The Courageous Witness of the Tree-Huggers

 

                                                               Tree Guardians in India, 1974

If you besiege a town for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, 

you must not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them. 

Although you may take food from them, you must not cut them down. 

Are trees in the field human beings that they should come under siege from you?

                      Deuteronomy 20: 19 NRSVue

From time to time this photo pops up on social media and it gives me cause for pause. 

In 1974, 50 years ago now, a woman named Gaura Devi led 27 of the women from her Indian village where they confronted loggers were about to take down 2,500 trees in a nearby forest. 

According to a description of what was the beginning of the Chipko movement, when all talking failed, and the loggers started to shout and abuse the women, threatening them with guns, the women resorted to hugging the trees to stop them from being felled. The women kept an all-night vigil guarding their trees against the cutters until a few of them relented and left the village. The next day, when the men and leaders returned, the news of the movement spread to the neighbouring Laata and other villages including Henwalghati, and more people joined in. Eventually, after a four-day stand-off, the contractors left.

We all know that the term "tree-hugger" is used in a derisive manner to describe environmentalist and other naive do-gooders, including people of faith, who protest the destruction of trees vital to our survival as human beings. Over the years we've seen countless photos and film footage of confrontations between loggers and those who resist the "harvesting" of trees that have taken hundreds of years to grow, including many in Canada. 

                                                                        Lyell Island Blockade 1985

When we were in Haida Gwaii in June we took a boat trip to Gwaii Hanaas, a remarkable chain of islands forming what is now a Canadian/Haida National Park. It was being clearcut until a blockade of Haida people, including auntie elders, brought it to a standstill and eventually led to a new agreement for protection. Seeing Lyell Island, the site of the blockade was powerful, and being able to view large blocks of clearcut in various locations was sobering. Walking amidst these giants on various trails, was breath-taking and worshipful. We often stopped to thank God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer for the trees, as we do on many of our hikes and paddles. 

Again and again I've noted how often the bible speaks of trees, metaphorically and practically, literally from beginning to end. There is even an instruction to be careful about cutting down trees during conquest. 

Listen Groundlings, the Creator loves trees so surely we should as well!

                                                     Ruth and her new BFF on Haida Gwaii

                                                              A Safe Bear Encounter on Haida Gwaii

All Good Gifts Around us Are Sent from Heaven Above

  

1 We plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the land,

but it is fed and watered by your almighty hand;

you send the snow in winter, the warmth to swell the grain,

the breezes and the sunshine, and soft refreshing rain.

All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above;

we thank you, God, O holy God, for all your love.

2 You only are the maker of all things near and far;

you paint the wayside flower, you light the evening star;

the winds and waves obey you, by you the birds are fed;

much more to us, your children, you give us daily bread.  R

3 We thank you then, O Maker, for all things bright and good,

the seed-time and the harvest, our life, our health, our food;

accept the gifts we offer for all your love imparts,

and, what from us you long for, our humble, thankful hearts.  R

                                  Voices United 520 

I find many of the newer hymns and praise songs refreshing and some of the older hymns deserved to be kicked to the curb because of suspect theology and turgid tunes. At the same time, some of those newer pieces are rather insipid and the older ones are rich poetry set to music. 

 I do love some of the traditional hymns for Thanksgiving, in part because they remind us that we shouldn't take eating for granted. Celebrating the harvest may seem to a long way from our everyday experience in an urbanized and digital society, but isn't that a good argument for what Thanksgiving is about? God created the Earth and blesses us with its bounty. We give thanks and recommit ourselves to care for Creation. 

One of the older hymns, We Plough the Fields, was given a shot of creative energy in the 70s musical Godspell, with the spoken addition of Jesus' teaching in Matthew 6. In the early 1960s one of the traditional tunes was graced with lyrics that invite us to be responsible stewards of extraction in mines and forests, industries that are more and more mechanized and potentially destructive. 

 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,[ or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

Matthew 6: 25-30 NRSVue 

When we lived in Sudbury, a mining city in Northern Ontario, I brought chunks of nickel ore into the sanctuary for one Thanksgiving Sunday (no small feat of persuasion and engineering) and placed them in clear view on the steps to the dais. The Sudbury Basin is known for its rich deposits of nickel, copper, gold, and an enormous smelter smokestack. When I arrived on the Sunday morning there was an additional rock, essentially a small boulder, that had been added to the array. I was puzzled but carried on with worship, only to learn later that our music director, a guy with an off kilter sense of humour, had picked it up from the roadside of a construction site on his way to the church. Blessed are the pranksters. 

1 Give thanks, my soul, for harvest,  for store of fruit and grain;

but know the owner gives so  that we may share again.

Where people suffer hunger, or little children cry,

with gifts from God's rich bounty may thankfulness reply.

2 Give thanks, my soul, for riches of woodland, mine, and hill;

but know that gold and timber are the Creator's still.

God lends to us, as stewards, abundance we might share,

and thus provide earth's children the blessing of God's care.

3 Give thanks, my soul, for labours,  that strength and days employ;

but know the Maker's purpose brings toil as well as joy.

Show forth, O God, your purpose; direct our will and hand

to share your love and bounty with all in every land.

                                                   Voices United  522

The Wisdom of Wilderness & The Outrun

It is plagarism when I include a blog entry on both my Lion Lamb and Groundling blogs?  If so, I insincerely seek forgiveness. 

A couple of years ago I wrote about the memoir called The Outrun by Amy Liptrot. It would be simplistic to reduce this to a reflection on addiction and recovery but this is at the heart of Liptrot's journey. I found it a compelling read because it is so honest, to the point of being almost overwhelmingly bleak at times, while also beautifully written and ultimately hopeful. 

Liptrot grew up on one of the Orkney Islands in a household with a bipolar father. When he eventually left her mother became a fundamentalist Christian. Leaving was a liberation and the gateway to deep addiction that destroyed relationships and a promising career. Stints in rehab didn't work and in desparation she reluctantly returned home. It was in this raw, scraped down setting that Amy took the halting steps toward recovery.

Now there is a film of the same name with the brilliant Saoirse Ronan as Rona, aka Amy Lipcott. Much of it is filmed on the farm where Liptrot lived and she is one of the writers of the screenplay. In an interview she reflects on how surreal it has been to see out-takes of her own life played with remarkable authenticity by Saoirse Ronan, right to birthing lambs on screen. Every review I've seen praises Ronan and this autobiographical picture. We can hardly wait to watch it. 

                                                            Saoirse Ronan and Amy Liptrot

More and more we're hearing of studies demonstrating that time in the natural world can be a source of healing. Various jurisdictions around the world, from Japan to Canada to Great Britain, are endorsing the literal prescriptions for nature-based health in body, mind, and spirit. 

One of the best books on addiction from a spiritual perspective is Addiction and Grace (1988) by Gerald May, the late psychiatrist and Christian spiritual director. He contends that all of us have addictions of some kind, often socially acceptable, and that addressing addiction is a spiritual enterprise where the grace of God is vital. 

Not long before his death May wrote The Wisdom of Wilderness, a very personal reflection on how time in the natural world allows us to address fears and to heal. 

Amy Liptrot discovered this and I hope we all can. 

Seniors for Climate Action & St. Francis

 Most high, all powerful, all good Lord! All praise is yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing. To you, alone, Most High, do they belong. No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce your name.

Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures, especially through my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day; and you give light through him. And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor! Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars; in the heavens you have made them, precious and beautiful.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air, and clouds and storms, and all the weather, through which you give your creatures sustenance.

Be praised, My Lord, through Sister Water; she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Fire, through whom you brighten the night. He is beautiful and cheerful, and powerful and strong.

Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth, who feeds us and rules us, and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

Be praised, my Lord, through those who forgive for love of you; through those who endure sickness and trial. Happy those who endure in peace, for by you, Most High, they will be crowned.

Be praised, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, from whose embrace no living person can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Happy those she finds doing your most holy will. The second death can do no harm to them.

Praise and bless my Lord, and give thanks, and serve him with great humility.

Canticle of the Sun -- attributed to St. Francis of Assisi 

Allie Rougeot

@AlienorR2

·

16h

“Seniors, this is the most important time of our lives. We aren’t waiting for a raise or a promotion. We have nothing to fear. We have to stand up and fight!” - David Suzuki, live from downtown Toronto

 Today is the Feast of Francis in the Christian calendar, a liturgical homage to the 12th century ascetic monk who is the Roman Catholic patron saint of animals and ecology. The current pope is the only one to ever choose Francis for his name  (21 called John through the centuries), a recognition of his namesake's radical simplicity and care for God's creatures. Francis the monk died in his late thirties while Pope Francis is 87, well past what most would consider the "best before date" for an environmental activist. 

I believe that we can be passionate about the Earth and "live with respect in Creation" no matter what our age. It may be that as we age we have the time and the freedom to be both more aware and active as advocates for Turtle Island, as the planet is termed in some Indigenous cultures. I've certainly noticed that many of the participants in environmental events we've attended are getting up in age, as we are!

I wasn't aware until after the fact that this past Tuesday was National Seniors Day, nor had I ever heard that there is a group called Seniors for Climate Action Now. They held rallies for climate action across Ontario on October 1st, among 75 in total across the country. David Suzuki, 88, one of Canada's most outspoken oldtimers, encouraged seniors to become engaged when he spoke at what appears to be a church. 

We are also never too old to appreciate the natural world or Creation for its own sake. This morning the two 70-year-olds of our household canoed on a local river. We saw blue herons and kingfishers and glided wondrously close to a green heron. Delighting in the goodness and diversity of Creation is a form of praise and prayer. I'm convinced that St. Francis would approve. 

Rosh Hashanah & Earth-Keeping

 

This evening marks the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. This is the beginning of a ten day period of reflection and repentance. It has been noted by some Jews that because Rosh Hashanah recognized the creation of the world it is also an opportunity to consider how we 

Rosh Hashanah marks the anniversary of the creation of the world. In addition to the themes of repentance, self-reflection and prayer that are traditionally thought about during the Yamim Noraim (High Holy Days), we mark and celebrate God’s work in creating the world. As we contemplate our actions, both good and bad, during the past year, we turn our thoughts to the world around us and our role as stewards of Creation.

Religious Action Center of Reform Jews

We are approaching the conclusion of the Season of Creation/Creation Time/Creationtide in the Christian Year and it seems appropriate that we note that much of what our bible says about "living with respect in Creation" (UCC New Creed) comes from the passages about Creator and Creation in the Hebrew or Jewish scriptures. 

I think of Ellen Bernstein today, a river guide who became a rabbi and environmental writer. In 1988 she founded Shomrei Adamah, Keepers of the Earth, the first Jewish environmental organization. Bernstein died earlier this year at the tender age of 70 and because she sounded the shofar, the ram's horn, for environmental justice, I will share some of her thoughts with you: 

The Creation story, Jewish law, the cycle of holidays, prayers, mitzvot (good deeds) and neighborly relations all reflect a reverence for land and a viable practice of stewardship... 

Rabbi Bernstein Ecology & the Jewish Spirit: Where Nature & the Sacred Meet

Humanity's role is to tend the garden, not to possess it; to "guard it and keep it" (Genesis 2), not to exploit it; to pass it on as sacred trust, as it was given. Even though we are given the authority to have dominion over the earth and its creatures, we are never allowed to own it, just like we can't own the waters or the air. "The land cannot be sold in perpetuity" (Lev. 25:23). The land is the commons, and it belongs to everyone equally and jointly.

Ellen Bernstein, "Rereading Genesis: Human Stewardship of the Earth,” Righteous Indignation: A Jewish Call for Justice

Covenant with Indigenous Peoples and All Creation

Yesterday I cycled to Market Square in Belleville to join roughly 200 others in acknowledging Canada's 4th Truth and Reconciliation Day. We began with a blessing led by a an educator and a member of the Bear clan from the nearby Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.  She spoke in both Mohawk and English and we were invited to give assent at various times to the recognition of creatures and plants, the sun and moon and stars. 

As a Christian what came to mind was the Canticle of St. Francis and Creation psalms. I am also keenly aware that not only did Christianity lose its way when it came to affirming the interconnectedness of all Creation, my religion was determined to suppress this balance expressed by various Indigenous groups around the world. 

When we were on Haida Gawai in June I was dismayed to learn that Christian missionaries often insisted that Haida totem poles with their creaturely representations be destroyed under threat of eternal peril. The Haida speak of the post-missionary era beginning in the 1960s, a terrible indictment of those who supposedly came to bear witness to Christ, the embodiment of the Creator's love and the first-born of Creation.

There appears to be a seeping pushback against Indigenous recognition in the land we call Canada and this disturbs me. What we need within what is often called settler culture is humility, a willingness to listen and learn. This can be a form of repentance and a step toward Truth and Reconciliation. 

We also heard about the Covenant Chain yesterday, the complex system of alliances and  agreements between the British Crown and Indigneous peoples. That chain was tarnished and broken many times by a colonial power that did what was convenient and expedient. The term "covenant" is one Christians know from the promise relationships of the people who pledged allegiance to the Creator. Each year we can renew and deepen the covenant of our forebears on Truth and Reconciliation Day. 

When Worlds Collide

 

Patricia Seaton Homonylo won 2024's Bird Photographer of the Year for this photo of 4,000 dead birds, all killed by colliding with glass in Toronto. The image also netted gold in the competition's Conservation category. (Patricia Seaton Homonylo/Bird Photographer of the Year)

1 God sees the little sparrow fall,
it meets his tender view;
if God so loves the little birds,
I know he loves me too.

1 God of the sparrow God of the whale

God of the swirling stars

How does the creature say Awe

How does the creature say Praise

What is it about old people and bird feeders? We have several that are visible through the windows of our family room and the avian creatures are often more entertaining than what's on the television screen. Recently a guest was up early and excited to tell us about seeing a northern flicker at a feeder, the closest she'd ever been to one.

I would suggest that watching birds, even when we can't name the species, is wonder-full, a gift from the Creator. When we were on Haida Gwaii in June of this year we saw plenty of bald eagles, sometimes a dozen or more in one spot. While this was spectacular, we are enchanted when a gaggle of frantically noisy goldfinches show up at a feeder or chickadees come for a drink at one of several bird baths we have around our yard. We have done our best to put our feeders where the birds won't be injured flying into windows and we've made what we think are largely successful efforts to cat-proof our yard. 

I heard an CBC interview with Patricia Homonylo, a photographer whose image called When Worlds Collide recently won a  2024 Bird Photography of the Year award. It both beautifully and grimly shows the bodies -- 4,000 of them -- of birds  that fatally collided with buildings in Toronto last year. 

"I want people to be shocked by this image," Homonylo told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. "I want them to really think about what they're seeing. The picture features a wild turkey at its centre, surrounded by concentric circles of smaller and smaller birds, including hawks, owls, warblers, blue jays and more. Their bodies were collected and arranged by members of the Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP), a Canadian charity where Homonylo volunteers, which helps birds injured in these kinds of collisions.

"Unfortunately, most of the birds they find are dead. [But] those bodies are never left behind," Homonylo said. "Once a year, the volunteers get together and they create this beautiful and tragic image of the birds called The Layout. And that's what you're looking at."

It's sad, isn't it? It's estimated that up to 42 million birds die in Canada each year due to these collisions and various organizations and levels of government are pressing for companies to turn off the lights at night and for home owners to take measures to reduce the risk. It does seem as though humans are waging war on birds with loss of habitat and climate change as other challenges. 

I've written often enough about the remarkable number of bird references in the bible and Jesus told his followers to look to the birds of the air as examples of how to risk anxiety and worry. I grew up singing "God Sees the Little Sparrow Fall" but it didn't make it into Voices United. I am fond of "God of the Sparrow" though and "On Eagles Wings" is a fave as well. 

I've included another, more hopeful, award-winning photo as well. I love gannets and have watched them dive, mesmerized by their beauty. 

Could we consider watching, feeding, respecting birds as a spiritual practice? 

U.S. photographer Kat Zhou won gold in the Birds in the Environment category at the 2024 Bird Photography of the Year Awards for this picture, titled Immersion. Taken while scuba diving, it shows northern gannets diving into the ocean on a sunny day in Shetland, U.K. (Kat Zhou/Bird Photographer of the Year)