The Wisdom of Wilderness & The Outrun

It is plagarism when I include a blog entry on both my Lion Lamb and Groundling blogs?  If so, I insincerely seek forgiveness. 

A couple of years ago I wrote about the memoir called The Outrun by Amy Liptrot. It would be simplistic to reduce this to a reflection on addiction and recovery but this is at the heart of Liptrot's journey. I found it a compelling read because it is so honest, to the point of being almost overwhelmingly bleak at times, while also beautifully written and ultimately hopeful. 

Liptrot grew up on one of the Orkney Islands in a household with a bipolar father. When he eventually left her mother became a fundamentalist Christian. Leaving was a liberation and the gateway to deep addiction that destroyed relationships and a promising career. Stints in rehab didn't work and in desparation she reluctantly returned home. It was in this raw, scraped down setting that Amy took the halting steps toward recovery.

Now there is a film of the same name with the brilliant Saoirse Ronan as Rona, aka Amy Lipcott. Much of it is filmed on the farm where Liptrot lived and she is one of the writers of the screenplay. In an interview she reflects on how surreal it has been to see out-takes of her own life played with remarkable authenticity by Saoirse Ronan, right to birthing lambs on screen. Every review I've seen praises Ronan and this autobiographical picture. We can hardly wait to watch it. 

                                                            Saoirse Ronan and Amy Liptrot

More and more we're hearing of studies demonstrating that time in the natural world can be a source of healing. Various jurisdictions around the world, from Japan to Canada to Great Britain, are endorsing the literal prescriptions for nature-based health in body, mind, and spirit. 

One of the best books on addiction from a spiritual perspective is Addiction and Grace (1988) by Gerald May, the late psychiatrist and Christian spiritual director. He contends that all of us have addictions of some kind, often socially acceptable, and that addressing addiction is a spiritual enterprise where the grace of God is vital. 

Not long before his death May wrote The Wisdom of Wilderness, a very personal reflection on how time in the natural world allows us to address fears and to heal. 

Amy Liptrot discovered this and I hope we all can. 

Seniors for Climate Action & St. Francis

 Most high, all powerful, all good Lord! All praise is yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing. To you, alone, Most High, do they belong. No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce your name.

Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures, especially through my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day; and you give light through him. And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor! Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars; in the heavens you have made them, precious and beautiful.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air, and clouds and storms, and all the weather, through which you give your creatures sustenance.

Be praised, My Lord, through Sister Water; she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Fire, through whom you brighten the night. He is beautiful and cheerful, and powerful and strong.

Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth, who feeds us and rules us, and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

Be praised, my Lord, through those who forgive for love of you; through those who endure sickness and trial. Happy those who endure in peace, for by you, Most High, they will be crowned.

Be praised, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, from whose embrace no living person can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Happy those she finds doing your most holy will. The second death can do no harm to them.

Praise and bless my Lord, and give thanks, and serve him with great humility.

Canticle of the Sun -- attributed to St. Francis of Assisi 

Allie Rougeot

@AlienorR2

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“Seniors, this is the most important time of our lives. We aren’t waiting for a raise or a promotion. We have nothing to fear. We have to stand up and fight!” - David Suzuki, live from downtown Toronto

 Today is the Feast of Francis in the Christian calendar, a liturgical homage to the 12th century ascetic monk who is the Roman Catholic patron saint of animals and ecology. The current pope is the only one to ever choose Francis for his name  (21 called John through the centuries), a recognition of his namesake's radical simplicity and care for God's creatures. Francis the monk died in his late thirties while Pope Francis is 87, well past what most would consider the "best before date" for an environmental activist. 

I believe that we can be passionate about the Earth and "live with respect in Creation" no matter what our age. It may be that as we age we have the time and the freedom to be both more aware and active as advocates for Turtle Island, as the planet is termed in some Indigenous cultures. I've certainly noticed that many of the participants in environmental events we've attended are getting up in age, as we are!

I wasn't aware until after the fact that this past Tuesday was National Seniors Day, nor had I ever heard that there is a group called Seniors for Climate Action Now. They held rallies for climate action across Ontario on October 1st, among 75 in total across the country. David Suzuki, 88, one of Canada's most outspoken oldtimers, encouraged seniors to become engaged when he spoke at what appears to be a church. 

We are also never too old to appreciate the natural world or Creation for its own sake. This morning the two 70-year-olds of our household canoed on a local river. We saw blue herons and kingfishers and glided wondrously close to a green heron. Delighting in the goodness and diversity of Creation is a form of praise and prayer. I'm convinced that St. Francis would approve. 

Rosh Hashanah & Earth-Keeping

 

This evening marks the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. This is the beginning of a ten day period of reflection and repentance. It has been noted by some Jews that because Rosh Hashanah recognized the creation of the world it is also an opportunity to consider how we 

Rosh Hashanah marks the anniversary of the creation of the world. In addition to the themes of repentance, self-reflection and prayer that are traditionally thought about during the Yamim Noraim (High Holy Days), we mark and celebrate God’s work in creating the world. As we contemplate our actions, both good and bad, during the past year, we turn our thoughts to the world around us and our role as stewards of Creation.

Religious Action Center of Reform Jews

We are approaching the conclusion of the Season of Creation/Creation Time/Creationtide in the Christian Year and it seems appropriate that we note that much of what our bible says about "living with respect in Creation" (UCC New Creed) comes from the passages about Creator and Creation in the Hebrew or Jewish scriptures. 

I think of Ellen Bernstein today, a river guide who became a rabbi and environmental writer. In 1988 she founded Shomrei Adamah, Keepers of the Earth, the first Jewish environmental organization. Bernstein died earlier this year at the tender age of 70 and because she sounded the shofar, the ram's horn, for environmental justice, I will share some of her thoughts with you: 

The Creation story, Jewish law, the cycle of holidays, prayers, mitzvot (good deeds) and neighborly relations all reflect a reverence for land and a viable practice of stewardship... 

Rabbi Bernstein Ecology & the Jewish Spirit: Where Nature & the Sacred Meet

Humanity's role is to tend the garden, not to possess it; to "guard it and keep it" (Genesis 2), not to exploit it; to pass it on as sacred trust, as it was given. Even though we are given the authority to have dominion over the earth and its creatures, we are never allowed to own it, just like we can't own the waters or the air. "The land cannot be sold in perpetuity" (Lev. 25:23). The land is the commons, and it belongs to everyone equally and jointly.

Ellen Bernstein, "Rereading Genesis: Human Stewardship of the Earth,” Righteous Indignation: A Jewish Call for Justice

Covenant with Indigenous Peoples and All Creation

Yesterday I cycled to Market Square in Belleville to join roughly 200 others in acknowledging Canada's 4th Truth and Reconciliation Day. We began with a blessing led by a an educator and a member of the Bear clan from the nearby Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.  She spoke in both Mohawk and English and we were invited to give assent at various times to the recognition of creatures and plants, the sun and moon and stars. 

As a Christian what came to mind was the Canticle of St. Francis and Creation psalms. I am also keenly aware that not only did Christianity lose its way when it came to affirming the interconnectedness of all Creation, my religion was determined to suppress this balance expressed by various Indigenous groups around the world. 

When we were on Haida Gawai in June I was dismayed to learn that Christian missionaries often insisted that Haida totem poles with their creaturely representations be destroyed under threat of eternal peril. The Haida speak of the post-missionary era beginning in the 1960s, a terrible indictment of those who supposedly came to bear witness to Christ, the embodiment of the Creator's love and the first-born of Creation.

There appears to be a seeping pushback against Indigenous recognition in the land we call Canada and this disturbs me. What we need within what is often called settler culture is humility, a willingness to listen and learn. This can be a form of repentance and a step toward Truth and Reconciliation. 

We also heard about the Covenant Chain yesterday, the complex system of alliances and  agreements between the British Crown and Indigneous peoples. That chain was tarnished and broken many times by a colonial power that did what was convenient and expedient. The term "covenant" is one Christians know from the promise relationships of the people who pledged allegiance to the Creator. Each year we can renew and deepen the covenant of our forebears on Truth and Reconciliation Day. 

When Worlds Collide

 

Patricia Seaton Homonylo won 2024's Bird Photographer of the Year for this photo of 4,000 dead birds, all killed by colliding with glass in Toronto. The image also netted gold in the competition's Conservation category. (Patricia Seaton Homonylo/Bird Photographer of the Year)

1 God sees the little sparrow fall,
it meets his tender view;
if God so loves the little birds,
I know he loves me too.

1 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

What is it about old people and bird feeders? We have several that are visible through the windows of our family room and the avian creatures are often more entertaining than what's on the television screen. Recently a guest was up early and excited to tell us about seeing a northern flicker at a feeder, the closest she'd ever been to one.

I would suggest that watching birds, even when we can't name the species, is wonder-full, a gift from the Creator. When we were on Haida Gwaii in June of this year we saw plenty of bald eagles, sometimes a dozen or more in one spot. While this was spectacular, we are enchanted when a gaggle of frantically noisy goldfinches show up at a feeder or chickadees come for a drink at one of several bird baths we have around our yard. We have done our best to put our feeders where the birds won't be injured flying into windows and we've made what we think are largely successful efforts to cat-proof our yard. 

I heard an CBC interview with Patricia Homonylo, a photographer whose image called When Worlds Collide recently won a  2024 Bird Photography of the Year award. It both beautifully and grimly shows the bodies -- 4,000 of them -- of birds  that fatally collided with buildings in Toronto last year. 

"I want people to be shocked by this image," Homonylo told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. "I want them to really think about what they're seeing. The picture features a wild turkey at its centre, surrounded by concentric circles of smaller and smaller birds, including hawks, owls, warblers, blue jays and more. Their bodies were collected and arranged by members of the Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP), a Canadian charity where Homonylo volunteers, which helps birds injured in these kinds of collisions.

"Unfortunately, most of the birds they find are dead. [But] those bodies are never left behind," Homonylo said. "Once a year, the volunteers get together and they create this beautiful and tragic image of the birds called The Layout. And that's what you're looking at."

It's sad, isn't it? It's estimated that up to 42 million birds die in Canada each year due to these collisions and various organizations and levels of government are pressing for companies to turn off the lights at night and for home owners to take measures to reduce the risk. It does seem as though humans are waging war on birds with loss of habitat and climate change as other challenges. 

I've written often enough about the remarkable number of bird references in the bible and Jesus told his followers to look to the birds of the air as examples of how to risk anxiety and worry. I grew up singing "God Sees the Little Sparrow Fall" but it didn't make it into Voices United. I am fond of "God of the Sparrow" though and "On Eagles Wings" is a fave as well. 

I've included another, more hopeful, award-winning photo as well. I love gannets and have watched them dive, mesmerized by their beauty. 

Could we consider watching, feeding, respecting birds as a spiritual practice? 

U.S. photographer Kat Zhou won gold in the Birds in the Environment category at the 2024 Bird Photography of the Year Awards for this picture, titled Immersion. Taken while scuba diving, it shows northern gannets diving into the ocean on a sunny day in Shetland, U.K. (Kat Zhou/Bird Photographer of the Year)

Another Day, More Rivers

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

Psalm 72:8 NRSVue

Yesterday was World Rivers Day and I've decided to offer a follow-up to my Groundling blog for September 22 about the importance of rivers. 

Time Magazine ran a cover article about the ever-growing issue of water usage in the United States, focussing on the relentless pilfering of this precious resource from the once mighty Colorado River. The piece outlines how the Navajo people use the least amount of water, per capita, in the States yet they are allocated limited amounts from the Colorado while wealthier white jurisdictions push to the front of the line. There are a number of states that draw from the Colorado and they are squabbling about allocations of water that doesn't exist because of overuse and climate change accelerated drought. It is a pathetic and absurd image of state officials duking it out over hypothetical H2O. 

As Canadians we should be aware that the Mackenzie, Canada's longest river at 1700 kilometres, is experiencing its own crisis. Water levels are about two metres below what would be considered normal because of drought.  Indigneous elders say that they have never seen the river so low. The river basin extends into five provinces and territories which means that Great Bear and Great Slave Lakes are at very low levels, as are smaller rivers feeding into the Mackenzie.This means that a vital transportation conduit has been compromised and communities are stranded when it comes to supplies, everything from food to fuel. Indigenous people along the Mackenzie describe themselves as "river people" and there is a spiritual significance as well as the physical. They know that climate change is a contributing factor to this drought. 

As people of the Creator and as Christians we must pay attention to what is happening in this land blessed with abundant water we take for granted. Let's keep in mind that the Canadian motto comes from Psalm 72 and includes a reference to a River. 

The Creator and World Rivers Day

God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
    though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea,
 though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy habitation of the Most High.

Psalm 46:1-4 NRSVue

Yesterday we headed to a section of the Moira River north of Belleville with two of our grandchildren and a canoe on the roof. We spent about an enjoyable hour on the water with sightings of blue herons and kingfishers. When we first paddled with these two they were three and five years old and the younger was small enough to fit in front of Ruth in the bow. They take up a lot more room at nine and eleven and the older enjoys paddling rather than being a passenger. On our return to the launch spot I went out with him in the bow for a few minutes and he was a proficient paddler. 

It is wonderful that there are so many waterways. large and small, in this province and across the country. In days past our streams and rivers have been the highways for Indigenous peoples as well as trade routes for the voyageurs. 

This is World Rivers Day and according to the website:

World Rivers Day is a global celebration of the world’s waterways. It emphasizes the importance of rivers, aims to increase public awareness, and encourages better stewardship of rivers everywhere. Rivers in virtually every country face numerous threats, and only through our active involvement can we ensure their health and vitality for generations to come.

Canada has some of the longest and broadest rivers in the world including the Mackenzie in the west and the St. Lawrence in the east. We also share rivers such as the Columbia with our American neighbours, which is a little scary. During a recent rally the demented Donald Trump claimed “So you have millions of gallons of water pouring down from the north with the snow caps in Canada and all pouring down. And they have essentially a very large faucet. And you turn the faucet and it takes one day to turn it. It’s massive.”

While this is a bizarre claim the United States has coveted Canadian water for years. Speaking of bizarre, Robert Kennedy Jr, the conspiracy theorist presidential candidate who has now thrown in his lot with Trump was the co-founder of the excellent North American organization called Riverkeepers. A few years ago I invited the head of Waterkeepers Canada, originally an offshoot of Riverkeepers, to speak at Bridge St. Church during Creation Time.

Let's include in our prayers the northern Indigenous community of Grassy Narrows whose river, the English-Wabigoon, is still dangerously polluted by mercury after decades of posonous effluent by industry.

Today I do want to celebrate rather than lament our rivers, despite all the threats. Perhaps we could all recall times on or near rivers that brought us pleasure and a sense of the holy. There are plenty of references to rivers in scripture and we can uphold the joy of living, flowing water.