Turtle Island Biodiversity & Living With Respect

                                                                   Our Turtle Sanctuary  

O Lord, how manifold are your works!

   In wisdom you have made them all;
   the earth is full of your creatures.

 Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
   creeping things innumerable are there,
   living things both small and great.

                    Psalm 104: 24-25 NRSVue 

During yesterday's Giving Tuesday I received at least two requests to help out the turtles. We do support a turtle rescue organization in Peterborough.  Turtles are in trouble around the world, including here in southern Ontario. Even though we see turtles regularly as we paddle --Painted, Snapping, occasionally Blandings -- populations of most of the eight Ontario species are struggling for survival. I keep my Winter emergency shovel in our vehicle through the Spring to help turtles across roads and I've stopped on a number of occasions. 

On Monday we heard that biodiversity in Canada is in serious decline and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault issued a statement which includes these thoughts: 

“Planet earth has been called the Blue Marble—a fragile, nurturing home for all of humanity and all of its other inhabitants. When we protect nature, we also enable nature to care for us. Green, resilient, and healthy neighbourhoods, a clean, low-carbon economy, and thriving ecosystems are the keys to sustainable life on Earth.

“Canadians have a deep connection with nature, and strive to live in harmony with it and care for it. However, our current way of life has had significant impacts on nature. Many of the natural spaces and species we love are under threat from human activity and climate change. Biodiversity loss and climate change are intrinsically connected.

“We are facing an unprecedented biodiversity crisis with more than one million species facing extinction globally, including 640 at-risk species in Canada. This rapid decline of biodiversity has critical implications for humanity, from the collapse of food, economic, and health systems, to the disruption of entire supply chains."

I've noted before that I don't worship turtles and they aren't mentioned at all in the bible. Yet scripture does celebrate the diversity of creatures in the world God has brought into being. I'm assuming this includes reptiles. I do appreciate that in different expressions of Indigenous spirituality the Earth is described as "turtle island" and some Christian Indigenous communites of faith have incorporated this imagery in various ways. 

As I continue to share art within our home during Advent I come back to this alcove at the top of a staircase where I seem to have collected lots of turtles. The snapping turtle (plastic) underneath the table is difficult to see. Other images have been gleaned here and there, including illustrations from magazines which I've framed. I see them several times a day and I love 'em. The artwork is beautiful, in my estimation, and they remind me of the importance of "living in respect with Creation." (United Church New Creed.) 

The Lessons of the Birds

But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
    the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
8 ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you,
    and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
    that the hand of the Lord has done this?
10 In his hand is the life of every living thing
    and the breath of every human being.

                                 Job 12:7-10

God of the sparrow God of the whale

God of the swirling stars

How does the creature say Awe

How does the creature say Praise

                    Voices United 229 vs 1

We keep our bird feeders up year round, adjusting the number and the food they contain according to the season. We're not quite up to a full complement yet but there are six out there now, and they are busy places. Most of our feeders are visible from our family room windows and when we have guests they often notice our avian companions and express their delight. Our elderly piano tuner was enchanted the last time he came to work on our even older musical instrument. 

Birds were often watched for divination in ancient times and an area established to view them was called a templum, giving us the word temple as a place of worship. In the bible there are lots of references to birds and Jesus invited us to consider birds as a model for living beyond anxiety. 

Jesus was on to something, as was supported by a recent Time article: 

Birdwatching—or even simply listening—can lead to an array of mental-health benefits in humans, including long-lasting stress relief. 

“The mental-health benefits are profound,” says [Joan] Strassmann, who’s the author of the new book Slow Birding: The Art and Science of Enjoying the Birds in Your Own Backyard. “Sitting outside and listening to the birds and getting to know their songs is really calming. And to me, the special thing about birds is that they can leave—they don’t have to be there, but they have chosen to be where you are, and at some point, they’ll move on.”

I like the notion that birds can be our teachers and that being in proximity to them can calm our spirits. The great migration of Autumn is essentially over now but it is a wonder, a seasonal miracle that billions of birds fly great distances, sometimes more than ten thousand kilometres on their twice-yearly pilgrimages -- or is that peregrinations? 

During Advent I'm sharing images of various pieces of art in our home. The photo above is of a needlework depiction of birds which often frequent our feeders which I've shared before. Nearly all these birds have showed up during the past couple of days. It was a gift from a woman in one congregation named Vicki who lived with a debilitating and life-altering illness. She struggled with anxiety and fear yet she had a sustaining Christian faith and was determined to continue her creativity in a variety of ways. This is immediately above my computer desk and I need to remind myself to pay attention to its beauty. 

Interpreting Creation

 

                                                                    Valerie Nichol painting 

Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king's son.

May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.

May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness.

 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, 

give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.

May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, 

throughout all generations.

May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.

In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, 

until the moon is no more.

May he have dominion from sea to sea
    and from the River to the ends of the earth.

 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.

 Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. 

Amen and Amen.

Psalm 72: 1-8, 18-19 NRSVue (Advent 2 reading) 

During Advent I'll do some reflecting on what it means to be "grounded" and "groundling" Christians as we prepare for the coming of the Christ. I'll wander around our home and take photos of some of our art work which tends to be nature themed. 

This painting is by Collingwood area artist Valerie Nichol who says about herself 

I’m attracted to textures

tree bark, earth, snow and rock formations, water surfaces, waves, ripples, frost patterns…

I love movement

movement as in a piece of music that builds to a climax and falls away.
Movement as in rolling clouds and waves.

Many guests have commented on this piece and see waves breaking on a shore, hills in the distance, heather on a moor -- it's open to interpretation. Happily, we haven't grown tired of this piece and it continues to offer up its gifts. That's our experience in Creation, that when we head outdoors we are rarely disappointed and often enchanted by what we see. Recently we saw a small swan feather on the surface of the Moira River north of town and it was the gift of the Creator -- and the swan --  in that day. 

I have added verse eight of Psalm 72 to the reading for the second Sunday of Advent (above) because it contains the verse which is the motto of Canada,  A Mari usque ad Mare" or "From sea to sea". 

Advent "Inside Out"

Sparrow on the Altar -- Margot Metcalfe -- 2000

  How lovely is your dwelling place,  O Lord of hosts!

 My soul longs, indeed it faints, for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest for herself

where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts,

 my King and my God.

 Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise.

Happy are those whose strength is in you, 

in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

 As they go through the valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs;
    the early rain also covers it with pools.

                                Psalm 84:1-7 NRSVue

We attended Advent 1 worship this morning and there was something of an outdoor, Creation-focussed theme to the service. On our way there we stopped for a walk in a cemetery by the Bay of Quinte, a body of water which was referred to during the time for children. 

I've been thinking about how these four weeks of Advent might be an "inside out" experience in a time when we're inclined to huddle inside for warmth. How do we anticipate the coming of the Christ who was born in a stable and did most of his best work as an adult in the natural world? 

It occurred to me that our home is filled with art, much of it as expressions of Creation,  and that I could share some of the images with you in this "earthy" Groundling blog as we move through Advent. It's difficult to take photos of pieces on the walls but I trust you'll get the drift even if my attempts are imperfect.  

The first is by Margot Metcalf, an award-winning photographer we got to know while living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She has said  "I love the moment of taking a photograph; it is a moment of presence, of breath, of peace."  This photo called Sparrows on the Altar (2000) and I hope you can make them out, including on the cross. For me this evokes Psalm 84 in which the psalmist proclaims that even the birds celebrate the holiness of the temple of Jerusalem. 

Margot Metcalfe