Eric Anderson has served as Pastor of Church of the Holy Cross United Church of Christ in Hilo, Hawai’i, since the spring of 2016. His story “Protecting the Tree” was written for a worship service there in the summer of 2023, and like many of his stories, refers to native creatures of Hawai’i Island. He shares his stories along with poetry and music at OrdainedGeek.com. A singer/songwriter, he performs one of his songs each Wednesday via livestream. Ordained in 1988, he has served churches in Maine and Connecticut and spent 17 years on the staff of the Connecticut Conference UCC in communications and technology. His two adult children live in New England.