The Pope, the Poor, and Caring for Creation

I have expressed my appreciation for Pope Francis, as a humble, socially responsible Christian leader who is working to effect change in a rather ponderous institution. Recently he instructed cardinals and archbishops of the Roman Curia to take turns hearing daily confessions in a church near the Vatican because he wants them to be pastors, not just bureaucrats.

Now Francis has made an amateur video praising the world’s “cartoneros” — the poor people who pick through garbage to find recyclable and reusable goods. He says their work is dignified and good for the environment.
 

Francis recorded the video Dec. 5 while meeting with members of the Excluded Workers’ Movement of his native Argentina, which released the video this week at an annual meeting of trash recyclers. Francis, known for his simple habits, has denounced today’s “throw-away culture” and said in the video that food that is tossed aside each day could feed all the world’s hungry. Francis has a long relationship with Argentina’s “cartoneros” — literally “cardboard people.” He would celebrate Mass for them as archbishop and invited them on stage during World Youth Day in July.

We often make the connection between social responsibility and care for the environment. We are also becoming increasingly aware that environmental degradation affects the poor more seriously than the wealthy. The pope seems to be making an attempt to connect all of this. Impressive.

Thoughts?

Jesus Loves Reindeer

The whole Christmas situation is muddled these days, what with Santa in his sleigh putting the squeeze on  the baby Jesus in the manger. And Happy Holidays is becoming a more PC greeting than Merry Christmas. So should I take it a step further and claim that Jesus loves reindeer? As George Costanza in Seinfeld used to say, world's collide!

You're correct that there are no reindeer in the bible, unless two-by-two into the ark counts as a reference. There were no reindeer in the gospel infancy narratives, but there are no other animals there either, even though we like to insert them in the story.

But if God is the creator of all that lives and breathes, and Jesus is God Incarnate, then surely Jesus loves reindeer! It is not a big stretch to say that woodland caribou are our Canadian reindeer, or at least relatives. And these caribou are disappearing because of shrinking and changing habitat. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXbRD92aQhk The northern caribou herds are very susceptible to climate change and are disappearing rapidly. All this was reported recently but it didn't get a lot of attention, what with Miley Cyrus changing her eyebrows and all. After all, species come and go, but celebrity eyebrows are eternal.

You may be thinking that there are bigger issues out there than the survival of a species you have likely never seen. I feel that we are all diminished by the disappearance of a species, even one which aren't on my radar, on Christmas Eve or any time . There are far too many "going down in history" and we humans can make a difference. Jesus would approve and our active awareness would be a nice Christmas gift to the planet, don't you think?

Mandela and Earth Justice

All earth is waiting to see the Promised One,
and open furrows await the seed of God.
All the world, bound and struggling, seeks true liberty;
it cries out for justice and searches for the truth.

I love the words of the Advent hymn All Earth is Waiting. Some Christians dismiss concern for the environment as being "off message" in terms of the gospel. Their focus is personal salvation, forgetting the broader themes of redemption for all of creation. If God made it, God will save it, but we are enlisted as co-creators. We have a unique role in creation care and creation justice. And we know that Jesus was aware of the "least and the lost" in his ministry not as conversion fodder but as human beings of worth.

Here is an interesting piece from Grist magazine by Brentin Mock which examines Nelson Mandela's commitment to climate justice. So often the poor of the planet are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change even as they are expected to provide the raw materials for our affluence. 

Six years ago, Mandela founded The Elders, a cross-cultural group of leaders from across the globe, including former President Jimmy Carter and former United Nations Chief Kofi Annan, to forge human rights-based solutions to worldwide problems.

http://grist.org/climate-energy/justice-giant-remembering-mandela-and-his-fight-for-climate-justice/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=tweet

I hope you will take the time to read it and let me know what you think.

Begins with "C" & Ends With "A"

The city of Shanghai in China, with the largest population of any city in the world at over 20 million, has ground to a virtual standstill because of choking pollution. Government cars have been ordered off the roads, factories told to curtail activity, school children told to stay home. The photo above shows the commute from hell. This is a big deal for the coastal city Shanghai which usually has mild to modest air pollution.
Increasingly the industrial engine of China's economic growth is overwhelming the environment, with air and water and earth saturated with toxins. The water supply of many cities has been rendered undrinkable by pollution, including in one case the carcasses of thousands of pigs. It is a nightmarish picture in this country of 1.3 billion people, almost a fifth of the world's human population.

The statistics are staggering but so are the individual stories. An eight-year-old girl has been diagnosed with lung cancer, the youngest patient ever recorded with this disease. Pollution is the suspected cause.

Several things come to mind when I see these grim reports. One is that our Western economies drive the Chinese industrial expansion. We buy and buy and buy what China produces, and we love our cheap consumer goods. But at what true cost?  The second is that we seem to forget that there is no such thing as the "non-smoking section" of our planet. What affects distant lands eventually affects us, whether we want to pay attention or not. The third is that we should wake up to the cautionary tale of China for ourselves. Canada has recently been ranked 58th of 61 nations in terms of mitigating the effects of climate change. http://www.fastcoexist.com/3022288/ranking-countries-for-climate-change-performance-and-why-the-us-is-just-43rd#10We are outrageous per capita polluters and we have a federal government that just doesn't care as long as our economy benefits. This is a matter of scale and timeline, but are we really any better?

The Christian community and all people of faith must keep yapping away about this, regardless of the naysayers. But surely we must also make personal choices about lifestyles which actually reflect Jesus' teaching to keep it simple. As the other country which begins with "C" and ends with "A" we better wake up (okay, there is also Columbia, but you get my drift!)

Thoughts?

CS Lewis and Nature

Ah yes, my sadly neglected Groundling blog, untended for seven weeks. My shame knows no bounds.

Still, I read today that there is a C.S. Lewis Nature Reserve in Great Britain, a fact which has previously escaped my attention. The website contains limited directions and background but little else other than to say that the wood and pond may have been a source of inspiration for the Narnia Series, the children's books with a magical land accessed through a wardrobe. It is adjacent to the lovely home called The Kilns and where "Jack" Lewis and his brother Warnie spent time as boys. http://www.bbowt.org.uk/reserves/cs-lewis-nature-reserve . The rather fuzzy photo of reserve legend shows a blue heron and a kingfisher and perhaps a coot or moorhen?

This certainly makes sense to me. There was a creek (the crick) behind our home where I ventured as a kid, along with my brother Eric. We played hockey there with absolutely no parental supervision, as was the case with the forays into the wooded area at the end of our street and other spots around town. In the late 50's, early 60's, children just disappeared after school until suppertime, and the less said the better.

It was much the same with our son Isaac, I am reluctant to admit in print. When he was growing up in Sudbury we lived atop "Pill Hill" a nicer neighbourhood once known to the choice of physicians and other professionals. Since Sudbury is built on rock many streets just come to an end and pockets of birch and poplar, along with hardy conifers, fight for survival. It was perfect for the tree-fort crowd, so Ike and his buddies spent countless hours messing around in the bush.

Danger! Danger! That is the current outlook about kids on their own. What terrible things lurk in the woods? Yes, our lad came back with scrapes and a few stings, but today he and his partner Rebekah enjoy the natural world, as do our two daughters. As I have written before, so many nature writers and eco-theologians attribute their love of the Earth and what we religious types call Creation to their childhood ramblings. It makes perfect sense to me that Lewis found inspiration for his books about an imaginary land of trees and rivers and lakes.

Any comments about developing an affinity for the natural world as children? Do you still venture out there?

God's Orchestra

I was grumpy and without energy Monday morning, which I would like to think is not my usual way of entering into a new day. Part of me wanted to remain in the foetal position for my day off, but I knew that was not the solution. Instead we agreed to put the roof racks on our vehicle, tie on the canoe, and head a few minutes north of Belleville to a section of the Moira River we have paddled several times in our kayaks.

Getting ready is fussy, which darkened my mood a bit more, but eventually we got to the boat launch. Within minutes of leaving the launch site at the bridge on highway 62 behind us I could feel the change. Part of it was the physical activity of paddling with a trusted partner of many years. As my lungs opened up, the tension lifted, then my ears became attuned to my surroundings. We could still hear the traffic but it diminished quickly, giving way to the sounds of wind in the leaves, which is different in Autumn as they dry. We decided to follow a tributary stream as far as we could, turning back when we came to the gurgle of a riffle. Along the way we heard the chatter of kingfishers and shrill cries of blue jays.

 

The north end of our paddle was at a substantial rapids with a much louder roar than the riffle on the stream. We held ourselves at the bottom to enjoy that unique sound of tumbling water. On the return trip we sent several blue herons into flight. We watched one move artfully through the woods and then back out over the water. Another leapt up from the shore stirring leaves with its wings before settling into the steady whoosh of flight.

For good parts of the paddle we made our way without speech, although would we call this silence? There wasn't any noise, if noise is defined as unwanted sound. What we heard were the non-human sounds, the geophany and the biophany acoustical engineer Bernie Krause writes about in The Great Animal Orchestra.

The sobering reality is that it is getting more and more difficult to listen to creation without human sounds and noise. Krause says that when he first began recording nature sounds he recorded about ten hours of material to get one hour which was usable. Now it is a thousand to one. While we too are part of the natural order we seem to be very good at making noise which is often less than joyful.

While I have finished up the Creation Time themes in worship, Creation Time continues and we could argue it always does, if we listen. As we paddled we listened to God's orchestra and as is so often the case, listening to a musical ensemble or group is healing. The rest of my day was so much better because of the sounds of the created order.

Do you have similar experiences? Do you make the God connection?

Macaws, Creation and Evolution

I chatted with my brother the other day about his new-found fascination with nature shows on PBS. He waxed enthusiastic about how biologists in Australia have figured out protection for a small mammal which is inclined to feed on poisonous cane toads, and macaws in South America who eat clay to neutralize the toxins in the berries which are a staple in their diet. He wondered at the complexity of it all, and I do as well. David Attenborough, the 86-year-old nature film maker is his new hero. It happens that our daughter Emily has discovered Attenborough as well.

I commented to my brother that it is sad that some conservative Christians can make no room for evolution in their picture of how God works in the world. They are so committed to a particular view of Creation, including a young Earth, that science goes out the window.The state of Texas has decided to allow Creationists on the board which chooses biology text books, a truly bizarre development.

As we come to the end of our Creation Time themes at Bridge St. United Church I realize I long ago made my peace between science and religion, although there are still unanswered questions which I will continue to explore. All I know is that this is a wondrous world, and it is God's Wondrous World.

What are your thoughts about this? Were you ever convinced that a seven-day creation and a young Earth were the marks of a true Christian? Can you reconcile evolution and Creation easily?

Respect Your Elders

I dropped the acorn when it came to National Tree Day earlier this week. I won't lie awake at night over this faux pas, but I am partial to trees. We actually moved a tree from Bowmanville to Belleville (with permission.) It was a scrawny little excuse for a seedling given to us as a supposedly heirloom lilac by a nursery owner who was dubious about it making it through the winter. It is now two metres tall and seems to be adapting to a new location

The bible is full of trees and a core Jewish text in terms of human destruction of the natural world is the following from Deuteronomy 20:

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 axe 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?

There is also a Jewish New Year of the trees called Tu Bishvat which has become an environmental awareness day for some.

It's interesting that we have a National Tree Day in a country that flourished by cutting trees down for nearly three centuries. There were massive white pines for the masts of the British navy, while pulp and paper mills provided newsprint and fine papers.

I like that someone has entitled a seminar on caring for older trees Respect Your Elders because many species live longer than humans and some are the oldest and largest living things on the planet.

I know I've asked before, but what are your relationships with trees? Are you looking forward to the Fall colours?

You Are Here --Thanks be to God!

Yesterday we drove a mere 15 minutes north of Belleville to the Frink Conservation area for an exploratory ramble. I knew I needed to get out into the natural world after a busy time. Ironically Creation Time was adding to the workload of September, so I made some time for Creation and recreation.

What a great spot! We ended up walking along the edge of the Moira River and could see where we have paddled our kayaks on several occasions. Then we headed inland across a silver maple swamp pictured above. Ruth suggested we traverse the boardwalk without saying a word, as a contemplative exercise. A little later we found yet another "You are Here" sign (the signage is very helpful) and it occurred to us that being in the "you are here" moment is so important. Centering and sifting down, as the Quaker's say, being present with God, is not just something that happens out-of-doors, but we are often aware of God the Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer when we push back the "oughts" of life, even for a brief time. Some times we feel swamped by the demands of life, but yesterday being swamped was a good thing.

Have you visited this little gem of a conservation area? Do you need the natural world to feel centred? Where is your "you are here" spot? Would the Frink  be a good place for a congregational saunter?

http://quinteconservation.ca/web/images/stories/camping_and_conservation_lands/conservation_lands/areas/frink.pdf

Rivers of Life

Recently the Toronto Star offered an excellent and hopeful series on four rivers which flow through the "Big Smoke." They are the Don, the Humber, the Rouge and the Credit. These are essentially good news stories of rivers which were once used as open sewers for human and industrial waste. They point out that rehabilitation has involved government along with concerned, often passionate individuals who have made the care of these waterways part of their lives. Rouge River activist Lois James is in the photo above.

As I read the articles it struck me that the notion of healthy rivers flowing through the city is downright biblical (ministers tend to think this way.) There are rivers in the first book of the bible, Genesis, and then another "citified" river in the vision of John in the last book of the bible, Revelation. The restored city of the "new heaven and a new earth" will feature a pristine river with trees flourishing on either side.

In the meantime we can work for the health of the rivers of our communities, including the Moira here in Belleville. We have gone north of the city and kayaked the Moira through quiet country but I liked cycling over it on the way to and from work during our apartment stay during the first two months in the community.

The story is not just "feel good" unfortunately. A couple of the rivers have their headwaters in the Oak Ridges Moraine and flow through land expropriated for an airport forty years ago. That worked in their favour in these past few decades but now the feds have announced that they will proceed with an international airport with all the run-off of de-icing fluid and other chemicals which could degrade water quality. We don't catch on quickly as humans. God help us!

Did you read any of the Star articles? You can google Toronto Star river series with the name of each river. What about the rivers of your lives, wherever you reside? Other comments?

By Da Tousands!

I write this blog reflection at the end of a full week in which I had every intention of posting more Groundling entries. Keeping up with one blog, Lion Lamb, is challenge enough. So even though I am passionate about Eco-faith issues the ideas for blog entries are still-born.

In this week's sermon for Creation Time 3 I will make reference to The Celtic Mass for the Sea written by Nova Scotia's Scott McMillan. It develops the phrase "those who trample on the earth, trample themselves" attributed to St. Columba, one of the Celtic saints. In a day when we speak of shrinking our environmental footprint it seems very current. Scott and Jennyfer Brickenden spoke to a group from the St. Andrew's congregation when I was in Halifax (come to think of it, wasn't disciple Andrew a fisherman?)

I also came upona copy of Newfoundland artist David Blackwood's Master Mariner which depicts an elderly family member whose fishing days are over. There is a scripture reference at the bottom, Isaiah 19:8:

 Those who fish will mourn;
    all who cast hooks in the Nile will lament,
    and those who spread nets on the water will languish.

I had a chance once to ask David where this came from and I believe it was his son who gave him the reference.

We do trample the planet and empty its oceans, but we can always hold out hope as children of the Creator. I spoke with a friend from Newfoundland recently, himself long retired from fishing. I always ask him about the fishery and he told me that this year the cod were back "by da tousands" so there is always the possibility we can right our human wrongs. There was a time when the great cod stocks appeared to have gone the way of the proverbial dodo.

Let's all keep hoping, praying, acting as though we aren't Clodhoppers.

Thoughts?

Human in Proportion

Biblical. Why is this word trotted out every time there is a disastrous natural event? The implication is that somehow God is behind all this, as if the deity is behind forest fires and tornadoes and deluges which impact human beings. Why don't we drop the "biblical" and at least explore the possibility that humans have an impact on climate and the severe events which seem to be more common. There is near scientific consensus on human-induced climate change, so blaming God just doesn't seem fair or prudent. These are likely unnatural events.

I am saddened by what has happened in both Colorado and New Mexico, two states I have visited in recent years. I have driven through some of the valleys which have been washed out and can understand how abnormally high rainfall levels would create havoc.

A response to the severe flooding in Colorado, which brought three quarters of a year's rain in six days is helpful:

The amount of precipitation isn’t the only climate change-related impact that should be considered; there are other contributing factors that may be making this massive flood event even more dangerous. Subhankar Banerjee writes for ClimateStoryTellers about the connection between climate change, forest health, wildfires, and floods:

In the last decade and a half Colorado (and its neighbor New Mexico) has gone through three major assaults—massive tree deaths, massive wildfires, and now massive floods—each in turn has been called “the worst natural disaster” the region has seen. Each in turn has also made the next one worse—millions of dead trees made the wildfires worse, and we are now learning that the wildfires are making the floods worse.

Why do we have such trouble "owning up" to the effects of our activities as humans? Don't you wonder why we still use a word like biblical in our secular societies?

Green Ole Opry

Skies of blue and fields of green, waterfalls of Atrazine
Hundred acres to explore, acres of Alachlor
Hey, hey, ho, ho, mom and dad how could they know
Ho, ho, hey, hey, herbicides done made me gay.

This is the chorus of a tongue-in-cheek song by singer songwriter Susan Werner who is the subject of a piece in Grist called Green Ole Opry. Werner has an old-time country feel with an eye to the realities of a planet under stress. Some of you may remember me attending a conference in Colorado under the auspices of Presbyterians for Earth Care in which one of the speakers was Tyrone Hayes from Berkeley University whose research on the herbicide Atrazine concludes that it contributes to the development of hermaphrodite frogs, meaning that they can't reproduce.

Music has often been the medium to call for justice, including in the church. and its always fun to discover another voice. Werner has done an album called Gospel Truth which is both a critique and homage to Christian music. She grew up in the Catholic church herself. Have a listen at both the NPR and Grist sites. As always, I invite comments. Really. Please.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10515061

http://grist.org/climate-energy/green-ole-opry-susan-werner-sings-sweet-songs-of-sustainability/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=tweet&utm_campaign=socialflow

Can Disobedience be Civil?

This week a group of Bridge St. UC folk went to see the film The Butler. We were reminded of the cost of the Civil Rights Movement for those who participated in protests. Often they were beaten, attacked by dogs, jailed, even killed. Why were they willing to pay this price? They believed in the cause of justice and equality for all.

I have asked before whether readers have ever been involved in protest walks or demonstrations and a number had. I have been part of quite low-key demonstrations for peace, and against war (Iraq), an incinerator, violence against women. An introvert, I have felt rather awkward and on display, but these were hardly occasions of civil disobedience. I was never even remotely in danger and I certainly wasn't arrested.

The film and a couple of thought-provoking pieces in Orion magazine caused me to wonder if I would ever "go the distance" for my planet home. The integrity and health of the environment are in grave danger because of human activity, thereby also threatening human wellbeing, but would I be willing to be incarcerated for a better outcome?

Sandra Steingraber went to jail for ten days for trespassing at a natural gas compressor station site near her home. She is hardly a wild-eyed radical but she isn't willing to be passive when it comes to issues of health. She has written books such as Living Downstream. About her arrest and jail time she offers:

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE is like planned parenthood. The second word in the phrase doesn’t exactly align with the first one. You search your conscience. You reach a decision. You make preparations. You talk about your decision and your preparations in meaningful ways to all concerned. And then comes the time for action. You leave the condom in the drawer.

Or you refuse the deputy’s third order to get off the driveway. (The one owned by the nation’s largest natural-gas storage and transport company. The one the truck with the massive drill head strapped to its flatbed wants to drive on. Right now.)

The other article wonders aloud whether religious types are more willing to chain themselves to fences for causes such as pipelines and climate change while scientists are more inclined to study the data and report.

Would and has your faith motivated you to engage in risky "unprotected" behaviour as a protester? Would you ever be willing to cool your heels in the hoosgow for a few days in order to protect an endangered creature or space? Is Christianity rooted in the non-violent civil disobedience of Jesus? If so, why are we so well behaved?

Free Tilly

After taking in the Ai Weiwei exhibit at the AGO on Saturday morning we zipped on over to the TIFF Bell Lightbox for a noonish screening of the documentary Blackfish (so many acronyms, so little time!)

This film was released a few weeks ago and it explores the ethics and tragic consequences of capturing 'Blackfish" the First Nations name for Orcas or Killer Whales. As we know these magnificent mammals are employed as entertainers in the various aquatic theme parks around the world. Although they are now bred in captivity many of the stars in the industry were snatched from their pods in the wild when they were young. Often the crude methods of capture killed others in the matriarchal families, not to mention removing young whales from these highly social pods. When the newcomers are put into close proximity with other
orcas they are often attacked and injured.

 



The doc includes interviews with several former trainers, all of whom admitted that they knew next to nothing about orcas before they began their work. They are ashamed that they simply spouted the company propaganda about the health and wellbeing of these creatures, ignoring what they were witnessing every day in their close relationships with them. The theme parks claim that the orcas live longer in captivity which is entirely untrue. In captivity they live 25 to 35 years while in the wild females can live to be 100. We listen to the assurance that the curved over dorsal fin of males is common in the wild when in fact it is rare in the open seas but 100%  in captivity. We see and hear a mother orca vocalizing her distress when her four-year-old calf is taken from her and sold to another aquarium.

The feature whale is Tillicum, a massive male who has ended up killing three people through the years including two trainers. Yet these deaths are characterized as accidents by the operators of the different parks where he has lived, a characterization the former trainers disagree with strongly. This aggressive "killer" whale is a primary source of semen for the captive breeding program. The trainers view his aggression as the outcome of lifelong imprisonment. Today Tillicum alone and performs briefly without exposure to other whales or in proximity to trainers.

One of the former trainers wonders whether 50 years from now we will look back and wonder how humans could be so barbaric. But isn't this the way with racism, and sexism, and, yes, specism?

Is this a sin? I wonder if the day will come when religious groups will be as vocal about this as they have been about slavery in the past, or more recently, homophobia?

What are you thoughts? Does the film intrigue you, or would it be too unsettling?

Greenfaith

I am regularly impressed to discover those who make the connection between faith and cherishing the good earth, God's creation. It affirms for me that we don't have to be so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. I have come across two resources recently, interviews on Things Not Seen Radio http://www.thingsnotseenradio.com/with an Episcopalian (Anglican) priest in the States, named Fletcher Harper, as well as Rev. Harper's website http://greenfaith.org/.

Listen and look and tell me what you think.

Body and Soul

Yesterday afternoon I drove home from the church with Ruth, my wife, who was there to help with the Kid's Camp. She mused about supper and said that we had corn-on-the-cob and tomatoes and...what meat would we eat?. I'm glad she didn't veer off the road when I suggested that we didn't need meat at all. I am an incorrigible carnivore and efforts to go veggie, even occasionally never seem to go well. But I had eaten eggs for breakfast and there was meat in my lunch so why would I expect to eat meat again?

I have found of late that I can enjoy less meat in a meal, or none at all. And there have never been better or tastier options. There are vegetable samosas at the Farmer's Market that I could probably eat daily, they're that good.

I felt guiltily smug when I heard of the Attack of the Cronut Burger at the CNE. It was the meat that made those poor souls sick, we're told, but the entire concoction sounds disgusting. Actually the KFC Double Down is probably a better example of excess, with slabs of chicken subbing for bread.

We can assume that Jesus was okay with the Mediterranean diet, with very little meat, and cultures around the world do just fine without all that animal protein. I know I would be heart-healthier if I could continue the recent trend. It would be better for body and soul.

How are you when it comes to eating meat? Is it a sin to consume too much in a world of limited resources? Have you got in touch with your inner chick pea?

Leave No Child Inside

I received an email invitation to pre-order the book pictured above with the title Leave No Child Inside. It is riffing on the Leave No Child Behind  act signed into law for the education system in the United States back in 2001. I hope and pray that the notion of giving every child a meaningful education and awareness of the outdoors is more successful than LNCB. From what I can see this collection of essays has gathered the thoughts and actions of some of the best writers in this important field (no pun intended.) One of them, Richard Louv, wrote the best-selling book Last Child in the Woods This new book does intrigue me:

“If we were to create communities and schools that educate children and youth to love the earth, know their place in the web of life, and act responsibly, what would they look like?” —Louise Chawla, from the Foreword

Nearly every environmental change-maker in history was shaped by a strong connection to the particular place or landscape he or she called home. But many children today are glued to screens or stuck prepping for another standardized exam, while nature education and unstructured time outdoors have fallen by the wayside. If children are not given opportunities to connect with the natural world, who will be the stewards of the future?

So many eco-theologians, those I deeply admire for their intellectual rigour, take the opportunity to share with the reader their connection with creation which was nurtured in childhood. Often they were allowed to ramble and explore with abandon. Today their parents would surely be charged with neglect. Instead they learned to love the planet in all its glory. They grew up to consider the theological foundations of that love, but many of them still splash and root around and explore.

What do you think about this book? Does it scare you as a parent? Did you explore as a child? How about today?

Acceptance

While at St. Paul's United Church, my former congregation, I watched as the mother of two autistic boys worked diligently and passionately to give them a meaningful life. Her desire was and is to include them in the community of faith which was so important to her. There was nothing easy about this goal. More than once she got as far as the parking lot with the boys, only to have one of them make it impossible to walk through the doors of the church. The hope was to have them do something as simple as come forward for the children's time. But even sitting in a pew means restlessness and sounds which make mom nervous because it affects the rest of the congregation. One Sunday one of the boys did come forward, with the help of an attentive older brother. It happened that I was talking to the kids about acceptance that morning, in God's wonderful timing. Fortunately the congregation has been tremendously supportive, but how many parents have this level of challenge to just get to church with their family on a Sunday?

We've all heard about an incident just down the road from Bowmanville in Newcastle. An angry, cruel letter was written to a grandmother who looks after a thirteen-year-old autistic grandson from time to time in her home. The neighbour offered that the grandson is nothing more than a nuisance and that be euthanized --killed-- to control his noise. We can understand that the writer may not be aware of what autism is about, and honestly the vocal outbursts can be unsettling. But the cruelty and cowardice are totally unacceptable. Why not begin with a conversation rather than a cruel letter? The police have decided that the letter doesn't constitute hate mail, but it is hateful just the same.

Fortunately others in the community have been very supportive of the grandmother and family but it is shocking reminder of what autistic families face on a regular basis. We can only hope that the public attention  to what has happened will shame the letter writer. I' m not holding my breath. More importantly, it may promote greater awareness of autism.

All through Jesus' ministry he literally and figuratively touched the outcasts and the lowly. He lifted them up and healed them in many ways, including their sense of being children of God.

What do you think about the Newcastle incident? What about what we do in our congregations? Is there a place for those who may seem to be on the edges or outside?

Feisty Sisters

Two months since my last Groundling blog entry. That's what a new congregation, moving, and vacationing will do to the patterns of life. I have kept up with my Lion Lamb blog but this one has suffered from neglect despite the importance of the eco-faith discussion.

I return with the story of some old but mighty nuns in the States, the Sisters of Loretto in Kentucky. They have decided that there won't be an oil pipeline built across their 800-acre campus. Read this from Mother Jones magazine:

Down the road from the Maker's Mark bourbon distillery in the central Kentucky town of Loretto, a feisty cadre of nuns has been tending crops and praying since the early 1800s. An order founded on social justice, the Sisters of Loretto are quickly becoming the face of a new grassroots campaign against what they see as a threat to holy land: the Bluegrass Pipeline. The 1,100-mile pipeline will carry natural gas liquids from the Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia fracking fields, and will pass through Kentucky—eventually connecting with an existing pipeline that runs all the way to the Gulf Coast.

The sisters go to public meetings and declare that God is the creator and that they will care for creation. And they sing about it! http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/08/nuns-bluegrass-pipeline-loretto

What do you think about the singing nuns? Have you ever "taken up the torch" for an environmental cause? Was your faith in the Creator part of your motivation?

Amsterdam Impressive!

Why not follow a cycling blog with another cycling blog entry? I am a rather casual cyclist compared to others I know, but I do enjoy the option of riding to work and making the trip along the water is such a pleasure. During our first two months in Belleville we have managed to function quite well with one vehicle because both of us cycle when possible.

I am fascinated by communities and countries which have made a significant shift away from a car culture. In Greece and Spain it has been economic necessity which has mounted ten of thousands onto bicycles again. In Denmark and the Netherlands significant efforts have been made to provide the infrastructure for safe and efficient bike travel. It is great exercise, it offers a different perspective on surroundings, and it reduces greenhouse gases. These all seem to be worthy aspirations for those of us Christians whose desire is to "live with respect in Creation," as the United Church creed states.

I truly believe that the lack of effective transportation options to the automobile in this country comes from a failure of imagination and outdated ideology, not cost or even climate. Toronto is an example of a city where the mayor uses terms such as "war on the car" to curtail development of cycling as an option within the city. Recently he tried to kill a bicycle parking facility under construction in the downtown.

The portion of an article I have included below names the rather remarkable problem in Amsterdam -- bicycle traffic jams. Bicycles outnumbering people? More bike riders than car drivers in around the city?

While cities like New York struggle to get people onto bikes, Amsterdam is trying to keep its hordes of bikes under control. In a city of 800,000, there are 880,000 bicycles, the government estimates, four times the number of cars. In the past two decades, travel by bike has grown 40 percent so that now about 32 per cent of all trips within the city are by bike, compared with 22 per cent by car.
Applauding this accomplishment, a Danish urban planning consultancy, Copenhagenize Design, which publishes an annual list of the 20 most bike-friendly cities, placed Amsterdam in first place this year, as it has frequently in the past. (The list consists mostly of European cities, although Tokyo; Nagoya, Japan; and Rio de Janeiro made the cut. Montreal is the only North American city included.)

Smit’s problem is largely what keeps Thomas Koorn, of Amsterdam’s Transport and Traffic Department, awake at night. “We have a real parking issue,” he said in a conference room overlooking the IJ. Over the next two decades, Koorn said, the city will invest $135 million to improve the biking infrastructure, including the creation of 38,000 bike parking racks “in the hot spots.”

What do you think about transportation alternatives? Do you ever take the bus or GO transit? Is your bicycle gathering dust, or do you use it for Point A to Point B travel? Do you encourage your kids to cycle?

Positive Cycles

This lovely morning I rode my bicycle to Bridge St. United Church for what was probably the last time before we move into our new home at the other end of Belleville. Sunday is actually my last day of work before we leave town to finish packing and making the move.  We have been living just beyond the western-most dotted line on the map above.

I have enjoyed the brief, ten-minute, ride which takes me along the edge of the Bay of Quinte by Zwick's Park, then across and up the Moira River to Bridge St. In two months I have seen the trees come into leaf and the water lilies and cattails emerge. The rainy Spring has meant that the level and flow of the Moira has remained high. I have seen carp roiling at the shore's edge as they mated, and innumerable painted and snapping turtles, some on the trail as they headed up to lay eggs. The osprey pair in Zwick's Park have established their nest on the platform. There are so many other birds as well.

Those few minutes of the ride remind me that my life is not just my work, and the world God has created is glorious -- if I am willing to experience it.

Thoughts?

Lament for the Songbirds

God sees the little sparrow fall,
It meets His tender view;
If God so loves the little birds,
I know He loves me, too.
Refrain

He loves me, too, He loves me, too,
I know He loves me, too;
Because He loves the little things,
I know He loves me, too.

Last evening I drove along the street adjacent to the Waterfront Trail to pick up Ruth, my wife, from rowing. I looked over at one point and saw a Baltimore Oriole perched on a fence, between two Red-Winged Blackbirds. The sun illuminated the startling orange of the oriole, and the red and yellow epaulettes of the blackbirds. It was breath-takingly simple and beautiful.

Yesterday I saw a scroll on a news feed announcing that new research indicates one in eight bird species is endangered. The loss of habitat through human encroachment is affecting the creatures of the air we once took for granted. The sparrows seem to be doing okay, but there is no doubt that the songbird population is declining everywhere. In Europe they are hunted relentlessly for no reason other than sport. Take a look at this National Geographic piece by famed novelist Jonathan Franzen http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/07/songbird-migration/franzen-text

Jane Hilderman, a tweeter, commented that when she asked her 100-year-old grandmother what change had affected her most profoundly over a long lifetime her unexpected answer was the loss of songbirds.

The old chorus you see above is a paraphrase of Jesus' invitation, found in Matthew's gospel to "consider the birds of the air" in our search for wisdom and inner peace. There are many references to birds in the bible.Where will we turn when they are gone?

Are you a Bird Nerd? Does it disturb you that birds may be disappearing?

Prayers for Rain?

Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!” So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees.  Then he said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea...” And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel.  
1 Kings 18

I suppose this blog entry could be considered a "part deux" to yesterday. High temperatures, drought, and forest fires have plagued large areas of the United States and after last year's record-breaking fires in Colorado, this season is even worse.

It is interesting that in some of those regions services have been held to pray for rain. In Oklahoma they have taken the step to make this an interfaith initiative. Some would say that this is magic, a very unscientific approach to the consequences of climate change. While there are biblical stories of invoking God to bestow rain, they come from long ago and far away.

I like that it is Oklahoma Interfaith Prayers for Rain and Water Stewardship. It invites responsibility from humans who have helped create the crisis instead of just saying "God, make it better!" Our prayers need to include humility and a change of heart and habits.

I have visited New Mexico several times for conferences and I know that water is a scarce and precious commodity at the best of times. This year has been terribly dry and Roman Catholic bishops have offered up this simply prayer:

"Look to our dry hills and fields, dear God, and bless them with the living blessing of soft rain. Then the land will rejoice and rivers will sing your praises, and the hearts of all will be made glad. Amen."

The next day set for rain prayers is June 26th, but we can pray for stewardship every day.

After such a wet Spring in Southern Ontario we may be feeling a little smug about water, but what are your thoughts?

Burn it Up

Pastor Mark Driscoll, who ministers in Seattle at one of those whopping big churches, told a Catalyst gathering a few days ago that “I know who made the environment and he’s coming back and going to burn it all up. So yes, I drive an SUV.” Later he claimed his statement was a joke, but if so, it was an idiotic and insensitive one. In parts of the U.S. including California and Colorado, wildfires have consumed hundreds of homes and sent many running for their lives.

This is one of those scary moments where an evangelical Christian leader almost gleefully claims we don't need to worry about the fragile balance of the world God created, nor give any credence to climate change. Jesus is going to return folks, toast up the bad guys, and usher in a new reign for the saved folks. Personally, I'm not interested in this "scorched earth" theology. I happen to love this planet and I'm grateful for the years God has given me to enjoy it. I don't equate salvation in Christ with me being "in" and others "out." I'm just happy that I am the recipient of God's grace and want that for others, even the birds and the bees, and the fishes in the seas. Silly me.

There is a terrible irony that some of the worst fires are around Colorado Springs, home to some of the conservative Christian organizations which have downplayed climate change and criticized faith groups who are involved in Creation Care. I'm tempted to say "God is comin' to getcha" but I just don't believe in that sort of retributive nonsense.

I was grateful to see this comment by Richard Cizik, another evangelical leader who responded to Driscoll:

Christians must take these realities of climate change seriously. The populations most vulnerable to harsh and extreme living conditions — children, the elderly, and the poor — already are suffering the most from climate change. So please, let’s not be joking about the right to be driving our SUV’s — and dismissing our duty to care for the environment — since Jesus is coming back soon.

Any comments fit to print?

Bird Song Interrupted

I'm not much of a birder but I do pay attention to these marvelous creatures as they fly and swim and offer up their songs. I depend on the North American Field Guide to Birds by David Sibley, which has remarkable paintings. I met Sibley a few years ago at an event in Halifax and was surprised that someone so young at the time (not quite forty) had created such a masterpiece.

Our son, Isaac, put me on to the Sibley Birds app, which is a little pricey, but very cool. Along with the paintings and descriptions it offers the song of each bird in several forms. A week ago we heard a bird while at a conservation area in Prince Edward County and it puzzled us. A couple of days later it occurred to me that it might be a Baltimore Oriole. When I checked the app, there it was.

I got a bit of a jolt when I saw an article in the New York Times pondering whether these apps are a form of harassment if used in proximity to the birds. Birds are territorial, especially when they return to North America to mate and raise young. Are these apps stressing the birds who may perceive interlopers in their territory.

You might be thinking, c'mon, they'll survive. But we humans are amazingly thick when it comes to "living with respect in creation," an important phrase in our United Church statement of faith. We tend to mess up the balance of the natural world, then expend great effort to try to fix our blunders. The article reminds me to "have a care" about the world in which I want to be a respectful participant. God has made me a steward of creation, as well as a creature, and I want to live up to the calling.

Any thoughts about this?

The Spirituality of Food, Field, & Table

Often the ads for educational and retreat events are the most intriguing parts of the journals to which I subscribe. This one at Wake Forest University which begins today makes my soul glad even though I am not actually there! Read the description:

How can we live at home in the world? Most of us have a roof over our heads, but we don’t often think of “home” in terms of our watersheds, fields, and communities. How can we learn to dwell within our local ecosystems in a way that sustains, rather than desecrates, God’s abundant creation? How do we become native to a place so that we can move outward from a center of ecological, emotional, and spiritual rootedness?... Following the 1,500 year old Christian monastic patterns of prayer, work, and study, we will follow a daily rhythm that combines spiritual disciplines and ecological practices, a rhythm that can sustain us for the long haul.

The course will take place on the campus of Warren Wilson College, in the lovely Blue Ridge mountains of western North Carolina. Mornings will feature experiential learning in the campus garden and surrounding area, with classes on biointensive gardening, permaculture, creating a community garden, and wild foods foraging. Afternoons will consist of lectures and discussion, engaging in both theological and scriptural reflection on the practices of field and table. After dinner a brief Vespers service of Psalms will conclude the day. Evenings are free to rest, read, or explore nearby Asheville.

All the presenters sound interesting including the guy who is described as a "philosforager." http://divinity.wfu.edu/events/fft-retreat-13/

Is anyone else intrigued by the description of these few days? So many courses, so little time -- and money!

Cosmic Bob

The heavens are telling the glory of God;
   and the firmament^* proclaims his handiwork.
² Day to day pours forth speech,
   and night to night declares knowledge.
³ There is no speech, nor are there words;
   their voice is not heard;
⁴ yet their voice^* goes out through all the earth,
   and their words to the end of the world.

Beginning of Psalm 19

I love it when a conversation with a congregation member reveals a side of them which opens up new possibilities. After a recent Governance Board meeting member Bob shared with me his passion as an amateur astronomer and photographer of the heavens. I have shared the only image I could find online, but his website has some extraordinary pictures. http://robertbates.zenfolio.com/ We chatted briefly about the Dark Sky area in Lennox & Addington, north of Kingston and the challenges of finding spots to observe the night sky in the light-saturated environs of Southern Ontario.

Bob offered to speak about his photos at church some time and I will take him up on it. We are installing projection equipment so he can show us what "turns his crank." I certainly love the sense of awe and wonder as I look to the "heavens." You might recall me blogging about an enthusiastic young professional astronomer from Montreal we met in Cuba. As we walked to our room he had to point out the differences of the night sky there. We have been fortunate to enjoy the view upward in many places around the world.

Do you have favourite spots to enjoy what the psalmist calls the firmament? Do you find the view of the night sky awe-inspiring?

Circling for an Unwanted Landing

Yesterday many people, including members of the Ontario provincial cabinet, were shocked to hear an announcement by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty that an airport will be built on what are called the Pickering Lands.This is a significant area of farmland and woodland -18,600 acres -in the midst of the urban sprawl at the east end of the Greater Toronto Area. This land was expropriated for an airport 40 years ago and I remember the controversy well because I was in my teens and living in nearby Brooklin. Several farmers in the congregation my father served as minister had their land expropriated, although they continued to work it for decades.

The announcement was that 5,000 acres will be part of the new Rouge Valley National Park, which is an important decision to expand a unique urban park. But many hoped that the remaining land would remain as prime farmland and protected areas. I have written before about the streams flowing out of this area into Lake Ontario and the exceptional water quality compared to other waterways. The "hold" on development has meant the continued existence of an area with an abundance of wildlife and productive, tilled land. Now an airport will be constructed which may not really be needed. I shudder at the thought of the addition of a major airport, the 407 highway extension, and the Clarington incinerator in terms of air quality for the region.

When I was in Oshawa/Clarington Presbytery we heard a presentation from the Lands Over Landings group http://www.landoverlandings.com/ which has persistently resisted development of these lands. We supported their efforts, believing that as Christians it is our responsibility to speak up against the relentless pressure to pave over and build over Southern Ontario. The presentation was at  the United Church in Claremont, the community where the hastily called press conference was held yesterday.

I am discouraged by a government which seems to run roughshod over any concerns and does not see fit to consult provincial counterparts. I muttered at the television later in the evening when I saw yet another Economic Action Plan commercials praising the federal government's great environmental record. Do you notice Mr. Flaherty's podium message of "responsible, balanced growth." Are these pathetic attempts to brainwash Canadians? Honestly!

Well, you won't have any trouble figuring out how I feel about this announcement. How do you feel?