Earth Month and Ely Cathedral

 

                                                                  Ely Cathedral Gaia Installation 

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
    the world, and those who live in it;
2 for he has founded it on the seas,
    and established it on the rivers.

                                               Psalm 24:1-2 NRSV

Tomorrow is Earth Day and I'm pleased that many Christian communities have been recognizing Earth Month during April in a variety of ways. Some are asking how they can address the climate emergency in practical and effective ways. Others have employed visual elements to their places of worship. Ely Cathedral in Great Britain is an Anglican "mother church" dating back a thousand years or more and has one of the largest naves in the country. The congregation has a strong commitment to the arts so its not surprising that they've taken a "go big or go home" approach to an installation  of a seven-metre replica of planet Earth created by Luke Jerram, and suspended from high above. 

Jerram says: “I'm hoping when people come and see this Earth artwork, they will realise the beauty and fragility of our planet and, actually, it is our only home and we really have to look after it.”There is a surround-sound composition by BAFTA-winning composer Dan Jones in the same space. 

This is so creative and as you can imagine I strongly support employing the arts to express faith and care for our planetary home. As Groundlings we celebrate Creation and Creator in ways that stir our hearts and minds and issues in our actions. 

Oh yes, in my rummaging for information on this installation I discovered that peregrine falcons have nested on the cathedral and that they have a "falcon-cam" to watch their family progress. Cool!