The drawing is one of many ink drawings I completed in Cathedral Forest, a grove of ancient old-growth trees some dating back 1000 years. It’s located about twenty minutes northwest of Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island. I go there often, especially during the off-season when the forest is quiet. I have a choice to make. Do I stay in the carefully kept pathways that lead from the parking lot to the most obvious of tall stately trees, or do I follow narrower unmarked trails that lead to some surprisingly sublime places, some as small as a rivulet of water coursing among moss-covered rocks, or the impressive height of a tall Douglas Fir whose wood content is enough to build 2 two-storey houses? It’s not difficult to get lost once you are tempted to follow a trail to its origins deep in the forest. But, a keen sense of direction gets me back to the parking lot. Such is the case of examining the dilemma of humankind and the promise of resolution in context of a complex forest of many trees that represent the divergent worlds of systematic theology. Each author has a unique story to tell about a very personal journey through the worlds of theology and experience, such as Paul Jones in his book, Theological Worlds: Understanding the Alternative Rhythms of Christian Belief. Without question, a stately commentary among the many other trees of conventional and not-so-conventional systematic theologies. But, I am forewarned to keep a keen sense of direction, namely that the entire journey begins at a profound centre. That centre is Jesus Christ.“Cathedral Forest,” from the series by Gerrit Verstraete. 9 X 12, brown ink on paper.
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