Mary's Point

I was walking through the biography section of our excellent library in Bowmanville and saw a book with the title Sanctuary. Since this is a "religousy" word I stopped to look. It is actually the story of a little known but hugely influential environmentalist in New Brunswick. The title is

Sanctuary: The Story of Naturalist Mary Majka by Deborah Carr. I signed it out because libraries are great for letting us peruse books we might not otherwise buy.

I was deeply impressed by the story of this immigrant woman and her determination to save environmentally sensitive areas of her adopted land, as well as historic buildings. It was Majka who with her husband and a friend purchased coastal land including Mary's Point (the name is coincidental) thereby protecting a staging area for millions of migratory birds when no one else seemed to understand its importance.http://etc.lib.unb.ca/womenactivists/mary-majka

We have visited Mary's Point several times and Ruth and I have been discussing returning to New Brunswick this summer. The first time was when our three children were young. They walked down onto the beach and sat in front of a drift log. Suddenly a huge flock of shore birds swept in. A naturalist assured us that there were tens of thousands. Because the kids were down low the birds enveloped them and they sat still, spellbound. It is one of our fondest travel memories.

I am often struck by the prophetic voices and actions of those often unlikely figures in every age who make choices and speak out despite being alone or unpopular. I am too often concerned about what others think or get caught in conventional wisdom, even though I admire the bravery and forward thinking of these individuals. There isn't a discussion of Mary's religious convictions in the book, or lack thereof, but we do hear about a United Church ministry, Roland Hutchinson.

She does say " I have been the stone that starts the avalanche. There is nothing in this world, except for natural occurrences, that cannot be changed for good or bad. So let's try for the good!"

Have you heard of Mary Majka? She has received the Order of Canada, but who knew? Have you ever been bold in your witness and actions, including as a Christian?