True Colors of Faith: Green

Give us all a reverence for the earth as your own creation,
that we may use its resources rightly in the service of others
and to your honor and glory. --Prayers of the People, BCP, pg. 387

For me, it seems pretty easy to direct my intention and attention on the color green to be a reminder of all the living things that are around us in our environment. And with Tallahassee in full-bloom, green is very much alive!

The prayer I quoted at the opening is one that grabs me every time we use it in Church. I always have an image of garbage cans, and compost heaps as I meditate on what the prayer is saying, and how I try to remember not to put things into the trash that are better sent to recycling, or back into the earth itself. I credit my years living on the goat farm in Gainesville for making me hypersensitive to the needs of the planet, and everyone and everything that shares this place with me.

Green is the color of the fourth chakra, the heart, which given its connections to the earth seems logical. If we are, as we say "dust and to dust we shall return", then it would seem we have a strong connection to the ground on which we walk. It also is the term we use for things that are "new" as in this person starting a new job is "pretty green." In that sense, I see it as the patron color of all "beginners". This includes those people who are beginning to discover their true identity and accept their "otherness". So for any of you who are just coming out, this "Green" is for you.

"Coming out" is often met with some pain as well as pleasure. For those who find their true identity as one of God's gay children, it's a whole lot easier than for those who come to it later in life who are emerging after being locked in a closet for decades. At any age, there is often the uncertainties of how 'the world' is going to respond. For many, it has not been positive. Churches and other religious institutions have been particularly ugly, and some remain so.

However, the Holy Spirit... or as Wiccans might say "The Magick"... is afoot, and will not be denied. And as such, God's love is not going to die but will spread and will pump the greeness of the heart to the ends of the earth, and continues to plant that seed of unconditional Love into the souls of many. This, to me, is the pleasure part of "coming out". Acceptance of one's true sexual identity... no matter what it is... and the acceptance that this discovery is part of the workings of God to free you from a prison of fear, deceit, and hurt.

Go green! Not just for the environment outside, but the environment inside.