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<strong>the</strong> lake to bless it. The priest begins <strong>the</strong>procession by emerging from behind <strong>the</strong>Iconost<strong>as</strong><strong>is</strong> through <strong>the</strong> Royal Doors of<strong>the</strong> chapel over which are inscribed <strong>the</strong>words of <strong>the</strong> ancient psalm: ¨Let everythingthat h<strong>as</strong> breath, pra<strong>is</strong>e <strong>the</strong> Lord¨.The choir sings hymns of pra<strong>is</strong>e, childrencarry banners <strong>and</strong> icons, <strong>and</strong> in my memory,it always seems to be a glorious,sunny summer morning. Returning from<strong>the</strong> lake, we ga<strong>the</strong>r around a table ladenwith fruit, wild mushrooms <strong>and</strong> berries, allearth’s bounties which are <strong>the</strong>n blessed<strong>and</strong> for which we give thanks. The underliningsignificance, of course, <strong>is</strong> that <strong>the</strong>flowering <strong>and</strong> fruitfulness of all creation <strong>is</strong>transformed by <strong>and</strong> filled with <strong>the</strong> glory of<strong>the</strong> Lord.I relate th<strong>is</strong> annual summer ritual on <strong>the</strong>lakeshore in Quebec in <strong>the</strong> context of <strong>the</strong>Delos Initiative to suggest that, while wecertainly can take inspiration from <strong>the</strong>selected examples in th<strong>is</strong> marvelousbook, let us also not f<strong>org</strong>et <strong>the</strong> spiritualconnections we all have to special personalplaces where our spirit <strong>is</strong> lifted <strong>and</strong>where we can touch <strong>the</strong> beauty <strong>and</strong> harmonyof nature. All <strong>the</strong>se places – that wetouch <strong>and</strong> that touch us - must be protected.They provide us with <strong>the</strong> meaningof life.14

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