The Green Man Is Created

 When I was 27 I became the Junior Keeper on Ivory Island Light Station on the north west coast of Canada. It was there I began my transformation.

The Life And Times Of Brian 

Ivory Island

  Other than the other keeper and his wife our nearest neighbors were 12 miles distant and as they were also light keepers they weren't likely to drop in for a chat.

My wife of less than a year and I felt the need to retreat from her church and her family. So, when I heard an ad from Canada manpower one morning as I sat in my cab in Prince Rupert about the Coast guard needing a keeper for a light it was off to the races. Perhaps it would have been prudent to consult my wife about this but I didn't.

The coast guard must have been desperate because two weeks later we had packed up our belongings which would be transported by boat and  hopped into a  helicopter to be choppered to our new home. From cab driver to lighthouse keeper in 2 weeks, a not insignificant change.

Living in and with Nature opened my heart and soul. River Otters, Killer Whales, Deer, Wolves, Owls, Ravens, Eagles were our neighbors. The tidal rhythms as well as our clocks marked out the passage of time. Our daughter was conceived on Ivory. Slowly but surely I began to change.

After four years both my daughter and my wife needed to live with people. So, we moved to Vancouver. Cutting a long story short they were happy but I was lost. When I had a chance to work as a deckhand on the United Church's Mission Boat Thomas Crosby V it was a no brainer. My family stayed in the lower mainland and for 3 weeks out of 5 I went back to the north west coast. 

On the Crosby the transformation continued. God called me to the ministry which led me to the small Indian village then known as Kitamaat Village to be trained as their village pastor. What the greater church didn't realize was that to do this the village needed to train me in the Old Ways. The village recreated me in their pastoral image. 

The Green Man was born. As with all blessings this was a two edged sword. But that's a story for another day. 

The Green Man