by Lea Levy, CFV Interfaith Intern

On Saturday, October 25^th, several representatives of Butler’s religious and non-religious groups came together for a day of service and dialogue. We participated in an event organized by Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc., and planted 200 native Indiana trees in the Fairfax neighborhood in order to help divert storm water from the area combined sewer system. The weather was beautiful, and the event was fun and informative.

After taking part in the service event, we all drove back to the Center for Faith and Vocation for a pizza lunch and a discussion. Representatives from the Secular Student Association, Hillel, the Orthodox Christian Fellowship, and Catholics not affiliated with the Butler Catholic Community partook in a discussion about faith, service, and environment.

The conversation ebbed and flowed into many different areas of discussion, and was very interesting for every person involved. We described the importance of service and the environment in each of our faiths, and focused particularly on the symbolism of the tree, because of what we had done earlier in the day.

A tree is, in many faiths, traditions, and belief systems, a symbol of life. Trees very obviously symbolize life and the cycle of life because of the visible element of leaves changing colors, falling off, and then growing back. It can in many faiths be a symbol of life as well as life after death. It not only represents life in the religious sphere, but in a very clear scientific way as well; it provides oxygen for us to breathe and therefore live.

In telling stories and dialoguing about our different belief systems, we were able to create a very understanding environment, and all learned a lot.