Windermere Union dedicating spiritual arbor

Throughout his life, retired pastor and history buff David Houseal has developed and cultivated a passionate connection with the spirituality of the Native American culture. He has created at Windermere Union Church a special focus on the traditions and history through his Windsong group.

To further his lifelong passion — and to pay tribute to the principal tribe that lived in Central Florida — Houseal spearheaded a project to build a Timucua Honor Arbor on the church campus. Last weekend, construction was completed on the space, intended to be a gathering place for groups in the church and in the community. The dedication is Sunday, June 18, and people of all faiths are invited to attend.

The dedicated area can be used by the church’s groups, scout troops, musical groups and the Windermere Union Church Preschool.

“The preschool is really excited to use it for storytelling and lessons,” Houseal said. “We have more than 250 children.”

When Houseal was a young Boy Scout, he became interested in Native American traditions. Since his retirement, he said, he’s been able to dedicate more time to the culture he fell in love with. It was during this time that Houseal began to imagine a space to honor the indigenous people, he said. He and other Windsong members developed a modest arbor concept similar to one the Timucuans would have used, he said.

Todd Bednarek designed the arbor and served as construction foreman. He estimates he invested about 100 hours into the project.

Houseal explained the space: “Many times … the native arbors are basically unfinished timbers. We were not able to find those, so we have basically 12 posts and it’s an (uncovered) semi-circle opening in front of this tree which we are honoring. The tree is important in the creation story.”

The area includes two grounding seats that will specifically be used for spiritual healing, and folks can visit and spend time in individual meditation, Houseal said.

He is excited about the arbor and its connecting properties.

“I think we have enough separation in our world,” he said. “Finding things which we can share together — what unites us, what gives us a common sense of hope and direction — that inspires me, and I believe it draws other people as well. We know there are many people who are indigenous in the Greater Orlando area. The total in Central Florida is 4,338.”

Houseal’s plan is for the arbor to be shared with more than just the people of Windermere Union Church. On the connecting property, at 10900 Park Ridge Gotha Road, Windermere, is Santoshi Mata Mandir, a Hindu temple built in 1996 by Pran and Neera Kar in honor of Neera’s mother.

It is Houseal’s desire for the two houses of worship to meet on the common ground and hold conversations and share their faiths. He intends to remove a portion of a hedge that separates the two properties to give the temple access to the arbor.

“We will have joint activities so we will share each other’s faith and share each other’s stories and discuss issues that are of important to all of us,” Houseal said. “The environment, racism, things that are important to talk about as neighbors.”

Neera Kar said she and her husband liked the idea of an arbor bringing the church, the temple and the community together. The Kars have agreed to make a financial contribution to the project. The temple built a pergola last year and has extended an invitation to Windermere Union to use it as needed.

“We are willing to support,” Neera Kar said. “For us, it doesn’t matter who they are, what they want to do, as long as they are doing it for good … because that’s what we want people to do — get together and do as many good things as you can.

“That’s the purpose of our group as well,” she said. “And even though we have different cultural backgrounds, at the end of the day, we are all trying to do good things for humanity.”