work means that areas which where a mono-culture of thick rhododendron are now healthy with ferns, mosses and lichen, primrose, saplings of hazel, silver birch, beech and mountain ash, along with fledging firs of various varieties. The diversity in plant and tree life has resulted in and increase and new life for various insects, invertebrate and dozens of species of bird as well as various animals.
Memories
Don’t get me wrong. I love rhododendron – as a child I played nearly every day with my best friend Mark in Duchal woods where we would build dens and have adventures in the mature rhododendron. To see rhododendron brings back great memories of a fun and carefree childhood.
And who does not love the seeing rhododendron in full flowering bloom? No wonder it’s native Nepal chose it as the flower to represent this beautiful country.
The rhododendron has its place, but in the west-coast of Scotland, left untended, it stops other things growing. They inhibit life in its diversity.
Who are we?
Either side of the platform in Camphill we have the large banners with our mission statement Calling a City to Life. But what or who do we need to be if God through us is to bring life to our city?
Rhododendron as a parable
If Jesus was to tell a parable about shrubs or trees to speak of QPBC and the calling we believe God has placed on us to be an intergenerational, multi-ethnic people of God who call our city to life, what kind of shrub or tree might he liken us to?
Would he liken us to the beautiful, bold, fast-growing rhododendron? I think not.
I am neither a horticulturalist not an arborist, my knowledge of plants and shrubs and trees is quite limited. But I’m sure, in a parable Jesus would tell about who he is calling us to be, he would describe a variety of plants, shrubs and trees. He would describe plants, shrubs and trees which encourage each other to grow and leave space, light and nutrients for new life to flourish among that which has already grown.
See you Sunday.
Brodie
