The Sandalwood Man

May 9, 2006

     Mark Hanson, the spiritual head of the Church of the Living Tree in Hawaii, is a man dedicated to the Trees. His primary mission is to restore the sandalwood trees to the Hawaiian Islands, where they used to grow in abundance. The sandalwood tree is valued for the fragrance of its heartwood, but it is also known for its medicinal properties. Almost all of the trees were cut down and sold to China in the last century, leaving only a few surviving old trees here and there.

     Since 1992, Mark has been propagating and planting sandalwood trees, for the benefit of the Earth and of all of its children, now and to come. He has given away over 5000 sandalwood saplings, and he has planted over 1000 trees this year. His goal is to propagate 10,000 trees a year for sale to property owners and for donation to parks, churches, and schools.

A Call for Help

By Mark Hanson

     Aloha, People of Maui, and the Earth,

     The life force of the land is in trouble. Plants and animals are going extinct faster than we can count them. The atmosphere of the Mother Earth bleeds into space as our top soil washes into the sea. Consumerism eats away at the heart of humankind and apathy grips the mind of our society. We stand by as the trees of life are cut down, not knowing what to do.

     The answer is as clear as the falling of leaves. Plant more trees, for they give to us all our needs. Clean air, clean water and soil are the gifts of the trees to all humanity. We of the Church of the Living Tree invite all good people to come help grow a few million trees. We need land and hands to make a stand against this crazy insanity. Together we can change the world for all to see. By simply planting trees, each of us take responsibility for the air that we breathe, regrowing our old growth forest of the earth for all humanity.

     To whomever may have concerns about my ability to regrow the old-growth forests of the earth, I say:

From out of my heart a great love for my Earth grows.
From out of this Love I have been led to climb
the tree of life and gather the seeds of truth,
planting them with the children of today
for all the children of all tomorrows to come.

If what I say or do offends anyone on Earth,
please forgive me. For this is not my intent.
To share from my heart to your heart this Love
for the Earth that we all have in common is what I do.

From out of my heart I ask you to please go to a
forest near you. Gather seeds from the plants
and trees. Take them home, plant them with children,
grow them with love. Be delighted with their smiling
faces as I am. It will make your heart and our Earth
a happier place, for all our children.

     We invite all who are moved by the spirit of the trees to come worship with us every Sunday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Plan to get dirty growing trees.

If you do not have land or time to lend a hand, please support the Hawaiian Reforestation Program with your tax-deductible donation receivable by The Church of the Living Tree, Hawaii.   Ω