My family and I had the opportunity to take several paddleboarding trips together this summer. One of our favorite places to go was Pocahontas State Park where we paddled on the Swift Creek Reservoir. It was calm and beautiful, with a perfect number of shallow areas to cool off. 

 

On one particular trip, we saw lots of Blue Herons. They are incredible birds with majestic wing spans and impressive flights. Throughout our time, we noticed that the herons were all heading for one particular tree. As we paddled closer, we saw what appeared to be twenty birds gathered all in one tree. Did you know that Blue Herons nest in colonies called rookeries?  Rookeries can have as many as 135 nests in them. A rookery provides the heron a way of being sure that there is always a bird keeping watch to protect the group against predators such as raccoons.

 

All of these birds are not only living together in one tree but working to watch out for one another. They are taking care of one another. They are as Paul, the person who wrote the letter to the Romans, said: “joined to each other as different parts of one body.” The birds may have different functions and responsibilities but are, nonetheless, united as one. They live in the tree together.

 

We in the Lower School and the larger St. Christopher’s community are like the Blue Herons. We are all living in the “tree” together. We may have different roles and responsibilities but we all reside in a common space. We may be teachers, students, or parents, but we are still one body. Not only do we live together but we must, in our very best ways, take care of one another. As Paul says, we are “joined together.” This union matters because being a part of this community helps guide and support us as we strive to be the best possible versions of ourselves. We aim to be the very people whom God has created us to be: to care for one another, to look out for one another, to be a supportive community for one another.  We are all Saints, and therefore there are particular ways in which we coexist. We respect one another, we lift up one another, we are good teammates, and we are always cheering one another along. It may not be easy, but it does mean that we are in this tree together. Moreover, indeed, there is no other place I would rather be.