“...Ah, why

Should we, in the world's riper years, neglect

God's ancient sanctuaries, and adore

Only among the crowd, and under roofs

That our frail hands have raised? Let me, at least,

Here, in the shadow of this aged wood,

Offer one hymn--thrice happy, if it find

Acceptance in His ear.” A Forest Hymn, William Cullen Bryant



Sweetest days of childhood

Playing in the deep woods

Stomping through the creek and feeling oh so much alive

Camping in the forest

We'd join the cricket chorus

And hum our songs of gratitude around a crackling fire

And out here in the stillness

I found my house of worship

With column trees and canopy of stars

Here in my cathedral



It was beneath the blue skies

I ran down to be baptized

Felt the river wash me clean, and dried beneath the sun

And to this day believing

When wide awake, or dreaming

I scan the ancient sky and understand where I belong

‘Cause out here in the stillness

I find my house of worship

With column trees and canopy of stars

Here in my cathedral



This is where I find my soul

Out where holy men of old

First knelt in soil and thanked You for the rain

Wrote the psalms that fill the air

Herald angels sang their prayer

Out beneath Your darling constellations



So let me often wander

In robin songs and thunder

Surrounding me with stained-glass leaves that change with every breeze

And out here in the stillness

I'll find my house of worship

With column trees and canopy of stars