Sacred Trust and Pipelines

Kinder Morgan protestors


Sacred Trust definition:

worthy of or regarded with reverence, awe, or respect.

I have been forthright in expressing my disgust with the federal government for spending 4.5 billion dollars of taxpayers money to purchase an aging oil pipeline in British Columbia. The weird logic is that this will facilitate the construction of another, twinned pipeline to carry diluted bitumen to the BC coast, a project which will cost at least as much again. 

Between the foolhardiness of this purchase and the disregard for Native rights in approving the Kinder Morgan pipeline the Liberals have likely lost my vote.

Now three Federal Court of Appeal judges unanimously ruled Ottawa’s attempts to consult First Nations were flawed and called ignoring oil tanker risks an “unjustified failure.” This decision is likely not the last word, but it has thrown the project into disarray and drawn the ire of the Alberta government.




One of the Aboriginal groups opposed to the pipeline construction is called Sacred Trust. Back in May the group issued this statement:

Regardless of who owns this proposed pipeline and tanker project, our Federal Court of Appeal case remains the same. In the near future, we believe the court will uphold our challenge that consultation was inadequate and the project review failed to address the adverse effects of marine shipping.

In the meantime, we will continue to uphold our sacred responsibility to steward our territory for the benefit of future generations. Our wish is to work with all levels of government as well as all Canadians to that end.

What a mess this has become for the feds and Prime Minister Trudeau. It's unfortunate that instead of issuing strong-arm statements the government could have continued the dialogue with First Nations and other stakeholders.  

Sacred Trust. Sacred responsibility. All Canadians can wake up to this reality.

Forest Fires and Loving Eyes

 

Sallie McFague is an American, Christian theologian writer who has taught in Vancouver and now resides in British Columbia. Her experience in BC led her to employ a tourism slogan for the province as a title for her 1997 book about living with respectful ecological intention called Super, Natural Christians: How We Should Love Nature.

 McFague begins by inviting us to pay attention because we cannot love that which we do not know. She then distinguishes between attention with the arrogant eye which looks at other beings (including other people) as objects which may be of use, and the loving eye, which looks at others as subjects with their own worldview, interests, and needs. She suggests that we need to look at both human and non-human beings with the loving eye.





BC valleys filled with forest fire smoke 

This book had a strong influence on my thinking when it was published and it came to mind when I read that this is now officially the worst fire season in British Columbia. This gorgeous province has been ablaze for months and along with the destruction of thousands of hectares of forest BC is now shrouded in smoke. A friend lives in a community on the mainland where they've experienced a series of darkened days and restriction to their condo because of compromised air quality.  She and her partner were going to head to Vancouver Island for a respite but it too has been enveloped by smoke even though it is supposedly upwind. 

There are a number of factors contributing to fires in BC, as well as west coast states. Climate change is almost certainly one of them. Milder winters mean that tree-killing beetles survive in force to wipe out large areas of forest. Hot summers and the abundance of dead tree fuel result in intense and extensive fires.

We have lived with an arrogant eye as humans, and our hubris is destroying our planetary home. It seems that our politicians are paralyzed when it comes to making the right decisions for our future, and honestly, we are reluctant to push them because of the possible cost to our lifestyles. We have a premier in Ontario who is more focused on grinning about buck-a-beer than developing a strategy for climate change.

As Christians we must learn to see with loving eyes for the sake of all creatures. Any alternative is unacceptable. 

 

The Most Ecological Psalm

 



Through the years I've quoted Psalm 104 on a number of occasions and it's been pointed out by a number of writers that it is one of the most lyrical and earth-honouring  passages in the bible. In his Eco-Justice Notes Rev. Peter Sawtell revisits the psalm as The Most Ecological Psalm. Here is a portion of his reflection, well worth reading:



Psalm 104 is an important text for us, as well as a beautiful one.

Lutheran theologian Joseph Sittler was one of the first to push modern Christian thought about environmental relationships, writing "A Theology for Earth" clear back in 1954. Sittler often described Psalm 104 as an "ecological doxology." He identified that psalm as one of two primary texts (Romans 8:19 is the other) that support his conviction that responsibility for care of the earth is a contemporary theological imperative. 

Biblical scholar Bill Brown has an extensive chapter on this psalm in his book, "The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder". He points out (p. 148) that "Novel to this biblical psalm is the claim that creation is sustained not by God's covenantal commitment but by God's unabashed joy." Ps. 104 also gets a chapter in "The Green Psalter: Resources for an Ecological Spirituality", where Arthur Walker-Jones points out the politically subversive implications of God's abundant provision of life's necessities, unmediated by kings or priests, or any human. 

 

Psalm 104 celebrates a world that includes humans, but does not center on them. The richly ecological core of the passage, verses 10-23, starts by tracing how springs of water provide for a flourishing of life, naming trees, birds and wild asses. People are beneficiaries of this abundance -- water is essential to the plants and cattle that people consume, and it allows for "wine that gladdens the human heart" -- but all other creatures also thrive in this well-watered world. The wonders of creation are seen in a web of relationships.
Trees are watered by the springs, and in them various kinds of birds build their nests. Some kinds of birds gather in the cedars of Lebanon, but "the stork has its home in the fir trees." The distinctiveness of other habitats is celebrated, with wild goats in the high mountains, and coneys in the rocks. Each of these creatures has an appropriate place to which it is well suited. 

This psalm puts humans and lions into overlapping ecological niches that modern science would define as nocturnal and diurnal. At night, the lions and other animals of the forest creep out; by day, "people go out to their work and to their labor until the evening" -- and then turn things back over to the creatures of the night.

Nowhere in the psalm is there any hint that the world was made for humans, nor does it suggest that we are in control of it all. Trees and grass, goats and lions, people and birds, day and night all are tied together in a joyous and gracious community of life. 

Much of the environmental theological reflection that I see is hooked into the themes of dominion and stewardship. Sometimes, more progressive voices speak of being "co-creators" with God, a potentially less controlling role. But texts like Psalm 104 and Job call us to greater humility when they remind us that it is not all about us. There are places where the Bible reminds us that we are simply part of the web of creation, sharing in the wonders and abundance of life.

Amen, and thanks, Peter. http://www.eco-justice.org/E-130712.asp
 

Nomenclatures of Colour & the Colours of Creation

 

 

 “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere 

and don't notice it.

 Celie in The Colour Purple by Alice Walker

When we regularly spend time outdoors we become aware that green is not just a generic colour for vegetation, nor is the sky or water one shade of blue. There are at least fifty shades of grey? The vast variety through seasons and different species are part of the delight of the sense of sight. We don't just navigate our way through life in a monochromatic world. Granted, there are some who are physically colour blind, but we consider this a form of disability. The nuances and the ravishing beauty provided by colour are gifts from God, which we appropriate through this important sense. 

I came across a tweet by author Robert Macfarlane about a book, Nomenclature of Colours, created by German mineralogist Abraham Gottlob Werner, Scottish painter Patrick Syme, and Scottish naturalist Robert Jameson in 1814. as an extraordinary example. This volume served as a must-have reference for artists, scientists, naturalists, and anthropologists alike. The exquisitely rendered guide showcases the earth's rich range of color by separating it into specific tones. Illustrated only by a small swatch, each handwritten entry is accompanied by a flowery name (like “Arterial Blood Red” and “Velvet Black”) as well as an identifying number. What the book is truly known for, however, is its poetic descriptions of where each tone can be found in nature. For example, one shade of orange is the "Streak from the eye of a Kingfisher," a description which makes me swoon. 

 


Among those who used the guide was some guy named Charles Darwin, but there is an enduring, poetic quality to this meticulously developed volume which can appeal to us all, whatever our calling or claim to fame. In a world of vanishing species and a life more focused on tiny screens than the glorious array of Creation we might all pay attention to the nuances of colour in the everyday.

I'm with Celie that if we are spiritually colour blind, by intention or inattention,  it just pissed God off. 

MLK, Environmentalist?

Today's Lion Lamb blog is a reflection on a book I read recently on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr, who was assassinated fifty years ago. I had not realized that President Lyndon Johnston did not attend King's funeral, in no small part because the Civil Rights leader became a vocal opponent of the Viet Nam war. Young black men were over-represented in the US military while many white college kids figured out exemptions from service, including the current president. King saw the injustice of people of colour being sent to kill people of colour.

Since I wrote that blog a few days ago I came upon an article in the New York Times asking whether MLK would have become vocal about environmental issues if he had lived. Currently Rev. William Barber,  a black religious leader in the States is reviving King's Poor People's Campaign with a focus on the effects of environmental degradation on the poor, who often live near toxic sites or drink poisoned water. 

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The air in the Shiloh Baptist Church was thick with the heat of human bodies. The crowd, a mix of black and white faces, filled the pews in what was ostensibly the black side of town, straining the capacity of this good-sized church.

On the dais stood the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, draped in a black robe, a black vest and a cream stole emblazoned with the credo “Jesus was a poor man.” Al Gore, the former vice president, sat behind him.

Dr. Barber’s message to the community members in the church last week would have been largely recognizable to civil rights leaders of generations past, addressing issues of poverty and racism. But he and Mr. Gore were here in Greensboro to focus on another concern that many in the audience believed was just as insidious: pollution from North Carolina’s coal-powered electrical plants.

 “Jesus said love your neighbor,” Dr. Barber told the crowd. “I don’t care how many times you tell me you love me, if you put coal ash in my water you don’t love me. Because if there was nothing wrong with the coal ash, then put it in the wealthy communities.”

Fifty years after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. started a movement known as the Poor People’s Campaign, Dr. Barber has been working to revive it. He is perhaps best known as the architect of the Forward Together Moral Movement protests in North Carolina that opposed voting-rights restrictions and helped defeat the Republican governor in 2016. Now he is making environmental justice, and climate change, a pillar of a modern-day war on poverty.

 

This is an intriguing and worthwhile discussion about King, and of course Rev. Barber's campaign is both prophetic and necessary. In every era leaders look to the "signs of the times" and call those in power to account. MLK paid the ultimate price, but it is good to see that there is a legacy for what really is the most pressing issue of our time.

Brave Little Campers

Phew. We survived. We're home from a weekend camping at a Quinte Conservation Area called Depot Lakes, which is north of Kingston. It is the only CA where camping is allowed, and the campsites we used are accessed by water. There were eight of us in total, including our three-year-old and five-year-old grandsons. Ruth organized the trip with military precision and we managed to eat well, along with setting up four tents, a kitchen tarp, and a hammock. Early Sunday morning the rain teemed down and we wondered if we would be breaking camp in the rain. We've done that in the past, and it's no fun, but by 6:30 AM the skies had cleared, so we didn't have to be brave little campers.

This was the first camping experience for the grandlads, and they loved it. They swam in the lake, and they ran to the shore when they heard loons. When the older of the two was asked what his favourite experience of the weekend was he claimed it was making the trip in the canoe with Granny and Grandpa. I could say "savvy kid" except that I'm fairly sure he meant it.

Getting our "nature fix" was good for all of us. We were pleased that my sixty-year-old brother came along, and it had been years since he camped. He's really ten six-year olds stacked together, so he had fun as well. And our younger daughter, the boys' aunt, made the trip from Toronto, doing a great job of entertaining the boys... and fending off raccoons. 

We often hear of "nature deficit disorder" these days, a phrase coined by Richard Louv more than a decade ago. It is so common, in fact, that some use it as though it is a recognized medical condition, which it isn't. Just the same, I know what the natural world does for my spirit and I see it with my grandchildren. Once again I was convinced through actual experience that we thrive as spiritual and physical beings by time spent in the midst of Creation.

Gorgeous Great Green Walls

 

For a time I all but abandoned my Groundling blog, in part because of the pressures of time, but also because so much environmental news is bleak. As a Christian I'm committed to Creation Care, or whatever term we want to use. But it's tough for the writer, and it's hard to stay engaged as a reader when grim news piles up on grim news, like plastic on a beach...see, there I go!

There are positive stories which help us to maintain hope, which is such an important aspect of the life of faith. I've written before about the importance of trees not only for beauty but to mitigate the alarming rise of carbon in Earth's atmosphere.

 

There are massive planting projects in various places on the planet, including the Green Walls at the edge of the Sahara and in China. In China 60,000 soldiers have been deployed to plant tens of millions of hectares of forest, a massive project.

 Since 2005, the Great Green Wall concept has developed considerably. Lessons learned from the Algerian Green Dam or the Green Wall of China led to understand the need of an integrated multi-sectorial approach for sustainable results. From a tree planting initiative, the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel has evolved to a development programming tool. In 2007, during the eight ordinary session of the Conference of Heads of State and Governments held on January 29 and 30, 2007 in Addis-Ababa (Ethiopia), African Heads of State and Government endorsed the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative with the objective of tackling the detrimental social, economic and environmental impacts of land degradation and desertification in the region.
Together, eleven Sahelo-Saharan states created the Panafrican Agency of the Great Green Wall. 

This lifts my spirits, and I hope it does for you!

Animal Crackers, Uncaged!

 

This may seem crazy, but I was really pleased to hear that animal crackers have been set free. Animal crackers have been around a long time -- more than a century -- and for all that time the critters on the box have been caged. This makes sense given that they were connected to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. 



The pressure has been on, though, from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for a  change in the design to visually set the animals free. PETA has opposed using animals in circuses for decades.  Last year, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced they were shutting down after nearly 150 years following pressure from animal rights groups and declining ticket sales.

Some may feel that this is a goofy victory, at best, but it is a subtle statement that the creatures of the Earth are not just here for our use, or misuse. For too long this has been a destructive assumption, often supported by Christian theology and practice. Scripture has been cherry-picked to give us dominion as domination rather than stewardship and respectful coexistence. We are shifting our outlook, slowly but surely (Shirley?) and as PETA suggests, good things do come in small packages.

 

The Power of Play

I wrote yesterday about a Sunday morning canoe outing with our two grandsons, ages three and five. It was lots of fun as we spotted various creatures including butterflies and waterbugs. In the afternoon we went to the Pirate Ship play structure, which was also fun. They both ran to their hearts content. 

We are delighted to be mobile and active enough to share in these moments even though we're in our mid-sixties. This weekend we're going on a camping trip as a family and hope we can do lots of swimming. 

We shared these "body, mind, and spirit" experiences with our three children when they were young, and now, God willing, we'll be able to do so with our grandchildren. We're convinced of the importance of being outside for people of all ages -- truly good for the soul.

 Here is an excerpt from the People magazine article about a new report called The Power of Play which addresses the importance of play. While this doesn't mention spiritual development, it is a part of a balanced life.
 
All work and no play is not what the doctor ordered.
Published Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics, a new clinical report titled “The Power of Play: A Pediatric Role in Enhancing Development in Young Children” emphasizes the importance of play in children’s lives — so much so that the report authors are advising a literal prescription for it.
“We’re recommending that doctors write a prescription for play, because it’s so important,” said pediatrician Michael Yogman, MD, FAAP, who was one of five lead authors on the report. “Play with parents and peers is fundamentally important for developing a suite of 21st century skills, including social, emotional, language and cognitive skills, all needed by the next generation in an economically competitive world that requires collaboration and innovation.”
He added, “The benefits of play cannot really be overstated in terms of mitigating stress, improving academic skills and helping to build the safe, stable and nurturing relationships that buffer against toxic stress and build social-emotional resilience.”

 

The Other Holy Book

  
Teach me, God, to wonder; teach me, God, to see;
let your world of beauty capture me.
Praise to you be given; love for you be lived,
life be celebrated; joy you give.

 Walter Farqharson
Ron Klusmeier

 Go out into the natural world and look with God’s eyes; 
listen with God’s ears; 
know your place within God’s good creation.

Richard Rohr

Our minister, who happens to be our son, is on vacation during the month of August, so we aren't making the half-hour drive to church on Sunday mornings. This past weekend Isaac and Rebekah got away for their first couple overnight, sans children, in five years. The grandlads were with us, always a joy, albeit an exhausting one.

Instead of seeking out a bricks and mortar place of worship with two small boys we went canoeing -- a first for the three-year-old and one of only a few times for the five-year-old. We accepted the challenge with only a few pangs of concern, knowing that explaining the need to keep weight low and centred was a lost cause.

 

Lo and behold, we had fun, with both boys using their kid-sized paddles and taking in the watery world of the Salmon River. Perhaps coming upon an episode of Caillou early in the morning was providential. Caillou even saw a blue heron while out with his grandfather!

We too saw a heron, as well as dragonflies, a water snake, and other critters. One small turtle on a log allowed us to get very close before plopping into the murky water. We kept the outing to 45 minutes and it was remarkable how Creation was the great entertainer, a source of gentle wonder.

Through the centuries theologians have affirmed that there are two holy books, Creation and the scriptures. We explored God's "bible" together and it was worshipful. Back to church before long!

Thoughts?

The Coffee Lid & the Holy Grail

I went to the same Tim Horton's franchise twice in eight hours recently, which was bizarre because we've been doing our best to stay away from fast food places for a variety of reasons, including the crazy amount of single-use plastic. The first time was through the drive-through at 3:30 in the morning -- no line-up! We were on our way to look for the Perseid meteor shower and we actually remembered to take our refillable mugs. A few hours later I discovered that our vehicle would be on the garage hoist for an hour longer than predicted, so I walked to the same location and drank from a china mug to put in time. My virtue knows no bounds.

The iconic Canadian company has just announced that they have found their version of the Holy Grail, a lid that doesn't leak (we'll believe it when we see it) and is more environmentally friendly. I'm more interested in the latter claim and when I look at the announcement it doesn't provide much detail. What will these lids be made of and how will they be "friendly?" 

For years the United Church has encouraged congregations and members to forego the use of styrofoam cups  and plastic water bottles. Plastic straws are the latest villains, although it's puzzling as to why they are worse than the rest of the mountain of plastic waste in which we wallow. We are using stainless steel straws at home now, and I like 'em. Whatever we can do to reduce our insane use of plastic suits me. While it may not seem like a sacred calling, I think it is.

A Trillion Litres and Living Water

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,   but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.”  The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

 

John 4:13-15
 
I can go to my fridge right now and pull out a litre container of chocolate milk or coffee cream, so I have a fair concept of that form of measurement. A little research tells me that a moderately filled bathtub will contain 80 litres of water, or more. A backyard swimming pool? They vary in size, but perhaps 50,000 litres. That would mean 20 swimming pools for a million litres, am I right?

I really can't grasp the notion of a million litres of anything, let alone a thousand million, which is a billion. A thousand billion is a trillion, at least in North America. Enough weird math, you say!

Well --wait for it -- a recent estimate is that a trillion litres of raw sewage has leaked into Canadian lakes and rivers over in the past five years. That is the equivalent of more than 400,000 Olympic sized swimming pools. Ick. Many of these bodies of water are sources of drinking water, which must be carefully treated before we can consume it. Yes, the nasty stuff is diluted and we have safe drinking water in most places, although try telling that to many First Nations reserves. When, though, are we going to address this as the abomination it really is?We get justifiably wrapped around the axle when a few thousand litres of oil is spilled, but we are literally soiling our own nests on a regular basis with little public concern.

We should care and probably be outraged, and we should definitely listen to those who make it their full-time job to safeguard this precious resource, the "living water" on which all creatures depend. It's no accident that the imagery of water is sacred in the bible, and that Jesus referred to himself as Living Water.



Toronto Harbour four days ago

After last week's major downpour the Toronto waterfront was afloat with an unspeakable mess of sewage flotsam and jetsam. While we like to tout TO as a world-class city, this is a 19th century embarrassment and a huge problem.

Take a listen to Mark Mattson from Lake Ontario Waterkeeper as he discusses this challenge on CBC Metro Morning today.
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/metro-morning/segment/15578058

Saturn, Perseids, & Steadfast Love

Perseid meteor shower

 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever...

...who made the great lights,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
 the sun to rule over the day,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
the moon and stars to rule over the night,
    for his steadfast love endures forever...

Psalm 136: 1, 7-9

I get a text from son Isaac on Friday evening: "want to go see some stars tonight?" Ike has taken an interest in the night sky, doing an online course with the Vatican's chief astronomer, attending the local astronomy club. His sister Joc gave him a telescope for his birthday in June and he's begun testing it out. Being a 30-something he's found an app telling him where the sky is least light-polluted in our area, as well as one that allows him to point his phone toward the heavens and receive info about the planets and constellations above him.



We agreed to meet at 9:30, which is normally my bedtime, and we ventured into Prince Edward County on a sky-hunt. We stopped along a quiet country road, got out, and looked up. Sure enough, the Milky Way was evident, the Dippers dipped, and the planets twinkled. We fumbled around in the pitch dark to set up the telescope and were able to see the rings of Saturn. How cool is that!

On the return trip Isaac admitted that it was better doing this with someone else, because it's a bit spooky hanging out in the dark, solo. I won't lie, it was a tad unsettling. Good news, it was really, really dark. Not-so-good-news, it was REALLY, REALLY dark.

I've written several times about the power of the heavens which declare the glory of God (Psalm 19.) When I did a service in Algonquin Park recently I focused on the Creation majesty of the night sky. Still, most of us just aren't accustomed to the darkness anymore, and that's sad.

Ruth and I are talking about heading out again tonight, if the sky is clear, to take in the Perseid meteor shower. Well, it's supposed to be best after midnight, so we might not make it...

...we did get up -- at 3:30 AM today. We read that the Perseids would be best between 3 and 5, so we set the alarm, then drove to a desolate dirt road in Prince Edward County. We saw roughly twenty meteors flash across the sky, along with an impressive Milky Way. Nap time!

The Rights of Rivers

I've got peace like a river
I've got peace like a river
I've got peace like a river
In my soul
I've got peace like a river
I've got peace like a river
I've got peace like a river
In my soul

 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.  
 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 
 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 
And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 
And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 3:13-17

I think it was watching the chilling documentary The Corporation which first made me aware that in many jurisdictions corporate entities have legal status akin to personhood, albeit in limited ways. In the United States they may own property and have certan rights to free speech. They can sue and be sued, but they can't vote or hold office. Phew.

If a corporation can have legal rights,  what about natural entities such as rivers? I read an interesting article on this subject in a source called The Revelator:

...some countries have granted rights to the nature, and specifically to rivers, in their national laws. In 2008, Ecuador recognized the constitutional right of Mother Earth and, in 2010, Bolivia adopted the Laws on the Rights of Mother Earth  which gives legal standing to nature and establishes an ombudsman for the protection of its rights. And in May 2017, Colombia’s Constitutional Court recognized the Atrato River as a legal person.

More recently, the Parliament of New Zealand granted the country’s third-longest river, the Whanganui, the legal rights of a person, after a 140-year campaign by the Whanganui Iwi tribe. In addition to compensating the Whanganui Iwi for grievances, the move seeks to preserve the river for future generations of Whanganui Iwi and all New Zealanders. As such, the river gains its legal personality not from an abstract legal entity, but from the people that are connected with the river.

India’s Ganges River and one of its main tributaries, the Yamuna River were granted these same rights.

With these rights the rivers are entitled to representation by advocates in a court of law to protect them from exploitation and degradation.


Village on the St. Lawrence Norah Collyer

I don't know about you, but if General Motors and Bombardier have some form of "persona"l rights in Canada, I certainly support rivers such as the Mackenzie and Assiniboine and St. John having the rights of a person. For centuries this country has abused and exploited its rivers and other bodies of water, including the Great Lakes. We have killed species and allowed others to invade them. We have rendered the water undrinkable and unswimmable at times. Aboriginal peoples have held a far more reverent appreciation of these waterways, even though they've travelled and fished them.

If the murky Jordan was good enough for Jesus's baptism, perhaps we should consider the sacred nature of all our rivers, appreciating that they are a gift from God worth protecting.

Should rivers have rights? Is it acceptable to consider that they are persons, or are sacred?



Mackenzie River

Simplicity and the Poop on Everest

 

 

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,

To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come 'round right

Simple Gifts -- Shaker hymn -- Joseph Brackett (1797–1882)

I really don't want to know how many of my blogs you think are crappy, but today I am literally going to write about...crap. It is the most elevated fecal matter on planet Earth, and it's a major problem because humans are involved. Every year 1200 climbers attempt to summit Mount Everest and on the way up and down they poop a lot -- about 25 kilograms or 60 pounds per person (how do they know this?)

Lots of junk gets left along the way and sadly there are even 200 bodies of climbers who have died and haven't been retrieved because of the difficulty in doing so. Fecal matter has become a significant problem as well, and authorities are trying to figure out what to do about it. Last year about 14 tons of the stuff was brought down to base camp by porters

The situation has been described as a  "fecal time bomb." There is a cesspool of sorts, but the poop doesn't decompose because it's too cold. Now the plan is to create a solar-powered composter to break it down.

This story intrigues me because while climbing Everest is a significant feat, no one actually has to go to the roof of the world. It is an expensive, dangerous vanity accomplishment. When Sir Edmund Hillary made the summit with Tensing Norgay in 1953 it was a unique feat. Now it is part of an industry fuelled by the wealthy.

The poop of Everest seems to be a parable of human activity. We are so adept and cavalier about fouling our own nest and while we have bigger problems than a few tons of crap on a mountain our crappy disregard for the waste we produce is making Earth uninhabitable. There is no "somewhere else" for our garbage and pollution, as the plastic in the oceans attests. There is no Planet B, yet we just continue on the same rather mindless trajectory of consumption, including experiences.

Apparently the shit has already hit the fan, and its time to get our heads out of the...clouds -- please note my restraint here. Are we committed as Christians to mindfully simplifying our lives, to say enough is enough?

I Don't "Believe" in Climate Change!

This summer is the 64th of my existence on this planet and it's the hottest in my memory. Around the planet countries are setting heat records and people are dying as a result. This isn't just a matter of me figuring "it was cooler when I was a kid." Today a CBC article cited a new report by an international team of scientists which claims that there is a risk of Earth entering what they call 'Hothouse Earth' conditions. The world is at risk of entering "hothouse" conditions with average temperatures 4-5 C higher even if emissions reduction targets under a global climate deal are met, scientists say in a new study.

Still, I don't "believe" in climate change and I'll tell you why. I've realized over time that the preponderance of scientific evidence supports the existence of climate change and global warming which are altering weather patterns and ecosystems. This is accentuated and likely caused by the activity of human beings and we are the ones responsible for taking action for change. So this is not a matter of ideology or theology or doomsday thinking.



Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist and a leading climate change spokesperson. She is also an evangelical Christian who lives deep in the heart of Texas, a hotbed of climate change denial. She has a sense of humour, as this cartoon she posted attests. She also encourages us not to "believe" in climate change but to consider the facts. On her website http://katharinehayhoe.com/wp2016/ she offers:

I’m an atmospheric scientist. I study climate change, one of the most pressing issues we face today. I don’t accept global warming on faith: I crunch the data, I analyze the models, I help engineers and city managers and ecologists quantify the impacts.
The data tells us the planet is warming; the science is clear that humans are responsible; the impacts we’re seeing today are already serious; and our future is in our hands. As John Holdren once said, “We basically have three choices: mitigation, adaptation, and suffering. We’re going to do some of each. The question is what the mix is going to be. The more mitigation we do, the less adaptation will be required, and the less suffering there will be.”

I would encourage you not to believe or disbelieve the existence of climate change., as though it were a matter of faith.  There is so much information, scientifically researched, and often quite accessible if you're willing to make the effort to read and watch it. Do it, act upon what you learn, and pray for the individual and collective will to find a different path.

Exploring Our World as Children

 

Now every year [Jesus'] parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.  Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him.  After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.  When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.”

Luke 2:41-47 (NRSV)

Last Sunday I led worship in Algonquin Park, a long-standing tradition of holding an outdoor service for campers. It was my first time in this role and also the first time we've camped in a trailer in one of Ontario's wonderful parks. We are accustomed to tenting, often in the backcountry but the trailer is provided for those who lead worship.

We joked about being in Suburbia in the Pines, given the density of huge trailers and RVs throughout the Lake of Two Rivers campground. The birds vied to make themselves heard amidst the din of air-conditioning units on these suckers, along with the regular bleating of car alarms -- who invented that monstrosity?

We did love those towering pines and proximity to trails and waterways which were far less hectic. And we enjoyed seeing kids of all ages roaming around the campground on bikes and on foot, often in happy packs. They were usually on their own, without the supervision of adults. Sometimes they fell down or got separated from their buddies. They got back up again and were reunited with the gang. It seemed so healthy, and reminded us of our childhoods. We were Free Range children in a time when that was just childhood, without a label.

While we were communing with the deerflies, Kim Brooks offered an opinion piece in the New York Times about the hyper-vigilance we have developed regarding our children. She allowed her child to sit in their car for a few minutes on a cool day. The doors were locked but the windows were slightly open. He played a video game in her absence and all was well, except that someone took a video of her son, then called 911. On her return she was charged with the delinquency of a minor. In reflecting of the experience Brooks offered this:

We now live in a country where it is seen as abnormal, or even criminal, to allow children to be away from direct adult supervision, even for a second...And so now children do not walk to school or play in a park on their own. They do not wait in cars. They do not take long walks through the woods or ride bikes along paths or build secret forts while we are inside working or cooking or leading our lives.

 

The response to this piece came from around the world with people from everywhere including Sweden, and Israel, and Germany, puzzled over this obsession with creating a bubble of protection for children which does not exist to the same extent in their countries.

Of course it is necessary to protect kids, and tragedies can occur. For the first time ever I read of a child killed by a vehicle in a provincial park over the weekend. Sadly,it may have been the family vehicle which caused the death. We should not that there were also deaths of children who were seat-belted into vehicles.


There is simply no way to guarantee absolute health and safety, no matter how conscientious we might be, even though that this may be our desire. We need to weigh out the benefits of allowing children to explore the beauty of Creation, to develop a sense of wonder and appreciation against the possible risks. 

Scripture tells us that Jesus was Free Range himself and even his parents had their moments of anxiety. Did anyone call the authorities on them, I wonder? I wish we had more images of boy Jesus kicking around in the woods and -gulp- messing with carpentry tools!