Nalini Nadkarni’s “Trees and Spirituality” sermon allows parishioners to connect with the natural world

On Sunday, September 22nd, Nalini Nadkarni gave a sermon on “Trees and Spirituality” at the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Salt Lake City. The Reverend Tom Goldsmith shared his pulpit for twenty-five minutes to present this interfaith talk about the many connections that exist between trees/forests and spirituality/religions of the world.

Along with several students from The University of Utah, Dr. Nadkarni also produced a small booklet that maps and documents (with both scientific and spiritual materials) all of the trees that grow on the grounds of this church. After the services, congregants went outside with a copy of this booklet and learned about the trees that are protected on their sacred ground.

Dr. Nadkarni has plans to produce similar booklets for other places of worship, which would create the potential for a “tree tour of churches” in which congregations visit and learn about trees at other churches and churches that have other trees.

You can read more about the project here and download the booklet here.