Fruit of the Spirit Tree

This summer, Bethlehem's worship theme is Fruits of the Spirit.  We began the first Sunday of June, hearing the words for Galatians 5:16-26 and Colossians 3:12-17 which list the Fruit of the Spirit.  And each week since and throughout the summer we will focus on one of those fruits in our scripture readings, hymns, preaching and prayers.  

As a way to visually remind us of the Fruits of the Spirit, each week a symbol of that fruit is added to an actual tree that is decorating our sanctuary - a heart of love, a smiley face for joy, a peace sign for peace, etc.  

But the tree in our sanctuary is actually a tree that fell down during Hurricane Sandy, so there is no leaves on it.  In order to make the tree more lush, we started with a bunch of green ribbons to help represent budding leaves.  And in worship each week, we write down pray request and God moments on paper leaves that are later tied to the branches.  These are a visual reminder to us that we receive the Fruits of the Spirit when we have moments of seeing God and God's works in this world, and our Fruits are strengthen through our prayers.  

Four weeks into our summer series and the tree is definitely looking like a nice spring tree.  I'm excited to see it full by the end of the summer. 

The tree is ready for Sunday with a turtle to represent patience.