Although I’ve been retired from the ministry for almost eight years now, I continue to engage in ministerial activities when circumstances warrant. This includes “pastoral visits” to former parishioners with whom I had developed a special rapport over my three-decade tenure.
A few weeks ago, one of these individuals landed in the hospital, so I sent an email asking if he was open to my stopping by. He accepted the offer gratefully, and we spent a delightful hour bantering on a variety of subjects, including the environment. In the course of that digression, I learned that he was one of the founders of the Natural Heritage Land Trust, which is now known as Groundswell.
This is an organization I think highly of because it works to preserve farmland and ecologically significant pockets of private land. My wife and I have contributed to Groundswell for several decades, and when the First Unitarian Society wanted to honor my 20th anniversary with a sizable donation to a nonprofit of my choice, I pointed them to this well-regarded institution…