Tree Pilgrim - by John A Creasy (Hardcover)

About the Book

Guided by pastor, urban farmer, and tree lover John A. Creasy, Tree Pilgrim invites you into moments when forest and faith meet. Each chapter centers on a particular old-growth forest or ancient tree, exploring what these resilient ecosystems can teach us about God, community, and our place within a living world.

Book Synopsis

Have you ever stood beneath an ancient tree and felt time slow?

At the base of a giant sequoia, the air cools and the light changes. The tree's immense trunk rises like a red cathedral pillar into the sky. Fire scars darken the wood, not as wounds but as witness. This tree has endured centuries of drought, flame, and storm and is still standing, still sheltering life. To sit here is to feel time slow, to sense that you are in the presence of something vastly older--and quietly attentive.

Guided by pastor, urban farmer, and tree lover John A. Creasy, Tree Pilgrim invites you into moments like this, when forest and faith meet. This book offers pilgrimage, not as escape from the world, but as deeper immersion into it--into soil and moss, grief and gratitude, prayer and responsibility. As you walk alongside Creasy through old-growth forests and fragile ecosystems, you are invited to listen: to trees, to scripture, and to the wisdom of interconnection written into creation itself.

Each chapter centers on a particular old-growth forest or ancient tree--oaks and pawpaws, aspens and redwoods--exploring what deep time, fungal networks, and resilient ecosystems can teach us about God, community, and our place within a living world. Drawing from progressive Christian theology, Celtic spirituality, and ecological practice, Tree Pilgrim reclaims creation as sacred text and living teacher.

This is a book for the love and lament you may carry for the earth. It looks honestly at ecological loss without surrendering hope. Along the way, you are offered simple practices--walking, noticing, praying, planting--that help you renew your own relationship with the land where you live. If you long for a faith rooted in justice, wonder, and care for creation, Tree Pilgrim invites you to begin the journey--one step, one tree, at a time.

Review Quotes

"I love this book. I love the way John Creasy writes, but even more, I love the way he sees-- the way he sees trees, and life, and forests, and what it means to be human. I am already thinking of people with whom I want to share this wise and joyful book." --Brian D. McLaren, author of Life After Doom and The Last Voyage trilogy

"Tree Pilgrim is an antidote to despair. John Creasy is a humble, gentle guide, shining light on his own journey as a 'tree pilgrim' and inviting each of us to join him on the path. We get to meet some amazing trees, learn about the connection between nature and contemplative practice, and shape our own pilgrim journey. This book will lead you into a deeper relationship with God and God's creation. It is a gift." --Lauren Burdette, spiritual director and author of This Life That Is Ours: Motherhood As Spiritual Practice

"There has been a renaissance in recent years of wonderful nature writing, good authors telling of their experience in the wilderness. John Creasy's stories are a wonderful example of what happens when a follower of Jesus loves creation in such a way as to embody a sense of spirituality--the sacred, the holy--in their relationship with other creatures in the wild. One of the things that makes Tree Pilgrim so very special (and why you'll enjoy reading it) is that it is so down-to-earth, local even. John knows his tree science, and he's been a theological urban farmer through an innovative church-related plot in Pittsburgh. But despite his lovely ability to teach us so much about the joys of plants and glories of fungi and trees, he also knows they are under attack, here in the Anthropocene. Part of his response is to become a pilgrim--one who takes hopeful steps, learning to love the world anew. This book is a joy, a good read. More, it could be life-saving." --Byron Borger, Hearts & Minds Bookstore

"Tree Pilgrim is a breathtaking reminder that the natural world is not just a backdrop for our lives, but a sacred text waiting to be read. Through his evocative journeys into ancient forests, John Creasy invites us to trade the frantic pace of modern life for a more grounded, contemplative spirituality. This book is a soulful guide for anyone looking to re-enchant their faith and find the Divine in the deep roots and towering canopies of the world around us." --Doug Pagitt, pastor and activist

"I love this book! I yearn to see and walk in the world as my friend John Creasy does--with a posture of artistic wonder, scientific curiosity, practical care, and prophetic lament. Tree Pilgrim is a gentle invitation to an embodied spirituality that addresses the earth's cry and the soul's longing for a new world to be born." --Mark A. Scandrette, author of The Ninefold Path of Jesus and other titles