From Wandering in the Wilderness to Finding a New Home: An Unlikely Rescue Story

One of the recurring themes in Holy Scripture is the longing for a place called home. Much of the Old Testament addresses this theme with the Israelites wandering in the wilderness for 40 years before being able to enter the Promised Land. Even Cain, the firstborn of Adam and Eve, is condemned to a life of wandering. After the Israelites made their home in what is now known as Israel, Jerusalem was sieged in 587 BCE and the Israelites were once again made to live in captivity until 539 BCE when they returned to their home. As Christians, we identify with these stories of wandering and searching for the Promised Land. We long to find our home, hopefully in the goodness of God’s unconditional love. 

Here are a few words from Michael Yancey, our Junior Warden, about some homeless wanderers that he found on this past Sunday afternoon and how they have made their way to their new home at Saint Stephen's.  

We were at baseball practice in Avondale Park on Sunday afternoon when a coach on the other field yelled to tell us to beware of a swarm of yellow jackets that was moving between the fields. The swarm had made its way across one field, moving like a small tornado and eventually stopped in the tree. When I noticed they were forming into a mass on the branch I realized they were bees and not yellow jackets. In a short time, the mass grew as the bees came together around the queen. We told the kids and parents nearby what was going on and asked that they not disturb them. I sent a message to Scott (Cochran) –he called me immediately and made plans to come get the bees. He went by the church, got one of the empty hive boxes, and was at the park in a short time.  

He backed his truck under the tree, trimmed a few limbs from under the bees, and placed the box under the branch and then gave it the big shake. The mass of bees all fell together. Apparently, however, the queen remained on the branch. Many of the bees returned to the branch and began reforming the mass. Scott tried another time or two with the same result. He also tried gently brushing the bees off the limb with a broom. Finally, we began to see most of the bees that had not landed in the box begin marching into it with very few coming back out, and none returning to the branch. In a short time, most all the bees were in the box and Scott was off to place the hive back at the apiary at Church.   

There were several kids and parents who looked on and were amazed. It was a treat for us all to have Scott explain what the bees were doing as he worked to get them in the box. He pointed out how they were releasing their pheromone to locate the hive and showed us the difference between the drones and the workers. Interestingly, the only person who got stung was Scott—when he rested his arm on the side of his truck and accidentally trapped a bee under it. 

Now the wandering bees have a home at Saint Stephen’s where they will care for the plants of our neighborhood and provide honey for members, neighbors, and newcomers.  Our community hopes that you have found a home at Saint Stephen’s, resting in God’s love and working for the wellbeing of all of God’s beautiful people.