Tree Pilgrim
New Book Coming Soon!
By John Creasy
In Tree Pilgrim you’ll join me in discovering the deep mysteries, ecological systems and stories of some of our most ancient, old-growth forests.
Photography
Photos from pilgrim walks to ancient trees
John Creasy
John lives with his wife, Alyssa in the Stanton Heights neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is the founding director of Garfield Community Farm, the largest permaculture site in Pittsburgh, where he has worked for seventeen years. John was a founding pastor of The Open Door Church in Pittsburgh through which Wild Indigo Guild was birthed in 2025. John co-leads Wild Indigo Guild with Evan Clendenin, helping congregations and people of faith connect with God through nature and develop the tools to bring effective food justice, environmental justice and ecological restoration into faith practice. John and his wife Alyssa perform musically as This Side of Eve.
In 2019 John and his family went on a pilgrimage to visit the oldest, tallest and largest trees in North America. Their quest took them to the Sequoias and Redwoods of California, the Bristlecone pines of the Great Basin, the “pando” Aspen forest of Utah and, in 2022, the newly discovered ancient bald cypress forest of North Carolina. His new book, Tree Pilgrim: Spiritual Journeys in God’s Ancient Forests, is due out in early 2027.
John is available for Permaculture Design consulting through his design business and co-teaches a permaculture design course.
Rest and Just Be: a simple practice for connecting with nature and Spirit.
In prayer I often ask for the eyes to see God and the ears to hear God’s voice. But what does that mean? After all, I’ve never heard a voice from above or seen a vision. But I have developed the eyes to see the tall grass blowing in the summer breeze and appreciate its beauty. I’ve sat long enough to listen to the birds and then listen to the people far in the distance behind the sound of the birds, and then hear the wind blowing behind all of it. I’ve found beauty and calm there too. Maybe God has given me the eyes to see and the ears to hear something important and deeper.
To practice listening and seeing find a spot in a natural space. Maybe its a park or a log in the woods. Maybe an urban farm or your own garden.
Sit for a minute.
Then, recognize all the things racing through your brain. Acknowledge them and let them go.
Then, sit for another few minutes.
Start with your seeing, look all around you and notice anything beautiful, anything with movement, anything out of place and anything that makes you feel curious.
Do the same thing with your eyes closed and your ears listening. Ask God to help you notice any gifts God might have for you in this practice.
Maybe write about this experience in a journal.
