Sarah Tahvanainen of St Nicholas' Chaplaincy in Helsinki, has kindly shared the following story with us about the way they celebrated the beginning of Creationtide this year:

'To mark the start of the Season of Creation, the children at St Nicholas’ looked at the life and talents of St Hildegard von Bingen, whose feast day falls on September 17th.  St Hildeberg saw the connectedness in everything - and recognised that we are made of the things of the earth, describing each of us like mini earths! Her wide-ranging contributions to theology, natural science, art and music were underpinned by her appreciation of Creation and her experience of God's love in all things.  She spent much time and energy in her Abbey’s garden, tending to the plants and herbs and using them in the infirmary.

Illustration of Hildegard of Bingen from Scivias (Public Domain)

Bringing this to life, we asked Peter Joy, our resident gardening expert, if he could introduce the children to a variety of his home-grown herbs and their uses in cooking and medicine.  He brought a wonderful array of well- known and lesser-known varieties to show the children, including Tansy, Yarrow, Jo-Pye-Weed, Bee Balm, and Soapwort! We imagined that many of the herbs we could see, touch and smell would have been the same that Hildegard explored in her Abbey during the Middle Ages. The children were able to identify two or three varieties (basil, lavender and mint) but learned about many more with Peter’s expert knowledge. It was also an education for parents and members of the congregation who came to look at the herbs after the service.

Lydia Daniel, one of the Sunday School parents commented that, “Seeing hyssop for the first time, after only reading about it in the Bible, was a wonderful experience. Hyssop is a fragrant herb with small, colourful flowers, valued in ancient rituals and medicine for its cleansing and healing properties. Thank you, Peter, for sharing your garden’s bounty and teaching us about these herbs.”

Peter Joy has been fascinated by plants and gardening since he was a small boy, learning about flowers and how to grow them from his mother and neighbour.  He enjoyed growing his own flowers and vegetables in the family’s garden and allotment, something which he encourages us at St Nicholas’ to do – whether we have a garden or a small balcony or window-box! An early love of gardening led Peter to read Soil Science in the UK and later he pursued Environmental studies and Ecology at Helsinki University, with hands-on agricultural experience in Zambia for three years!  We feel very blessed by Peter’s enthusiasm and knowledge for all things ’green’.  

Peter writes: “The idea came from our chaplaincy secretary Sarah Tahvanainen who doubles as a Sunday school teacher (Sarah’s always bubbling with wonderful ideas) to demonstrate what an important part of our lives and culture many plants contribute). During the Sunday school session, I used the herb samples to explain how cultivated plants have been used: originally as medicines or remedies for various ailments, and later as spices or flavourings to render food more palatable or healthy.  

Kids learn primarily by doing, and they wildly enjoyed creating their own works of art with the plant samples. The joyous chaos that ensued was palpable and infectious. Time raced by so that we were too late for communion!”