Every Day is Food Day in Canada

On this holiday weekend in Ontario the mayor of Prince Edward County has politely asked visitors to stay away. The beaches of the County beckon but the crowds of sun-seekers have overwhelmed the provincial parks and conservation areas in recent days. 

Those people in the streams of traffic might not notice the farmers' fields as they travel southward from the 401, but agriculture, including wineries, is an important part of the PEC economy, and has been for two hundred years. In an earlier day this unique peninsula jutting into Lake Ontario was known as the Garden County. Barley was grown for brewing across the lake in the United States, then canning factories were established for the export of vegetables across the country. The agricultural focus continued well into the 20th century. While today there are still plenty of crops and some farmers sell at markets throughout the area. people tend to think of PEC as a playground rather than a breadbasket. 

Today is Food Day Canada, an opportunity to celebrate those who produce our food, to buy local products, and to ask grocers to stock produce from the area. We try to buy local whenever we can. This has been an anxious year for area farmers because of the serious lack of rain. And market vendors are contending with COVID-19. 

From a faith standpoint, it would be worthwhile this weekend to consider how important agriculture is in the bible. Jesus told parables about food and those who grow it because he knew that his audience would understand from experience about grapes and grain and sheep.

Even the Apostle Paul uses some agricultural imagery. We can be grateful for those who grow our food and for the blessing of abundance and choice. 

Speaking Tree

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, 

bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God 

and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. 

On either side of the river is the tree of life

Revelation 22: 1-2 NRSV

Our two Trenton grandsons "attend"  a French school (they haven't physically entered the school in months) and I'm constantly amazed by their ability to move back and forth between two languages. Both boys can do mental math in French and English, and the seven-year-old reads well in both. 

The ability to speak more than one language and perhaps several is impressive and seems to be much easier for children. As we age we may be more inhibited (I am) and our brains are less responsive (mine is!) 

It seems to me that along with the languages of ethnic groups and nations there are the languages of the natural world which we are invited to learn as well. I came upon Katie Holden's I

I do consider trees to be sacred and the bible does as well, with many references to the holiness of tree and Godly encounters beneath trees. Not  surprisingly the notion of a tree alphabet delights me and we would all do well to endeavour to speak tree. It's never too late to learn!

Healthy Parks, Healthy Spiritual People

I follow Ontario Parks on Twitter and Instagram, which is worthwhile for a number of reasons. There is lots of helpful info about the 330 parks in the province, photos of places we have visited and cherish, and reflections on the benefits of being outdoors. A recent lengthy and thoughtfull blog post by Tim Tully, a staff member at Awenda PP,  even ventured into the realm of spirituality and got downright religious. 

The park where I work, Awenda, translates from the Wendat language as “voice” and “word.” With a minor twist it becomes Hawendio or “Creator.” Awenda is aptly named.Coming to a park is of itself is an act of faith and hope. The positive experiences gained may well reconnect you and your family to a more meaningful and healthy future.

The next time you’re out walking in a forest cathedral or sheltered by the overarching forest canopy at your campsite, perhaps taking in a breathtaking shoreline view or admiring the behaviour of park wildlife, stop and pause for a moment.

Give thanks.

Creator, cathedral, give thanks...oh my! These are words and phrases which regularly show up in this Groundling blog. My thanks to Tim for including this aspect of what makes visiting parks worthwhile in his Healthy Parks Healthy People Day blog. I couldn't agree with him more . Here is the link to his blog post. The photos here ae included in that blog. 

http://www.ontarioparks.com/parksblog/a-place-of-natural-healing/

The Beach During Plastic Free July

Yesterday we headed our early to the County (Prince Edward County, to the south of us. The beaches and dunes of this almost-island attract multitudes of visitors to the extent that the two provincial parks and municipal beaches must close public access by midday. We walked a more secluded beach which is about two kilometres long with the waves rolling in a breezy morning. We also sat under a tree and read, looking out to the water.

As we strolled we saw plenty of evidence of a birthday party which may have happened on the beach or kilometres away. It was in the form of mylar balloons scattered along a wide swath. We had a bag with us so we began picking them up, along with other pieces of abandoned plastic. We quickly ran out of room in the bag and probably could have filled at least another one with what we saw. This doesn't take into account the plastic which was buried, or back on the dunes amidst the wild grape vines, or micro-plastic bits, the almost invisible killers of birds and fish. 

We are almost at the conclusion of Plastic Free July and this was certainly a reminder of the insidious presence of plastic almost everywhere. Our couple of hours on the beach were idyllic, and a spiritual experience. All that discarded plastic pointed out that we humans "eat of the apple", in our Garden of Eden and throw away the core without much thought.  I do believe that the Creator invites us into a very different way of reducing our plundering of the world's resources and of "living with with respect in Creation." (UCC New Creed.)

Praying for Rain in 2020

You visit the earth and water it,
    you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
    you provide the people with grain,
    for so you have prepared it.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
    settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
    and blessing its growth.

             Psalm 65: 9-10

My memory ain't what it used to be but I can't recall a summer with more 30 degree days than this one, and it isn't even the end of July. Add to this the absence of precipitation and we have the makings of a drought. We have been teased endlessly in Southern Ontario with forecasts calling for steady rain or thundershowers, only to have them fail in their predictions. on our court there are parched lawns with only the sprinkler system troika maintaining a semblance of green. 

This may already be disastrous for farmers in our region, but should we be praying for rain? I tend to be a skeptic, noting that in the US the days of prayer for rain are often scheduled in states where climate emergency denial is prevalent. Why invoke the Divine Sprinkler when it's a crisis while ignoring the root causes. Then again prayer is always good, but so is paying attention to the science. When we ignore what affects the hydrological cycle we shouldn't go whining to the Creator...or should we? 

The  bible does have prayers for rain including prayers of gratitude when it falls. Other religions have prayers for precipitation as well, including Judaism and Islam. They are an invitation to appreciate rain and never take it for granted. Surely this includes listening to those whose careful study and scientific endeavours point out that climate change may permanently alter the patterns of weather.

Our 21st century prayers for rain can be a form of mindfulness about what makes our H2O planet livable, as well as strengthening our resolve to do what is necessary for positive change. 

We praise You, Eternal God -- God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, 
Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel. 
You are the Eternal God, who causes the wind to blow 
and the rain to fall -- 
for a blessing and not for a curse, 
for life and not for death,
 for plenty and not for scarcity.

Jewish Prayer Book

Curiosity, Wonder & Attention in a Daily Journal

I began keeping a personal journal 35 years ago and missed few days since then. I had my day book while in ministry, so recorded the events of my work schedule. My journal has provided the opportunity to reflect on the events of my oft-times mundane, sometimes extraordinary events of my life. 

At some point along the way I began drawing a symbol of the days weather and with the advent of the Weather Network I could add the high or low temperature beneath it. I also began to tuck in observations about the change of seasons and the creatures we might see during outings on water or on trails. 

Some of these observations have been spectacular such as being close to beluga whales or having a pod of porpoises swim beneath our kayaks while on Grand Manan Island. I've recorded seeing the Northern Lights and waiting out the ferocity of Hurricane Dorian in an old house on an island off Newfoundland. As often as not its been the more humble occurrences such as spotting the first Monarch butterfly in the season or a hummingbird at our backyard feeder. Not along ago we were kayaking on a nearby river and I saw a swallow darting about just in front of me. I realized it was chasing a dragonfly which was doing aerobatics to avoid becoming lunch. Of course I noted this in my journal that evening. 



All these notations come and go and most will be forgotten. Yet I feel that with my scribbles  I'm intentionally being attentive to the world around me, honouring God's wondrous world. I will often reflect on what I've seen within the text of my journal, a form of prayer in my estimation. 

Recently I bought the book How To Teach Nature Journaling: Curiosity, Wonder, Attention -- how could I resist. It's an illustrated guide for educators and I've been perusing it with our 7-year-old grandson, a keen observer of the natural world. He has been quite enthused so we gave him a journal with blank pages. He has been drawing and colouring up a storm of creature sightings and maps of our outings. His delight is a tonic for me.

So, Groundlings, might you keep a nature or Creation journal?  Doing so may be a fountain of youth and a spiritual awakening! 

Fridays for Future in the time of COVID-19

This is Friday -- it is, isn't it? -- which means it is another Fridays for Future. Almost two years ago a diminutive 15-year-old Swedish girl named Greta Thunberg began her one-person protest outside the Swedish parliament against the global inaction regarding Climate Change or the Climate Emergency. It seemed quixotic, at best, yet her consistency led to Friday school climate strike rallies of teens and other concerned people, first in her home country, then around the world. A rally and march in Montreal attracted half a million people.

We discovered that Thunberg has a fearless and honest manner of speaking which resulted in invitations to address the United Nations and other bodies. And when she met with Prime Minister she didn't hesitate to say that Canada needs to do far better in addressing carbon emissions which contribute to global warming 

Thunberg is the youngest person ever to be featured as the Time Magazine Person of the Year. She also has an uncanny ability to get under the skin of rather vile, privileged adults, mostly male, mostly white. They mock her age, equating it with immaturity,  and dismiss her as mentally ill. All of them should have their mouths washed out with environmentally-friendly soap. 



The COVID-19 pandemic has ended these massive gatherings but Thunberg's witness and work has certainly not ended. She continues to speak with what I've called a prophetic voice. There has been no connection between Greta's message and faith, yet she does stand in the tradition of the biblical prophets, speaking truth to power despite criticism and scorn. 

Recently Thunberg was awarded the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity which includes a monetary prize of one million euros or more than one and a half million Canadian dollars. What will she do with this windfall? She is giving it away, through her foundation, to worthy environmental causes. I doubt that any of her critics have been that generous, including the current president of the United States with his now defunct phony foundation.  

All of us who read scripture with an eye to the mandate to care for Creation and who follow the incarnate "earthy" Christ can pray for the safety and success of Greta Thunberg, whatever her personal spiritual leanings may be. God the Creator moves in mysterious and meaningful ways. 

https://fridaysforfuture.org/

Learning of the Environmental Legacy of John Lewis

“When we take our air, waters and land for granted; 

when we show a simple lack of respect for nature and our environment, 

we unmake God’s good creation John Lewis

I've written about John Lewis the remarkable civil rights activist and advocate who was an ordained Baptist minister but served as a  US congressman for decades. I never thought of him as an environmentalist but he made the connection between human rights and the rights of all creatures, along with care for the planet in and on which those creatures live. I appreciated an informative article in Forbes magazine by Malcolm Shepherd called John Lewis And His Environmental Legacy. Lewis' scope of concern was admirable, and always informed by his Christian faith. Here is an excerpt from Shepherd's piece:

Lewis tirelessly fought, bled and sacrificed for civil rights, the downtrodden, and those without a voice. He also understood the importance of the environment and climate change. Herein, I reflect on that part of his legacy.Yes, I know. John Lewis may not be the first name that comes to mind when you think about the environment or climate change.

 However, his body of work shows that he understood the significance of environmental issues and climate change. On his Congressional website, he said, “Humanity is the most important endangered species under threat from climate change and yet we flood our ecology with poisons and pollution.” The League of Conservation Voters documents his environmental voting record and gave him a lifetime score of 92%. Lewis has also been a long-time supporter of stronger funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and has advocated strengthening the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts.

When President Trump announced that the United States was withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement, Congressman Lewis issued a scathing press release. He said, “I do not agree with the dark vision of America’s future the president described that pits accepting responsibility for our environmental impact against the economic stability and vitality of our country.” Lewis, in his always eloquent manner, also detailed the impact of such actions on American workers and our global allies. He went on to say, “The rest of the world has seen the economic and environmental benefit of clean energy, and they will leave us behind.”

Where Do the Children Play, Now and Always

Well I think it's fine, building jumbo planes
Or taking a ride on a cosmic train
Switch on summer from a slot machine
Yes, get what you want to if you want
Cause you can get anything

 

I know we've come a long way
We're changing day to day
But tell me, where do the children play?

 

Well you roll on roads over fresh green grass
For your lorry loads pumping petrol gas
And you make them long, and you make them tough
But they just go on and on, and it seems that you can't get off

 

Oh, I know we've come a long way
We're changing day to day
But tell me, where do the children play?

 

Well you've cracked the sky, scrapers fill the air
But will you keep on building higher
'Til there's no more room up there?
Will you make us laugh, will you make us cry?
Will you tell us when to live, will you tell us when to die?

 

 know we've come a long way
We're changing day to day
But tell me, where do the children play?

 

Yusuf Islam

 

In today's Lion Lamb blog I write about the musical artist once known as Cat Stevens who will soon be releasing a reimagining of a highly successful album. Tea for the Tillerman which is now 50 years old  Stevens converted to Islam and changed his name to Yusuf. It was a fundamentalist form of the religion which led him to make incendiary comments, putting him on an international watch list, and  causing him to walk away from secular music for twenty years or more.



Tea for the Tillerman 2 includes all the original songs, rerecorded, including Where Do the Children Play? This song is accompanied by a stop-motion animated video which asks the question in a world which has obviously degraded by human greed and mindless industrialization. While it has been described as a disturbing post-apocalyptic vision it really is "apocalypse now" in too many places on our planet. After all, the title is Where Do the Children Play?, not Where Will the Children Play?

I'm glad Yusuf/Stevens is back and offering this timely message. Every major religion acknowledges God as Creator and there is a growing environmental movement in Islam, which I appreciate. To care for the Earth for this generation and those to come is true faithfulness.

There is a glimpse of hope at the end of the video and there always is when we respect the Creator and Creation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBCJhNiKhFE

All Nature Sings on Listening Day

1 This is God's wondrous world,
 and to my listening ears
  all nature sings, and round me rings
 the music of the spheres.
 This is God's wondrous world;
 I rest me in the thought
  of rocks and trees, of skies and seas,
 God's hand the wonders wrought.

Voices United 296

Tomorrow is World Listening Day and this year's theme, created by Wild Sanctuary Vice President Katherine Krause is The Collective Field.

There is something new afoot. The field itself is changing.

The creature world knows.  The creative one does too. 

So what does it mean now to listen? How do we express what we know?

Be alert.

Individually and in concert,

There is sanctity in it.

Amid new conditions, travel the field and explore

By call and response

The rhythm within. 

How does your song fit

Within the collective chorus?

I actually think that last year's theme, Listening With, also fits well in these unsettled times It is an awkward and un-poetic title until reading the subtext on the website:

Listening with an awareness that all around you are other life-forms simultaneously listening and sensing with you – plant roots, owls, cicadas, voles – mutually intertwined within the web of vibrations which animate and surround our planet.

This  is what I strive to do whenever I can, wherever I am. During the past four months when what we assumed was normal existence was turned upside down we actually "upped our game" in terms of getting outside. In the first weeks we sought out places to walk where we seldom see other people. Since the end of March we've paddled...and paddled...and paddled -- the ultimate physical distancing. Lots of cycling as well, much of it along the water's edge. We feel that we have been as attuned to the progression of the seasons and creatures around us in a way we may never have been before, even though we have always been outdoor people.

Early in the Spring we visited several waterfalls and delighted in the thunder of the run-off. While we could barely communicate above the roar that was part of the appeal. We always love the weeks when the Spring peepers and chorus frogs are in full voice. It's also a delight to hear the wind through leaves, which is so different that a breeze through bare branches.

We are of an age when listening is more of a physical challenge because. well, we're old! But the words of the hymn still ring true for us, and each day is meant for listening.

 

 

Plastics are Against Our Religion...Every Month!

Last week Ruth, my wife, grocery shopped with mask and gloves on, as has become her practice. She followed the store protocols and took her place in the physical distancing queue. What happened at the check-out was different than it has been during the past few months. Instead of putting groceries in the plastic bags she's been forced to use, rather than the multi-use, washable bags she usually brings. she put all her items in the cart to take to our vehicle.

As she loaded them in the back on an extremely hot morning she realized that next time she would be prepared with containers to receive the groceries for the trip home. Why did she go to this effort? Disposable plastics are "against her religion", as much as that's possible these days. One of the many examples of collateral damage with COVID-19 is the sharp uptick in the use of plastics in virtually every aspect of life. A lot of it makes sense for the safety of humans but it's a mess for the environment.

And all those disposable gloves? Inexplicably, people flush them down toilets -- is COVID a brain-wasting disease?-- clogging sewers and treatment plants. Personal Protective Equipment is washing up on shores everywhere.





This month happens to be Plastic Free July and we can all take our responsibility to "live with respect in Creation" seriously be using as little plastic as possible and being care-full about how we dispose of what we must use. We are aware that the use of plastics has come about in our lifetimes (born mid-50's) and that somehow life was possible.

We can also push governments to strengthen rather than weaken environmental laws, which many jurisdictions are doing during the pandemic. Here is the form letter I sent to the Ford government in Ontario provided by the Sierra Club and the link for you to do as well. Indiscriminate use of plastics should be "against our religion" for all Groundlings.

Dear Premier Ford:

I am writing today to call on you to take the following actions to reduce plastic pollution, reuse a greater amount of plastics by providing more recycling opportunities within our province, and retain plastic pollution by keeping microplastics out of our Great Lakes and drinking water.
I know that very soon the Government of Ontario will be releasing rules for recycling and reducing plastic waste and I am looking for strong regulatory action to tackle plastic pollution. Under COVID-19, some single-use plastic products have been used a lot more. We need to stop the use of this unnecessary plastic once the risk of COVID spread declines.

This can be achieved by implementing the following:

1. REDUCE: Ban styrofoam and single-use plastic products like disposable plastic bags and black plastic (which cannot be recycled).

2. REUSE: Act immediately to regulate plastic recycling and re-use through the soon-to-be-released Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act (RRCEA) framework. I urge you to establish regulatory timelines and standards for the recovery and recycling of plastic waste, shift the responsibility to polluters to collect and re-use or recycle plastic waste by establishing full Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) rules, and expanding recycling retrieval beyond residential waste to all sources of paper and packaging waste by 2026. We know this will save municipalities money and create jobs in the recycling sector. Structured correctly, EPR will also incentivize companies to innovate to reduce the amount of waste created in the first place - saving them money and resources. 
 
3. RETAIN: Protecting our Great Lakes is a priority to all of us.  We know that annually, an estimated 22 million pounds or 10 million kilograms of plastic enter our Great Lakes. Plastic debris harms wildlife and fish through ingestion and entanglement; and microplastics threaten healthy drinking water for everyone around the Great Lakes. Making strong rules for waste reduction and recovery and recycling through the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act (RRCEA) will help reduce some of the plastic litter that chokes the Great Lakes - but not all of it.  I, in concert with Sierra Club members around the Great Lakes, ask that you, as part of efforts to “build back better” post-COVID-19, require wastewater treatment plants to install microplastic filtres that will help keep our drinking water and Great Lakes safe.

Reducing plastic pollution will create jobs, save taxpayer dollars, and incentivize industries and businesses to innovate. I look forward to Ontario taking clear and effective action to tackle plastic pollution in the months ahead.

Sincerely,

https://www.sierraclub.ca/en/node/3639

Always Time for Saint Kateri

I was a bit puzzled to see that the Roman Catholic church is celebrating Saint Kateri Tekakwitha today. It seemed that only recently this 17th century Mohawk woman who died at the age of 24 was recognized with a feast day. I discovered that she is acknowledged in April here in Canada, and July in the United States.

She was venerated for centuries as a paragon of virtue, a perpetual virgin, which just seems odd to this Protestant. As you may know as a regular reader, I appreciate Kateri Tekakwitha because she has also been claimed as a patron saint of the environment, alongside St. Francis. I love the icon above which portrays her in that role. There is a Saint Kateri Conservation Center in New York State and I encourage you to check out their environmental vision.
Mission
We are a Catholic non-profit conservation organization. Our mission is to promote Catholic faith, integral ecology, and life. We were founded in 2000, during the papacy of Saint John Paul II.
We inspire Catholics and all people of good will to create and restore healthy habitats for people and wildlife at home and in our parishes.
Our programs accomplish the following:

• restore habitats for people, plants, and animals

• conserve biodiversity

• provide healthy food

• protect clean air and water

• conserve energy

• limit climate change

• increase faith and rebuild the Church

• restore our relationships with God, each other, and all of nature.

https://www.kateri.org/


In one piece about her today there is the image of a sculpture of St. Kateri which strangely I've seen a couple of times. It's in the courtyard in front of the cathedral in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I've gone to the Ghost Ranch centre in the high desert north of Santa Fe for courses and retreat, spending time in the capital city on the way. Small world.

A Different Worship Rhythm

 

Moira River, Sunday July 12th Photo: Ruth Mundy

I'm old-school enough (or is that just old?) that I still appreciate the rhythm of what was once was called "The Lord's Day", the Sunday morning worship experience which was its sort of holy metronome, counting the beat of our spiritual lives. That had changed for most Canadians well before COVID, by absence, while the pandemic has thrown the rest of us out of kilter. We're recording our worship services at weird and wonderful times and folk can watch when they choose, where they choose, and presumably with a drink in hand...if they choose!

I provided the worship reflection and prayer for our congregational home the past couple of weeks and recorded it mid-week, outdoors. Why do so in an echoey and empty church sanctuary.

This morning we got out early for a paddle on the Moira River, north of Belleville where we experienced a measure of the silence and solitude about which I spoke. The congregation included a heavenly host of dragonflies, blue herons, kingfishers and a couple of muskrats. The beaver which slapped its tail nearby broke the silence in a way that we nearly baptized ourselves.

At one point Ruth offered "this is worship!" and she was correct -- as she always is, of course. We weren't worshipping what we saw, but what we saw and heard and experienced through all our senses ushered us into the presence of the Creator. For so long Christians have been suspicious of animism, as an inferior and even demonic form of worship. Indigenous peoples around the world have been converted and punished because they experienced the Creator in all things. Perhaps we can humble ourselves to appreciate what God had done and continues to offer through the multiplicity of creatures around us, the water, the air, the grassed and trees of the Earth.

I'll be there when Sunday worship resumes, but I'm appreciating the different rhythm in which I celebrate the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer in the beauty around me.

 

Heavens Above

 

Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE Near Barcelona.

Photo by Albert Llop / NurPhoto via Getty Images

 

Immediately after the distress of those days

the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;

the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.

 

Jesus -- Matthew 24:29

Comets

Comets are frozen leftovers from the formation of the solar system composed of dust, rock and ices. They range from a few miles to tens of miles wide, but as they orbit closer to the sun, they heat up and spew gases and dust into a glowing head that can be larger than a planet. This material forms a tail that stretches millions of miles.

 

Source: NASA 

I sent son Isaac a link to an online National Geographic piece about what is described as one of the brightest comets in years. Ike is keen on the heavens above, and has become increasingly knowledgeable. He searches out "dark sky" spots in the area and has a telescope he trots out from time to time. The comet is NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) and it will be visible in Northern Hemisphere skies until mid-August.

Isaac is also a United Church minister so aware that there are many references in scripture to the celestial bodies that are signs and portents of everything from the Creator's blessing to God's curse, although this isn't why he's interested.

The most obvious is whatever the "star" of Matthew's gospel might have been, which led the Magi to Bethlehem and the young Jesus.

Getting a glimpse of NEOWISE is described as a "once in a lifetime" experience, given that the path it  takes around the Sun takes nearly 7,000 years to complete. Although it has been visible just before dawn, starting today the comet will start to appear in the evening just after sunset. It’ll be in the northwestern sky, below the Big Dipper constellation (or Ursa Major). Get our there!