Spring...a time of Regeneration.

This morning the light is flat, a result of overcast skies in southwestern Ontario. Our trees have transformed from being in bud, to being in bloom.

There is a softness through these hours, one that does not exist when the sunlight burns through the sky and invites us all to action. We are surrounded by the Carolinian Forest, a blessing of God's good earth.

The Carolinian Forest is a component of the regeneration we desperately need this week in our quiet community. The calm of the forest, reflection and prayer. This week our continuity was disrupted.

Our hearts have been broken with the realization that a person or persons did not honour our land, forest and community, the way we have for generations. Those persons did harm to a good family man. We will be forever broken and share grief with his family. He was found, after being missing for over a week, about 15 minutes away from the settlement area of our community and we cannot reconcile this senseless loss.

The gift of artists, I believe, is that they have a way of seeing and then interpreting in a manner that touches the rest of us. Their works can often bring a moment's reprieve to a grief-stricken individual and perhaps make room for healing.

I reach out to all artists, when you are embarking upon a new work, to take a moment and remember this special son, husband and father and create a work as beautiful as the memories he lived with his loved ones.