good morning and welcome wherever you are in the world on this Saturday of Easter week as we gather together for morning prayer we're in a very special place today we've come to Greenwich in Connecticut in the United States and I'm sitting in one of the green houses of the Greenwich Botanical center which is an educative place for all kinds of people as they come here to learn learn about not only plants but the welfare of our planet is surrounded by a a lovely pum of of of Woodland all around which was the the benefaction of Colonel Montgomery some long years ago but later on I'll introduce you to the president of the board of directors of this Center and she can explain things much better than I but it's a good place to be here because the planet has been doing some strange things to us recently as you've seen we had one day with torrential rain and and almost catastrophic winds with the long power cut you were all aware of that and then after that the next day we found ourselves in a snowscape waking up surprisingly to snow all around us if that weren't enough yesterday morning here in Greenwich um we were in the the house and suddenly the whole house began to shake it it began with with with a a low Rumble and then began to shake with quite a noise and for about a minute we we had this until the the sound died away and all of us were were Amazed by what was happening because we had just suffered the an earthquake which is very rare here the center of it was in New Jersey but the whole of the eastern coast down through New York to and greinwich here uh were very aware of the earthquake happening uh and uh so uh I'm conscious today of speaking in our prayers and our lessons about the way in which creation it suddenly shows itself to be much more strong and and uh the the the place that we call our home this planet become something over which we have no control at all but we can affect climates and the change of climate as we well know so let's think about that and give thanks for places like this wonderful Center where people understand that more and mix their own creative gifts with it let's start our morning prayer oh Lord open our lips and our mouths shall Proclaim your praise in your Resurrection o Christ let Heaven and Earth Rejoice Allelujah blessed are you Lord God of our Salvation to you be praise and glory forever as once you ransomed your people from Egypt and led them to freedom in the promised land so now you have delivered us from the Dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of your risen son may we the first fruits of your new creation rejoice in this new day you have made and praise you for your Mighty acts Blessed Be god father Son and Holy Spirit blessed be God forever the night has passed and the day lies open before us let us pray with one heart and mind as we rejoice in the gift of this new day so may the light of your presence oh God set our hearts on fire with love for for you now and forever amen our Psalm is Psalm 46 God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble therefore we will not fear though the Earth be moved and though the mountains tremble in the heart of the sea though the waters rage and swell and though the mountains Quake at the Towering Seas there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God the holy place of the dwelling of the most high God is in the midst of her therefore shall she not be removed God shall help her at the break of day the nations are in uproar and the kingdoms are shaken but God utters his voice and the Earth shall melt away the Lord of hosts is with us the god of Jacob is our stronghold come and behold the works of the Lord what destruction he has wrought upon the Earth he makes Wars to cease in all the world he shatters the bow and snaps the spear and burns the Chariots in the fire be still and know that I am God I will be exalted among the Nations I will be exalted in the Earth the Lord of hosts is with us the god of Jacob is our stronghold glory to the father and to the son and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be World Without End amen so I'm reading from the 13th chapter of the Gospel of St Mark we've gone back a pace or two to last week for we are in the middle of what we now celebrate is Holy Week and here we are in Easter week but here is Jesus prophesying to his disciples sitting on the Mount of lives as they've left the temple and he is speaking to them four of them uh and just telling them what to expect in years to come as Jesus came out of the temple one of his disciples said to him look teacher what wonderful Stones what wonderful buildings and Jesus said to him do you see these great buildings there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down and as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately tell us when will these things be and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished and Jesus began to say to them see that no one leads you astray many will come in my name saying I am he and they will lead many astray and when you hear of wars and rumors of wars do not be alarmed this must take place but the end is not yet for nation will rise against Nation and Kingdom against Kingdom there will be earthquakes in various places there will be famines these are but the beginning of the birth pains but be on your guard for they will deliver you over to councils and you will be beaten in synagogues and you will stand before Governors and Kings for my sake to Bear witness before them and the gospel must first be proclaimed to All Nations and when they bring you to trial and deliver you over do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say but say whatever is given you in that hour for it is not you who speak but the Holy Spirit there was a moment as we sat and the earthquake ended it was a 4.8 magnitude earthquake so it had immense power but not the kind of destructive power which Washington saw in 2011 when even the National Cathedral was badly damaged by the earthquake which happened there so unexpectedly but this morning when it all finished there was a profound silence and people looked at one another with the quer what was that expression on their face and the disciples are on the Mount of Olives looking back at the temple and seeing it as something so solid so wonderful that it was always going to be there and we well know that the temple was completely destroyed apart from some of the great Foundation stones in ad70 by Roman armies in the middle of all that war now at present every day we pray for people caught up in wars and rumors of wars abound we have for some years now been praying for the peace to return to Ukraine and Russia we pray constantly for the people of Gaza of Israel of Palestine at this time when there is so much distress there and the disciples are saying to Jesus when are all these things going to happen when will the end be and Jesus says it's not for you to worry about but this is the course not only of human history but of the way in which our home this planet Earth behaves at certain seasons and we ourselves need simply to keep faith and have those qualities of care for one another and have those qualities of seeking peace in our own lives so that we can help as far as we can any situation such as they are describing wars and rumors of walls earthquakes and famines and from all of these there will be crying need for people to be assisted but at the same time it it does US good to think of the ways in which we can care for our planet and I think that's why we've come here today to this wonderful Botanical center where so much education and creative work goes on so I'm going to ask Elizabeth pton here who is the come and join me Elizabeth um who is the president of the board of directors and I'm going to uncp my microphone and perhaps give that to you Elizabeth and just explain a bit about what the center is and how important this is in the creative life of people not only adults but children too absolutely um well thank you thank you for coming um thank you for coming back actually um you were and know you visited Us in the fall when um it wasn't quite as as uh vibrant and robust as it is now you picked a really good time to come back for another visit so um thank you for coming back um the the grenage Botanical center is is really um a gem in the landscape of Greenwich uh we've been around since 1957 and we are dedicated to educating people about plants and horiculture and nature and creation um people of all ages we have programs uh for children as young as 18 months old all the way up to how old anyone who wants to join us uh is so um you know education and appreciation is really at the heart of what we do uh we work with the public schools to bring children here for field trips so they can experience nature and um it really expands Beyond whatever they're learning in the classroom they actually get to apply it in a Hands-On practical way uh which is an exciting step for them uh we have after school programs for for children where they get to explore um the the woods the Acres around us and really interact on a regular basis with nature and observe how things change uh over time you know from week to week or month to month what looks different and we try to offer programming all year long for adults who are interested in learning um different aspects of gardening um we've had cultivation propagation workshops so we've had workshops on um resuscitating your house plants that maybe uh I've I've been to that one I have to admit um trying to bring something back to life um but there is there is a lot of satisfaction in that you know when you can bring something back um and the spring actually is a really exciting time here at the Botanical center um next month on May 4th we have our annual May gardeners Market uh where there'll be uh lots of vendors here and as well as you can see in the greenhouse we're propagating and growing things that people can buy all their plants to get their Gardens ready to kick off Spring uh in June we have a family event called Frolic in the forest and uh it's it's absolutely adorable um it's geared towards uh young children and they kind of get the run of the property here and they go around they they follow a trail of fairy houses through the woods and they leave food for the fairies which is actually bird seed but um we don't tell them that we tell them it's fairy food um and they do uh craft projects and they they learn they can plant they'll do little Planters and things and U it's it's a really wonderful family day um that's we usually have several hundred people come and uh for for many people it's the first time they visit here and then they learn more about what we have to offer um our signature event is also coming up next in June uh it's called Granda flora and it's a garden tour it's a um self-led two-day tour of it'll probably be six private Gardens throughout grenage or maybe in a surrounding town or two and you get to see all types of gardens there's um you know owner design and maintained pocket Gardens um to you know multi-acre professionally manicured landscaped uh you know showstopping kind of places and I can't reveal um but we have secured a few of them so far and they are pretty spectacular so there's a yeah a lot going on here mhm now we first met at Christ Church grage yes uh what is your role there uh at Christ Church I'm the director of annual giving uh so I'm in the stewardship department and um it's it's a wonderful role because I get to know everybody in the church MH but at the same time this would be parallel in stewardship of the planet you say I yes absolutely I'd say it's yeah absolutely about caring for for creation what are the most surprising things when people come here what what what do you enjoy seeing best in their faces when things are going on um I what I love seeing is when they discover that they that they love plants and that they love gardening um I came to a workshop about a month ago we were doing uh succulent Planters and just hearing the the attendees sort of exclaiming over you know I never would have thought to put these plants together or I didn't know that I could do that or um you know feeling really proud of themselves and and then taking something home that they then are caring for and loving I I love seeing people I was think of this adopting a plant um bringing a new plant into your home and these green houses take some care I imagine yes how many do you have and is this is this the S Greenhouse this is the this is the primary um soul soul greenhouse and we we do have a director of horiculture uh who's here full-time and she oversees us but this is more than one person can do and she is fortunate to be supported by a number of volunteers who come faithfully and water and prune and tend to things and uh move things around and make sure everything's getting the care that it needs um we do have some exterior um plant areas as well um for things that just do better growing Outdoors um and then there's a like a propagation area in the back as well um and what would you say about this year's weather and and how it's been both for the center and say the pine outside well it's been it's been a wild wild first uh few months of the year for sure um you know is a very warm and wet winter in general here um I think it's probably going to give us some really beautiful Lawns this spring um but we did find that it was actually a very early spring a lot of things bloomed a little earlier than we anticipated um and I think you know it kind of remains to be seen whether was this an aberration or is this sort of a new normal that we you know we're going to see things blooming at different times and have to kind of figure out how we adapt to that becomes a huge problem for people across the world and um as uh people come in and and and are are told all these things do you think they make resolutions about their Gardens at home when they go back I do I think so because I I think for the most part what draws people in here is a level of curiosity and to know they they have questions and um often come out with more than they thought you know more than they came in asking but um I I do think you know when someone comes here to visit it's purposeful and so they are seeking um information and answers and inspiration and guidance and that's what that's what we're here to provide we we want everyone to to feel empowered and capable and um to to you know take care of their own little corner of the world sure talk about creatures as well Birds and bees and squirrels and things what have you got out there that that interest the people we've got we've got all those things birds and squirrels uh we have deer plenty of deer uh running through here um let's see it's what's interesting actually is the the trails around here are actually one of the few places you can bring your dogs off leash so um that actually I think sometimes uh scares some little chipmunks out of their out of their little dens um but you know we get a lot of your your sort of typical Wildlife we we had an interesting visitor a few months ago um a hummingbird from the West Coast oh wow well I'll show you the the feeder outside we we had um this this poor little hummingbird they think got caught up in some kind of CrossCountry wind and it basically came from California to the GBC and it landed here and we we had the Autobon came and set up a feeder for it and um helped it recover and and get back on it way um we think it was heading to South America um so we sometimes get some unexpected Wildlife around here as well massive journe I was just going to interrupt and just to say that for those not from the US the important thing about that is the fact that they migratory at this time of so so actually the hummingbird was here when it really shouldn't have been exact much farther it should have been it took a very wrong turn yes yeah and uh yeah it was you know it was good it recovered and and went on his way but uh yes it was it should have been flying south and it flew East instead yeah but bees themselves are under threat in many ways on the North yes they are and actually we've um for many years now um we promote a lot of um Native planting and pollinator Gardens in particular um one of the things that we promote here in the greenhouse and have available are plants that attract pollinators like bees and and butterflies and uh we even have uh for sale these pollinator puddles that are sort of these little cement things that create very bird baths are a little too deep for a butterfly or a bee to to hydrate from but these are sort of just Little puddles that are very approachable for them and so it kind of nurtures them in that way um gives a good habitat yes exactly well and thank you that gives us a wonderful insight and and you want I know to invite people here in the vicinity yes or have any hope of traveling to Grenich at some stage because it is a really wonderful part of of Connecticut absolutely yes and we we would love to see any of your friends uh anyone come and visit we're open to everyone and there's something here for everybody that's tremendous thank you very much indeed thank you thank you do you want to stay will I just finish our our morning with a prayer and perhaps say the Our Father with me and with feter as we as we end so first of all let's give thanks for all that we've just heard about the care of God's cre ation and how much we're all whether we are adults or young children or those much more l in life who can all give advice and care to the plants that we're growing but also it causes us to see just how fragile our planet is and how much care we need to take of it and I think we have have learned that in so many ways with the situations that we find in the world today here's our collect for Easter day which we've used throughout this week Lord of all life and power who through the mighty resurrection of your son overcame the old order of sin and death to make All Things New in him grant that we being dead to sin and alive to you in Jesus Christ May reign with him in glory to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be praise and honor glory and might now and in all eternity amen so we say together the prayer Our Lord taught us Our Father who art in heaven Hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but Deliver Us from Evil for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever and ever amen the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and Minds in the knowledge and love of God and of his son Jesus Christ Our Lord and the blessing of God Almighty the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit be among you and remain with you always amen so thank you for being with us on this special occasion on our visit here to Greenwich Botanical center and thanks to the president of the Board of Trustees here the directors um Elizabeth Pon thank you Elizabeth for being here thank you