The Weight of Humanity and Care for Creation

 Turtle Cove

Reading the Saturday Globe and Mail I came across an ad for an upcoming exhibit of work by BC artist Brandy Masch, in Toronto. I went looking for more information and discovered other remarkable images of the Weight of Humanity paintings by Masch.

In this Groundling blog I often reflect on the realities of human pressure on the planet, and our seeming inability to co-exist with other creatures. I regularly cite scripture passages from our Judeo-Christian tradition as compass points for care-full living in Creation.  I've also mentioned the Aboriginal concept of Planet Earth as Turtle Island. 

I find that Masch's paintings are an invitation to consider who we are in the world and ask me to consider how to "live with respect in Creation."  (UCC New Creed.)



Tip of the Iceberg 

The Mayberry Gallery is across from the Art Gallery of Ontario, if I recall correctly, so we may go to both between April 6th and 27th to appreciate the scope of these evocative paintings. 

Thank you Brandy!

 

The Gardener

Does Earth Hour Still Shine?

Earth Hour. Tonight at 8:30. I'm wondering whether we'll bother to observe this year to be honest. When Earth Hour began in 2007, with the call to turn off the lights and reduce energy consumption, it was a big deal around the planet. There was lots of press coverage and in some cities there was a drop in consumption by as much as 20%. Actually, year five, which was 2011 was the biggest in the brief history of the event, the largest ever voluntary action for the environment, world-wide. Then interest and involvement began to...flicker? Perhaps people had got the message in terms of switching to more energy efficient lighting (we have) and thinking of lights on unnecessarily as akin to leaving a tap running. Or maybe we quickly become indifferent to causes. It's hard to say.

 

I served a congregation with lots of young families in 2007 so we made a real effort to invite our folk to observe Earth Hour as a Creation Care project. People got out their candles and played board games and generally made the event fun. 

I hadn't realized that the organizers have moved Earth Hour a week earlier in years when it coincided with Holy Saturday on the Easter Weekend, and that Israel chose another day so it wouldn't fall on the Jewish Sabbath. 

Awareness and symbolic acts are always important, so I'm glad Earth Hour came into being. Let's pray that the goals of conservation and planetary stewardship don't go dark. We need them now more than ever. 

Did you observe Earth Hour along the way? Will you this evening? 

 

Shape-shifting Grace

We have seen otters in the wild on many occasions through the years, in all seasons, and I actually have photographs I've taken of these fascinating critters-- somewhere!I was alone in Killarney Park for one encounter, perhaps 25 years ago. It was the end of April but there was still ice on the ponds. I heard what seemed to be ungodly screeching, which turned out to be a family of otters goofing around on the ice. They performed a playful sleight of hand, popping into holes, then out, running and sliding. I knelt to watch them in a light snowfall and they came astonishingly close with no apparent caution.

I saw this ten pound Scottish note and decided immediately that we ought to vote Queen Elizabeth off the island, or at least our twenty, to make room for the otter.

There aren't any otters in the bible (ya, I know there otter be) but they show up prominently in the stories of some of the Celtic hermit saints. Apparently St. Cuthbert is the patron saint of otters, which probably doesn't impress them in the slightest. St. Keven is reputed to have dropped his prayer book into a lake and a companionable otter retrieved it for him. Clever and practical friend.

 

A very popular book in Great Britain at the moment is the illustrated Lost Words by Robert McFarlane and Jackie Morris. It contains "spells" for the creatures and plants whose names were deemed redundant in the Oxford Junior Dictionary, including "otter. McFarlane's otter spell includes:

This shape-shifter's a sheer breath-taker
a sure heart-stopper -- but you'll only ever spot
a shadow flutter, a bubble skein,
and never (almost never) actual otter.

I'm grateful to God the Creator that I've seen these elusive, playful creatures as often as I have. While living in Halifax we commissioned an otter stained-glass, aware that of the sacred sense of a creature which lives between two worlds with such joie de vivre.

Any otter stories? 

Step, Step, Stepping into the Gift of Spring

On Monday we awakened to sunshine and the realization that neither of us had anything scheduled for the day. Ah, retirement. We made the spontaneous decision to visit Amherst Island which is situated roughly a twenty minute ferry ride into Lake Ontario, about an hour and another world away. 

A couple of hours later we were in Sandy Beach Conservation Area on the south shore of the island, without anyone else around. We loved the tranquility of the setting and the holy silence of the place, other than when a plane or helicopter passed overhead. Ruth tentatively hopped onto an ice pan and took a yoga pose.
 

Later we walked on a trail suggested by the owner of Topsy Farm, an enterprise which raise sheep and sells wool and lamb and other "sheepish" products. Again we loved the solitude, and paused for our lunch at the old maple sugar shack back in the bush. On our return along the trail I noticed a shape which I hadn't seen on the way in. It was the carcass of a young deer, recently dead, and with no signs of predation. It was first of all a jarring discovery, then a solemn moment reminding us of the fragility of life and perhaps grounding us in our own mortality. We saw at least two dozen live deer in the woods and fields of the island, but this discovery moved us. 

We hope that we are able to explore the natural world - Creation -- for as long as health allows. We now enjoy the opportunities to do so with our three grandchildren, which delights us. Recently our granddaughter, who is 19 months old, was able to walk on her own in this her first ambulatory Spring. She intoned "step, step, step" as she ambled about. At any age we step, step, step into God's wondrous world.

Living Water and Water Day

On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, 
“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me,  
and let the one who believes in me drink. 
As the scripture has said, 
‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” 
 Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; 
for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

John 7:37-39

Yesterday it was forests. Today it's water. Interesting that these international days are back to back in the yearly calendar. 

Water is essential to life for humans and all living things yet it is perplexing that we treat it in such a cavalier and even reckless manner. We are crazy about oil and a convoy of Albertans recently drove across the country to make a case in Ottawa for the oil industry. We tend to take H2O for granted until we don't have clean water or drought occurs. Here in Ontario we experienced the Walkerton crisis of 2,000 and many First Nations communities have existed for decades without potable water. 
 

The United Nations theme this year is "leaving no one behind" and while we are aware that billions of humans exist without safe drinking water or have to travel considerable distances to procure it,  there are significant issues in this country where we assume that there is abundant water. 

 In December the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, Dianne Sax issued the annual report which told us that an “astonishing amount” of pollution still flows into Ontario’s lakes and rivers and the government must take action, says the province’s environmental watchdog.The main pollutants are raw municipal sewage, agricultural manure or fertilizer runoff, toxic waste and road salt. Remember that millions of Canadians get their drinking water from the Great Lakes. And that the Environmental Commissioner's job is one the current government wanted to eliminate.

 

Jesus described himself as the Bread of Life, and the True Vine and the Good Shepherd in John's Gospel. In an exchange with the Samaritan Woman he promises her that he is Living Water. We can focus there today. 

Oh yes, forests and water have an interwoven relationship, so it makes sense to have their "days" together.

Forests and Faith

 

"I have come to the borders of sleep, 
The unfathomable deep Forest 
where all must lose 
Their way. 
The tall forest towers; Its cloudy foliage lowers Ahead, 
shelf above shelf; 
Its silence I hear & obey."

 Edward Thomas, Lights Out, 1917

 The Divine One created good trees
 so the children of earth might benefit from them...
...Awake, thornbush and myrtle,
 awake etrog and reed, awake willow and palm, 
awake fig and cedar, awake vine and oak, 
awake almond and terebinth, 
awake pomegranate and olive and apple.
 Awake (insert your own varieties).
 Awake, all trees in all the corners of the earth. 
 I awaken the trees in the name of the Tree of Life, 
for She is a tree of life to all who hold her fast.

 From the Prayer Over the Trees Rabbi Jill Hammer





Emily Carr

What would our Southern Ontario varieties be, or in any region, for that matter? We have planted a red oak, a pagoda dogwood, a heritage lilac, buckeye, eastern cedar and catalpa in our yard. Well, the catalpa is a midwestern species, but there are lots in these parts.

This is International Forests Day, and World Poetry Day so author Robert McFarlane tweeted the poem above, and I added the prayer for us to consider. For many of us, a walk in a woods or forest is akin to attending a poetry reading, whether we're in a stand of old growth giants or a neighbourhood park. 

 

Apart from the beauty of trees which lifts our spirits, we know that they are key to addressing climate change. The United Nations has undertaken the Trillion Tree Campaign which notes efforts around the globe to plant trees, as well as encouraging nations and individuals to join the project. As daunting as this may seem, biologist Diana Beresford Kroeger wants us to plant a native tree per year per person for the good of the planet. We might plant them ourselves, on our own property, or contribute to having one planted. 

This summer I will participate again in the Algonquin Park Ministry which is being re-imagined as an eco-faith experience of worship and contemplation. We are going to be connected with the Cathedral of the Trees ministry out of nearby Maynooth, and we'll adopt an eight-week "forest church" theme in this iconic park of magnificent pines where logging still takes place. Of course lumber and other forest products are a significant part of the Canadian economy, and our Boreal Forests are among the great forests of the Earth.

Perhaps you can intentionally ponder a tree today (there are two birches outside my study window), and maybe even hug one! 

Or, as a child of the Creator, you may choose to prayerfully support the tree-planting project in some form. Most municipalities provide this opportunity every Spring. 

Detail of "to live with respect in Creation"
United Church Creed booklet -- Gary Crawford, artist

Over the Moon, Religiously Speaking

 

 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
    praise him in the heights!
² Praise him, all his angels;
    praise him, all his host!

³ Praise him, sun and moon;
    praise him, all you shining stars!
⁴ Praise him, you highest heavens,
    and you waters above the heavens!

⁵ Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for he commanded and they were created.
⁶ He established them forever and ever;
    he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed

Psalm 148: 1-6

This is the first day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the forecast says in will be sunny and hold the promise of the season with a modest but hopeful high of 8 degrees celsius. We will also experience a full moon tonight, a so-called supermoon, the final supermoon of 2019, don't you know. In case you care about these things, the equinox (equal daytime and night-time) occurs around 6:00 this evening and the full moon at roughly 10:00.





Leaders of the Sanhedrin proclaim full moon with trumpets

Judaism has traditionally observed each month's full moon as a minor religious holiday and there is a blessing which is still used in orthodox Jewish communities to mark the occasion. 

The moon is also important in Islam and there is currently an exhibit at the Aga Khan museum in Toronto which includes artifacts from different centuries. I plan to take it in and will report on my experience later.

And once again, I'll mention that Christian Easter is always on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring equinox...got that? This year Good Friday is the day of that full moon (April 19th), so Easter is April 21st.




Moon Sculpture Luke Jerram -- Aga Khan Museum 

WS Merwin, Contemplative Poet

 

Place
 

On the last day of the world I would want to plant a tree
what for not the fruit
the tree that bears the fruit is not the one that was planted
I want the tree that stands in the earth for the first time
with the sun already going down
and the water touching its roots
in the earth full of the dead and the clouds passing
one by one over its leaves
  
W.S. Merwin, from his book The Rain in the Trees

In January the celebrated American poet, Mary Oliver, died.  She was revered for her ability to invite us into a different way of paying attention in the natural world. Now it is W.S. Merwin who has died, perhaps less known, but also deeply respected. As with Oliver he was a Pulitzer Prize winner, along with many other literary awards. 

Merwin began studying Buddhism in the 1970's and there is spiritual quality to his work which I appreciate. While Merwin was born in New York City he eventually moved to Hawaii where he and his wife began planting trees on a desolate property he purchased there. He planted a tree each day, often from threatened species The 2,700 trees and an array of other flora became a lush palm forest. Eventually this property became the  Merwin Conservancy with the goal of maintaining the house and forest as “a place of stillness and reflection for retreat, study, and contemplation, that will serve to inspire innovation in the arts and sciences.”

 

 Yesterday A. Hope Jahren offered a thoughtful tribute to Merwin in the New York Times called The Poet Who Planted Trees which concludes with these poetic thoughts:

 Mr. Merwin died at home, in his bungalow, surrounded by green. He was the tree in the middle of the forest. Not the tallest tree, or the one with the most leaves, but the tree in the middle — the one that got there first. The one that funneled rain and churned soil for those who came after. The one who returns to the ground, and nourishes us on what he leaves behind.

Rest in peace.



For the Anniversary of My Death

Every year without knowing it I have passed the day
When the last fires will wave to me
And the silence will set out
Tireless traveler
Like the beam of a lightless star

Then I will no longer
Find myself in life as in a strange garment
Surprised at the earth
And the love of one woman
And the shamelessness of men
As today writing after three days of rain
Hearing the wren sing and the falling cease
And bowing not knowing to what

W.S. Merwin from his book The Second Four Books of Poems 

 

W.S. Merwin in a 2009 photograph in his study at is home on Maui, 

that he only wanted published after his death. 

Credit Tom Sewell

Worship in Woods and By Water

Last summer I began a conversation with an area artisan named Robert White who creates remarkable pieces from wood. I first spoke with Robert at a farmer's market, lost touch, and found him at another. I asked Robert if he would be interested in creating a portable communion table for me to use in outdoor worship experiences along the Bay of Quinte. My hope then and still is to invited anyone interested to attend gatherings called Worship in Woods and by Water.

So many people, including plenty from congregations I've served have told me how deeply aware they are of the presence of the Creator in the natural world. As someone who appreciated worship within buildings and who is still attends Sunday services inside I am enthusiastic about getting "out there" to contemplate and praise the One who brought all things into being.

The story of the people of Israel is of worship in the wilderness as well as in synagogues and the temple. Jesus was often rejected within worship spaces but spoke profoundly to crowds on hillsides, on shorelines, and even in boats.

The Celtic Christians were inclined to worship outside as well, both communally and alone,  long before they built churches, and long after. 

After several months Robert has completed the project, not without detours along the road. We felt it fitting to incorporate local woods so he used black walnut with maple inlay to create a beautiful table which includes Celtic knot-work. It was fitting that I picked it up at his shop north of Wooler, Ontario -- on St. Patrick's Day no less! I brought along some "holy hardware" to give him an idea of who it would look in action.



There is a growing interest in worshiping outside and even a coalition of enthusiasts called the Wild Church Network. The nearest of these worshiping communities in Cathedral of the Trees near Maynooth Ontario. I will lead an outdoor service for Trenton United, the congregation in which we now participate, on Good Friday morning and the communion table will probably make its debut.

I'm grateful to Robert for his craftsmanship and enthusiasm. I've taken to describing myself as a "be-wildered outsider" and he has helped to bring my passion to fruition.

The Thames -- Sacred River?

 I slow down crossing bridges over rivers these days and look longingly at their frozen surfaces. This has been a long, cold Winter and local rivers are encased in ice, even in sections which often open. We have gone for a first paddle in March in a number of years but it might not be possible in 2019. Perhaps this is why I've been thinking about sacred rivers these days, those recognized as holy and God-blessed, in some instances for millennia. The Jordan comes to mind, as do the Ganges in India, the Nile in Egypt, and the Yangtze in China. The Mississippi is a sacred river for First Nations peoples, as are the Sacred Headwaters rivers in British Columbia, and many more.

How about the Thames, in England? It certainly doesn't come to mind for me, or at least it didn't until I came across Thames: Sacred River, by the excellent writer Peter Ackroyd.When I think of the Thames it is of a polluted waterway used as a shipping highway, bordered by concrete and stone in the city of London. It turns out that the Thames was a sacred river for the pre-Christian Celts and then adopted as such by the Romans and eventually by Christians.We are tremendous pilferers.

There is a patron saint of the Thames, Birinus. I know, I know, you've never heard of him, but he lived in the 7th century and baptized a lot of pagans -- in the Thames. There are churches named after him along the river, and he established a church dedicated to St. Mary. In fact, Mary is something of a patron of the river herself, with a number of churches with her name along the Thames. St. Alban is said to have parted the river on the way to his execution so he could cross, a la Elijah parting the Jordan. 

I'm fascinated by this history, but for me even the most obscure streams and rivers have a holy quality. Where there is water there is life. Trees and birds flourish near water and the temperature is moderated.Last summer we took our grandsons, three and five at the time, for a paddle on the nearby Salmon River. We saw turtles and dragonflies, kingfishers and herons. The boys were enchanted, and so were we. 

Thank you God for sacred waterways, great and small.  

 






Baptism of Jesus illustration from the St. John's bible
Donald Jackson

Giving it Up for Lent, and the Earth

Each part of creation reveals unique aspects of God the Creator,
who is both in creation and beyond it.All parts of creation, animate and inanimate, are related.
All creation is good.
We sing of the Creator,
who made humans to live and move
and have their being in God.
 
A Song of Faith United Church of Canada
 
I must admit that I was surprised to hear that the Ontario government is considering banning single use plastics, or at least some of them. It isn't an initiative I'd associate with the Ford administration, but I'll try to keep an open mind!
 
It's an excellent idea, and while it's difficult to decide which items to eliminate and a devil to enforce, we need to find ways to reduce the ton of waste every Ontarian produces each year and to keep plastics out of our landfills, our lakes and rivers, and our bodies. In 2017 alone, volunteers with the Alliance for the Great Lakes collected more than 16 tons of plastic at beach cleanups and 10,000 tons of plastic enters those lakes each year, messing up the critters who live in them and the water supply for millions.  
 

 
I was also encouraged to hear CBC Ontario Morning hosts talking about reducing plastic waste after one mentioned her daughter wanted the family to do so during Lent. I wonder if the daughter heard about the Citizens for Public Justice program called Give it Up for the Earth. Some schools are taking up the challenge by encouraging students to reduce single-use plastics in their everyday lives.
 
It can be tough to follow through though. The other day I went to Canadian Tire to buy a straw broom with a wooden handle which was on sale. I like a straw broom better for my front walk. Well, the bristles were wrapped in plastic with foam sleeves on the handle for comfort. We're addicted to the stuff, often for no good reason. Ruth tries to use mesh bags at the grocery store instead of plastic, but that ain't easy, either.
 
Perhaps we should all write Environment Minister Rod Phillips to let him know that this discussion is a step in the right direction. It can be part of our Lenten commitment
 

Suite 209
1 Rossland Rd. W
Ajax, ON L1Z 1Z2

rod.phillipsco@pc.ola.org

Tel   905-427-2060                
                                              

Wild Lent and Canadian Winters

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.

Luke 4:1-2

We are about two weeks into Lent, the 40 day (plus Sundays) season of the Christian liturgical year during which we get ready for our celebration of Easter. In Canada we are often still in the throes of Winter as Lent begins with February 4th as the earliest possible date, although that won't happen again until 2285! This means that we're usually huddled inside during the entire season even though at the beginning we hear about Jesus being baptized in the Jordan River and spending 40 days in the wilderness before his public ministry begins.

I never attempted to get people outside for an Ash Wednesday service although I burned palm branches for ashes in a snow storm a couple of times. We're good at ignoring how much of the bible is outside rather than inside, so I like the notion of Wild Lent, a resource from Britain. Here is a portion of the description.

What does it say on the tin?

Wild Lent will change how we all experience and think about Lent. How? Simple! Instead of a nice cosy room, coffee, biscuits and lots of discussion about the meaning of Lent, you’ll be wrapping up warm and heading off into the wilds! It’s time to get close and personal with creation and make a shadow clock, have a sunrise breakfast walk, go on a giant egg hunt, hug a tree, walk barefoot…and share God’s creation with others.
 What do you get?

Rachel Summers is a Forest School Practitioner and this book is designed to help you connect with God’s creation around you. To take time, to slow down and to reconnect with God’s world...Each category features five or six activities connected with that theme, all of which are designed to enable the participant to explore their surroundings and to seek God in them.

As well as the different categories, the author helpfully lists a way to make the most of the material across the book by focusing on six different themes, perfect for using over the six weeks of Lent:

 Putting Down,
Picking Up,
Setting Off,
Journeying On,
Into the Wilderness,
Finding Home.

Despite the risk of frostbite, it sounds worthwhile to me!

 

Holy Rivers

Kumbh Mela Pilgrimage, India

Okay, sometimes I just blow it. I've been meaning to blog about the largest religious gathering on the planet, one which only happens every few years in India. Kumbh Mela  2019 began on January 15 and concluded last Sunday, March 4th. Attendance was estimated at more than 100 million people from across the world, the largest peaceful gathering of religious pilgrims. By comparison, the pilgrimage to Mecca last year attracted 2.5 million.

Kumbh Mela is a Hindu festival during which pilgrims engage in ritual bathing for the forgiveness of sins in several rivers including the Ganges. During this year's gathering there were six bathing dates listed on the government website, the final holy bath taking place last Sunday.



Namaan healed in the Jordan River

I can say with confidence that I would not want to participate in any communal activity with such a vast crowd, and I know that these rivers are highly polluted. Yuck. Yet bathing as a religious activity for healing and repentance is very much a part of our Judeo-Christian tradition. In 2 Kings we read about Namaan, the Syrian commander, who is healed of leprosy after Elisha tells him to bathe in the Jordan river seven times. Jesus refers to this story in Luke 4: "There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."

The gospel of Mark was probably the first of the four to be written and it begins with the baptism of Jesus. John the Baptizer is immersing people in the waters of the Jordan for the forgiveness of sins when Jesus arrives.

It makes sense that water, which is essentially to life on Earth would be considered sacred in different religions. Perhaps we all need to make some effort to acknowledge of the holiness of rivers.
 

Baptism Scene in Brother Where Art Thou