Grounded

Respecting the holy earth under our feet.

Moses and the burning bush

Moses, Moses … do not come any closer. Take off your sandals because you are on holy ground. I am the God of your ancestors…’

Exodus 3:1-6

‘Tongariro! O TaranakiYour splendour!

Your shooting of spear points, keenSea – wet to the sun!

Tree-tops! Lo, waving of branches! breath of the forest

Lo mosses and ferns of the forest! How sweet on the salt came the

breath of the forest

Sweet on the spacious silence the ring of the Tui’s rich throat!

Red – as – blood Rata, and bright – as – blood pohutakawa

Midsummer clouds, curling luminous up from the skyline:

Far fallen islands of light, summon’d back to the sun

Is there a sun in the sea? A young sky in the water?

A sea deep in the sea?’

Where will we go if the earth should disappear?

Solid

Beautiful

Freedom and Space

God’s creatures

Peace

Papatuanuku

‘Our earth speaks to us, and we must listen if we want to survive.’ Pope Benedict XVI, July 24, 2007

Be still, notice...

there is treasure under our feet

Take off your sandals because you

are standing on holy ground

Respect the earth.

Acknowledgements• Poetry: excerpts from Maui’s Fish - a poem by Blanche

Baughan (published 1908)• Photography: Elizabeth Sullivan, Catherine Gibbs, Marika

Last, Angela Vidal photography, Gershom Sissing, Russell Lamb http://my.opera.com/AOTEAROAnz/blog/index.dml/tag/Tui

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