The Sacred Partnerships of World Wildlife Day

1 Great is thy faithfulness, God our Creator;

there is no shadow of turning with thee;

thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;

as thou hast been thou forever wilt be.

Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

all I have needed thy hand hath provided -

great is thy faithfulness, ever to me!

2 Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,

sun, moon, and stars in their courses above

join with all nature in manifold witness

to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.  R

Friday was the 50th anniversary of World Wildlife Day and while I blogged on another subject then I'm going to acknowledge it today. We're informed regularly that the human destruction of habitat for all creatures and the effects of catastrophic climate change is pushing us all closer to mass extinction. 

It's likely that the majority of us have limited awareness of what is transpiring, or the alarming pace of destruction. We are now at the point where more than half of humanity lives in cities -- 56% , 4. 4 billion inhabitants. The rhythms of night and day, the seasons, the migrations of creatures --caribou, butterflies, birds -- are lost to us in terms of actual observation.

I'm encouraged to see that more and more nations are forming partnerships with Indigenous peoples to have oversight over regions which are often referred to in Canada as Crown Land. This term is code for "land white people stole even though there are treaties." When European nations invaded countries and regions around the world they often used language such as "terra nullis" and "doctrine of discovery" which, sadly,  was created by the Christian church. It gave permission for invaders to subjugate the peoples of those lands and to wantonly exploit resources. Now we are reaping what we sowed for the planet and need the help of those who were treated with contempt. 

We can't give up hope for our planet because "this is God's wondrous world", as another hymn begins, and so as those who honour the Creator will also "live with respect in Creation." (UCC New Creed)

 March 3 is World Wildlife Day. It is a United Nations International day to celebrate all the world's wild animals and plants and the contribution that they make to our lives and the health of the planet.

This date was chosen as it is the birthday of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, signed in 1973. This World Wildlife Day is also a celebration of CITES as it turns 50. In recognition of the work CITES does and the collaborative work for conservation that is going on globally, the theme for World Wildlife Day this year is 'Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation'...