Hanging Ten with Jesus

 

Jesus Surfs on the Water 

 Immediately he made the disciples get into a boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,  but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land,[a] for the wind was against them.  And early in the morning he came surfing toward them on the sea. 

But when the disciples saw him surfing on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” the morning he came walking toward them on the sea.  But when the disciples saw him surfing, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Matthew 14: 22-- 27 TIC (Tongue in Cheek) Version 

In Paris Canadians are excelling in the pristine swimming pools and appear poised to be on the podium again. And, lo and behold, triathaletes took to the River Seine for the swim portion of the event despite concerns about nasties in the murky waters. 

One of the most fascinating events in these Olympics is taking place nearly 16,000 kilometres away in the spectacular waves of Tahiti, an island part of French Polynesia. This is a relatively new Olympic event (second time) and the cadre of competitors is small -- just 48. Some are saying that an astonishing image capturing the end of a ride for a Brazilian athlete may end up being the iconic photos of the games. 

Brazil's Gabriel Medina reacts after getting a large wave in the 5th heat of the men's surfing round , during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Teahupo'o, on the French Polynesian Island of Tahiti, on July 29, 2024. (Photo by Jerome BROUILLET / AFP via Getty Images)

This got me thinking about the power we see in what is often termed the natural world and what Christians also identify as Creation. I heard someone who has surfed, although not at this level, speak about the exhilaration of the sport, that sense of becoming attuned to a greater force in a way that is spiritual (his word). 

We have our own surfing story in the gospels. Okay, Jesus may have walked on the Sea of Galilee, but think about it. No board, no waves -- it was impressive. The surfing version may be my interpretation and one that may earn me a lightning bolt. As it happens I'm writing during a thunderstorm, another example of Creation and Creator that is truly awesome...dude. 

Droning on About a Moral Compass

 I know next to nothing about drones, whether they be the small recreational type or the substantial and lethal military models. My brother-in-law got some impressive drone footage when we were hiking in Israel last year. We know that both Russia and Ukraine use armed drones to wreak havoc on each other. I do know that drones employ gimbals and stabilizers for directed flight and for gathering images that aren't juddering all over the place. They are compasses of a sort and the drones wouldn't function without them.

The Canadian Olympic women's soccer team could use a compass of the moral kind these days. We've all heard that team officials were attempting to spy on the New Zealand squad prior to their first match in Paris,using a drone. It's become clear that the players weren't aware of the cheating but the coach and some assistants were sent home in disgrace and their future with the team is in doubt.

I listened to a soccer/football expert who conceded that cheating is fairly commonplace in soccer with spies literally hiding in the bushes in some cases. He doubted that there is much is any benefit to these tactics and was baffled given that every game the other team plays at this level is readily available on film. Added to this, New Zealand wasn't considered much of an opponent. The Canadian women won that game and a much more challenging match against France, but these Olympics are tainted and their reputation is in tatters. 

The Olympic Games are considered the apex of excellence in sport, so how does this disgraceful behaviour fit and why stray so far from the ideal with so little possibility of gaining a competitve edge? 

I was brought up with the expression "cheaters never prosper" which is manifestly untrue. Cheaters benefit in a variety of ways and at times it seems that those without gimbals and stabilizers, rule commerce and politics and just about every sphere of life. It's deeply disheartening. Have I ever cheated or veered toward questionable behaviour? It's hard to imagine who hasn't in some way or other (I have) but I've tried to change my ways, make amends, even seek forgiveness for my transgressions. I'm grateful that I never crash-landed but my I've had a few speed-wobbles through the years.

As a Christian I consider honesty a virtue to which I must aspire, even though I fall short along the way. I am concerned that as a society we've lost our moral compass in different ways, and perhaps this incident will invite some soul-searching, although I'm not holding my breath. 

                                                  Canadian Women celebrate win against France 

The Jesus Picnic & the Golan Heights

 

Loaves and Fishes by jfkpaint 

Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes Frieze -- 6th-7th C

Jesus feeds 5000

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near.

When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little."

One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?"

Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was a great deal of grass in the place, so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.

When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets.

When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world."

John 6:1-21 NRSVue

This lectionary gospel story, about perhaps the most famous picnic ever, seems perfect for mid-summer in Canada. Who doesn't like a story with a kid as the unlikely hero?

We've enjoyed a couple of lovely picnics with friends and family in the past few weeks that were spontaneous and downright miraculous in the way they came together with an abundance of delicious food. 

                                                                       Sussita mosaic 

You might recall a blog entry following our two weeks in Israel last year about a new national park called Sussita along the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. We searched it out in our rental vehicle, following a winding road up the Golan Heights to the spot opened a couple of months before we visited. While the location seems remote there are fascinating remains of a number of ancient churches and in one there is a mosaic depicting what scholars are suggesting are...drum roll...loaves and fishes. While there is a traditional  "X marks the spot" site on the north shore of Galilee/Tiberias these churches offer an intriguing alternative memorial to that hillside miracle of long ago. It is definitely a remote spot with no take-out joints nearby. 

I took a look online and Sussita appears to be no more than 50 or 60 kilometres from the community where a dozen children playing soccer died a few days ago in a horrible rocket attack by Hezbollah. The park is still open,  but what a reminder of the grim present-day realities of Israel and neighbours. 

Prayers for the Paris Olympic Athletes

  

                                                                   Prayer Service at St. Denis 

French Catholics pray for athletes in the Basilica Cathedral of Saint-Denis, on Thursday, 25th July, 2024, in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. PICTURE: Fiona André.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

 let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, 

and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us... 

                            Hebrews 12:1 NRSVue

Should we be praying for the Olympic Games in Paris, and what might those prayers include? It's hard to imagine that we might ask the Almighty to favour one team or athlete over another. And with so many nations represented, which God would be invoked? I'm inclined toward their only being one God, but I am a Christian. Is it okay for Christians to offer up prayers?

On Thursday, as the Olympics got underway, a significant congregation gathered in a historic church to pray for athletes, although only one of the many thousands showed up, a runner from the Pacific island of Guam. I hadn't realized that the first the Olympics of the modern era, held in Athens in 1896, were the fruit of a friendship between the French pedagogue Pierre de Coubertin and the Dominican priest Henri Didon. In fact, it  was Didon who created the motto of the International Olympic Committee: Citius, Altius, Fortius (“Faster, Higher, Stronger”). 

                                                                    Basilica of St. Denis, Paris 

Here is a piece from Religion News Service about the service held a few days ago:

(RNS) — On Thursday (July 25), hundreds of French Catholics gathered in the Basilica Cathedral of Saint-Denis, the northern Paris suburb hosting the Olympic Village, to pray and bless athletes before the competition’s Friday opening. 

Joseph Green, a 22-year-old track-and-field runner from Guam, broke into tears as the crowd massed around him in a prayer chain.  “It got to my heart,” Green said. “Standing in this beautiful church, hearing all the beautiful voices, and seeing all the people who showed up really got to me.” 

The Rev. Eugène Doussal, administrator of the Saint-Denis diocese, presented Green with a medal that features Mary the Virgin and is said to bestow miracles. The same medal first adorned Usain Bolt and appeared around his neck during the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where the Jamaican sprinter won his third gold medal. Green, who like Bolt, specializes in the 100-meter dash, said the ceremony felt special for him because prayer is his main ritual before a race. 

The vigil was the first of a series of upcoming events organized by Holy Games, an initiative planned for the past two years by Paris’ archdiocese and the Bishops’ Conference of France as a way to spiritually support athletes, coaches and visitors. Holy Games, said Isabelle de Chatellus, the project’s director, is an occasion for French Catholics to center faith and spirituality while the whole world turns its eyes to Paris. She argues that the initiative aims to show that sports can be a path to sanctity, not only for athletes but for everyone. 

It would truly be a miracle is the athlete from Guam won a medal, but we can pray for the safety of all those involved. 

A Prayer for Jasper & Opened Eyes

 

The Maligne River near Jasper, Alberta

Holy One, 

We send our prayers to you for strength and courage for all those who find themselves in unexpected circumstances that are tearing them away from their homes. 

Many will not know if they can return, or when they can return. This journey they are on will be long and hard. 

May our hearts connect us with compassion so that we can offer each other support, empathy and fierce love in these trying times. 

Open our heads to allow us to find ways to offer what we can, in ways large and small, to hold the hurting, to give comfort, to be the ways of love that your people need. 

Inspired by your love, lifted by your spirit, may we be all that you need us to be in these moments.

 Amen. 

Helen Reed Chair of Northern Spirit Regional Council Executive United Church of Canada

I'm trying to recall if the last time I was in Jasper, Alberta was when I was nineteen. I headed out west with two friends in a VW Beetle hippie-mobile and we kicked around Banff, camping in that national park. Did we also travel to Jasper? I know that I was there as a kid with my family. This area is now part of a Unesco World Heritage Site because of its unique natural beauty. 

Now a significant part of the town of 4.500 has been destroyed by a wildfire that simply couldn't be stopped, despite every effort. Key instrastructure was saved, including the hospital and schools, but home and businesses were burned to ashes. And, of course, the verdant green of the surrounding forests has been blackened. It will take generations for new growth and it won't be the same. The thousands of displaced people live in dread of what they will return to. 

The premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, shed tears as she toured the stricken community, and I have to admit that this made me angry. She is essentially a climate change denier in practical terms and she consistently fails in leadership on this front. She fights the feds at every turn when it comes to addressing the crisis. What will it take for Smith and her government to take this threat seriously? 

The prayer above sensitively addresses the crisis for the people of Jasper and the surrounding area. We can certainly pray these words. 

It's important to be aware that there are more than 100 wildfires burning in Alberta, many of them out of control. Other communities are under threat and a number of them are Indigenous. We are regularly reminded by Indigenous leaders that their communities are often most vulnerable and they pay the price for the climate change they have not created The evacuations are calamitous for the residents, culturally and materially. They tend to be "out of sight and out of mind" compared to a tourist centre such as Jasper. 

When I was a child and a teen wildfires were a real threat, but these conflagrations sweeping away communities were unthinkable. We can't be in denial as our world changes. Officials are offering assurances that the town will rebuild, but residents have been traumatized and forests take generations to regenerate. 

Our prayers can have a broad reach in the midst of this crisis. 

The Ongoing Fallout of Betrayal in the Meeting House

 

I was one among many who was shocked by the 2021 news that Bruxy Cavey, lead pastor at the Meeting House group of congregations had been removed from his position before being charged with sexual assault in 2022. Cavey had developed a unique ministry where the congregations -- 19 at one point -- met in settings such as movie theatres for worship with his teaching portion via video link. Cavey had a pet Saint Bernard dog and he looked like one himself.  The congregations worshipped with lively music and met during the week for smaller house group support -- around 200 of them.  It was a creative model. 

Cavey was an effective communicator whose contemporary style attracted lots of younger people. It turned out that he had been involved in a long-term sexual relationship with one of those young members and then other women came forward to allege abuse. Not only this, other pastors on the team were accused of sexual impropriety. It was and is sordid and contrary to the gospel.

The number of congregations has shrunk as leaders struggle to provide transparency, healing, and ongoing ministry. We heard last week that all the congregations have been forced to shut down because no insurer will cover their staff, given the events that have unfolded. Not only did Cavey do irreparable harm to vulnerable people and disgrace himself, he effectively robbed those who had placed their trust in his leadership of worshipping communities.These congregations may never gather again, at least not under the Meeting House banner. 

As I've mentioned before, there is a family connection here. A couple in our close family circle were enthusiastic participants and provided leadership in one of the house groups. That group still meets for prayer and teaching but few of them have continued to attend on Sundays. Their faith continues but the sense of betrayal is profound. 

There is a constant danger in megachurches to turn charismatic leaders into gods and there is little accountability in many instances. The Meeting House has done its best to be open and accountable, although there are questions about who knew what through the years. 

I find it heartbreaking that one of three sexual assault charges against  Cavey has been stayed because it's taken too long for the trial to begin, according to his lawyer. This is not justice, and we can only hope and pray that he doesn't escape the weight of the law. 

It's interesting to me that while the United Church has often been vilified for our liberal ways  by more conservative Christians, these scandals are far more prevalent in those churches and in the Roman Catholic denomination. 

If you're interested in learning more, here is an excellent article from The Walrus  https://thewalrus.ca/meeting-house/

Is the Seine the "river of the water of life"?

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. 

On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations

                                    Revelation 22:1-2 NRSVue

 Ruth has long been a fan of the Olympic Games, me not as much, especially since they've added another unofficial ring with the motto "richer." The Olympics still offer a breath-taking display of athletic excellence. I  know I'll be watching the endeavours of Canada's swimmers, particularly the strong women's team. 

It wasn't long ago that the French government and Paris mayor were touting the Seine River which flows through the city as a swimming site, at least for longer distance events. Recently Mayor Anne Hidalgo donned a wet suit, goggles, and we can hope a tetanus booster, to take a dip in the river to indicate that the waters were welcoming. 

After spending in excess of $2 billion (Canadian) for a massive clean-up officials have declared the Seine swimmable...sort of. Levels of e coli and other nasties are acceptable but will need to be tested, day and day and perhaps moment by moment. However, Dan Angelescu, founder and CEO of Fluidion, a Paris- and Los Angeles-based water-monitoring tech company, says he wouldn't swim in the Seine based on water quality in June. 

The Seine was used for swimming events at the 1900 Olympics in Paris but by the time of the games in 1924 the river was an open sewer, unfit for humans or any other creatures. In fact, since 1923 swimming in the Seine has been banned. 

Regular readers may remember that I wrote about the proposal to have some swimming events in the Seine a while ago. I mentioned my own interest in urban rivers and how they indicate the vitality of a community. Here in little ol' Belleville (pop 55,000) the Moira has become a much cleaner river but I wouldn't swim in it, at least in town. In Toronto the 
Don River is being revitalized and renaturalized but recent storm events show that there is a long way to go. 

I always think of the passage at the end of the book of Revelation which envisions a clean river lined with fruit trees in the New Heaven and Earth. I suppose that in a way the Olympics are meant for the healing of the nations, although the Seine is fenced off for many kilometres for safety reasons, so it's hardly a focus for gathering and reconciliation. 

Some countries and jurisdictions are now granting legal personhood to rivers for their protection, an interesting concept whose time has come. We can affirm the importance of rivers throughout our Judeo/Christian scriptures and add in some prayers for the health of athletes during the Olympic Games --gulp. 

Sunday's Biggest News

 

We could be forgiven for thinking that the truly momentous news from this past Sunday was the announcemen by President Biden that he would not seek a second term of office. This was certainly a big deal, given the sweep of global influence an American president has.

There was even bigger news, in my estimation, although essentially ignored. Sunday July 21st, 2023, was the hottest day for Planet Earth in recorded human history. 

We have received repeated warnming from climate scientists that our planetary home is heating to the point that portions of it will be unlivable. There  is no Plan B, despite the nonsensical claims of the billionaires that we can set up camp on other planets. So, while we are given the scientifically recorded facts about a boiling Earth with "global weirding" events such as early hurricanes, unprecedented flooding. and massive wildfires, Hulk Hogan rips his shirt off at the Republican National Convention to the cheers of the delegates. 

There is such a massive disconnect between what is unfolding around us in terms of climate and the "what, me worry"  outlook of millions of individuals and their governments. The Canadian province that is probably most affected by climate change is Alberta, with drought and wildfires as major issues. The town of Jasper in the Rocky Mountains, a tourist mecca, is now empty, evacuated because of an advancing fire.  Yet the current government is essentially in denial, choosing short-term prosperity with the fossil fuel industry over long-term sustainability. 

And often it is Christians whose scriptures invite us to humbly acknowledge that the Earth belongs to the Creator, not to humans, who lead the way in downplaying climate realities. My evangelical relatives will not accept that humans are agents of planetary destruction. Even when articulate climate scientists such as Katharine Hayhoe, an evangelical Christian herself, remind us that climate change is not a matter of belief but scientific evidence they are unmoved, as are so many.

Records are made to be broken and, sadly, Monday was hotter than Sunday. I do get discouraged but I won't turn away and I won't shrug and give up because it's my Christian responsibility to live the hope of Christ in our daily lives. My four grandchildren deserve a full and meaningful life.

Eternal Father Strong to Save

 

1 Eternal Father, strong to save,

whose arm has bound the restless wave,

who bade the mighty ocean deep

its own appointed limits keep:

O hear us when we cry to thee

for those in peril on the sea.

2 O Christ, whose voice the waters heard,

and hushed their raging at thy word,

who walked upon the foaming deep,

and calm amid the storm did sleep:

O hear us when we cry to thee

for those in peril on the sea.

When I arrived from downtown Toronto to begin ministry in outport Newfoundland in July of 1980 I began another education. It was regarding the expectations for congregational life that were decided different from those of churches on the mainland. This included the hymn Eternal Father Strong to Save, the version from the old blue hymnary, in circumstances of loss and "peril on the sea." 

In the early days I was frustrated by the pervasive sense of fatalism amongst my parishioners -- "dat's it I suppose" --when tragedy struck, although grief was real and often expressed much more strongly than in reserved "Uppity Canada." I came to realize that many had experienced directly or had family history of loss at sea. What seemed to be fatalism was a coping mechanism. 

The hymn, and that memory of a different culture related to a capricious livelihood in the fishing industry came to mind over the past weekend. A fishing vessel with seven aboard from a community about an hour from the ones I served went missing without a trace. Within a day there was grave concern that the vessel and the crew were lost and search efforts were hampered by fog. By the third day the outlook was grim, then came news that the seven had been found in a life raft, cold and hungry but in remarkably good spirits. A fire aboard had sunk the Elite Navigator in a hurry but they didn't give up hope. According to a CBC piece:

In the days that followed, Carter said the crew had to keep each other warm, there was limited water supply, and the raft kept drifting farther away from land. Nonetheless, they stayed in good spirits.

"We were actually sitting around joking with each other, using the microphone, interviewing each other with the flashlight trying to keep our hopes and everything up," he said. But the most challenging part of the situation wasn't being stuck on a life-raft in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean — it was thinking about what their families were going through.

"The hardest thing about it was knowing we were alive and everyone here thinking the opposite. That was the hardest thing to cope with out there," Carter said.

When they came to shore a crowd estimated at a thousand souls was there to welcome them home. Keep in mind that this is an area with only a couple of thousand residents. 

This was on Saturday, so I can imagine that there were prayers of gratitude in local churches in the New-Wes-Valley area and perhaps some of them sang Eternal Father Strong to Save. 

Word is that the seven are looking forward to getting out on the water again. 

3 O Holy Spirit, who didst brood

upon the chaos dark and rude,

and bade its angry tumult cease,

and gave for wild confusion, peace:

O hear us when we cry to thee

for those in peril on the sea.

4 O Trinity of love and power,

all travellers guard in danger's hour.

From rock and tempest, fire and foe,

protect them wheresoe'er they go:

thus evermore shall rise to thee

glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

                                                         The Elite Navigator in a better day

Joe Biden and the Lord Almighty

 

In an interview not that long ago President Joe Biden asserted that he was so committed to run for another term that the Lord  Almighty would have to direct him to quit. Lots of us weren't so sure about a 76-year-old on the Democratic ticket four years ago and dubious about him running again. Then the disastrous debate occurred when Biden seemed to be 100, a reminder that the presidency is a demanding gig and even a "youngster" like Obama looked ragged after his two terms in office. 

After the debate many Democrats were keen on a change in candidate, to be point of being panicky and lots of political reporters and pundits weighed in. On Saturday Maureen Dowd of the New York Times offered an opinion piece with the title Lord Almighty, Joe, Let It Go! How was that for timely? Yesterday Biden announced that he would not seek the nomination and endorsed VP Kamala Harris. 

This seems to be a wise decision by someone who had run out of gas, or electricity or whatever source of fuel we want to consider. This was shaping up as the race between "ghostly and ghastly" as some described it. Now Americans will be able to choose between someone younger and with integrity and a practically incoherent felon who lies 20 times before breakfast. 

I want to know if the Lord Almighty did influence Joe Biden's decision. We can be certain that there was a close circle of friends, advisors, and family who were a part of the process. Biden is a practicing Roman Catholic, even though he's inclined to use language that isn't part of any liturgy I'm aware of. 

So, did Joe seek God's guidance? Did he pray with others, maybe a spiritual guide of some sort? He did make his announcement on Sunday, so perhaps God spoke and Joe listened. We will never have to consider whether the other guy is willing to receive God's direction.  

God? Is that you God?

 

1 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.

God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
    God will help it when the morning dawns.

The nations are in an uproar; the kingdoms totter;
    he utters his voice; the earth melts.
 The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

 Come, behold the works of the Lord;
    see what desolations he has brought on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
    he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields with fire.

“Be still, and know that I am God!
    I am exalted among the nations;
    I am exalted in the earth.”
 The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our refuge.

                                                      Psalm 46 NRSVue

We've noticed that our cell phone usage is down considerably since we left for British Columbia mid-June. Part of that was greater caution about data usage away from our home wifi but it has also been the settings in which we found ourselves during these past six weeks. We spent a week on the islands called Haida Gwaii off BCs northwest coast and we were entranced by the beauty and solitude. Since our return we've enjoyed camping junkets in Silent Lake Provincial Park near Bancroft and Depot Lakes Conservation Area north of Kingston. 

he latter was this past week and we paddled to our campsite. It seemed as though we were the only people camping on the lake and other than a few passing fisherfolk we were able to soak in the quiet. I turned my phone off and only occasionally checked to see if the "real world" of chaos and mayhem still existed. It was wonderful to wake up to birdsong and the wind in the pines. 

There is a ministry called "Cathedral of the Trees" which includes the United Church summer ministry in Algonquin Park. There is an invitation to be attentive to the sights and sounds of Creation, the natural world. We were involved for several summers but we found that the campground where the ministry trailer was situated was incredibly noisy and everyone seemed to have their noses in their phones. We found ways to escape the madding crowd but it was just too much work to do so and we ended our involvement, sad to say. 

The sign above is supposedly a translation of a notice in a French church which includes a touch of humour. It's a reminder that the chatter of our lives isn't always audible. We've found it is a blessing to be less connected -- connected to what, we have to ask? -- and wonder how we address the insidious slavish addiction to our devices. We might shrug that our phones are time thieves, but aren't we the ones perpetrating the heist? 

Some of us will remember when it was the expectation that as we entered our church sanctuaries before Sunday worship that we would spend a few minutes in quiet contemplation. God help those who didn't comply, even children. This practice was deemed too unfriendly but maybe it's what we all need as a spiritual discipline.  

This is the Christian Sabbath and it may be that we all need those sabbath times, the pools of connection to the Creator that make life worth living. We don't need to escape to the edge of the world or into the woods to listen for God. If we're attentive the reception might be much better than we could imagine. 

Exvangelicals

 

I've just finished reading The Exvangelicals by 43-year-old Sarah McCammon, a national politcal correspondent for NPR. It is part critique of the Evangelical movement in the United States and part memoir, with McCammon having grown up in an evangelical home and ecosystem. 

As the title suggests, there is a steady exodus from the Evangelical movement in the United States, predominantly younger people, although there are some high profile refugees such as writer/speaker Beth Moore who left the Southern Baptists when she criticized support for Donald Trump and was vilified for doing so. The exes have departed over women's rights, including church leadership roles, the demonization of LGBTW2S persons, race issues, and a bunch of other issues. Some still love Jesus and have found other church homes while many others have given up on Christianity because of the toxic environment in which they were were raised.

 In an review from the Guardian Charles Kaiser offers:

Sarah McCammon’s new book about “exvangelicals” like herself is a powerful memoir of her complicated journey away from Christian fundamentalism. Because she experienced it from the inside, she is also able to give the rest of us one of the best explanations I have ever read of how so many Americans became part of the non-reality-based cult that remains so stubbornly addicted to the insanities of  Donald Trump.

Brought up by rigorous evangelicals equally opposed to abortion and in favor of corporal punishment of their children, McCammon grew up inside a religious bubble supposedly designed to protect everyone within it from the evils of a secular world.

McCammon uses the term deconstruction to describe the process by which many former Evangelicals are unravelling the oppressive and often hypocritical environment in which they lived, where home, school, church was everything allowing little interaction with other viewpoints. The threat of hell for those who strayed was pervasive. The irony was and is that witnessing to others was expected yet fear of the stranger, including people of other religions, was strongly inculcated.

From her early teens McCammon was uncomfortable with this worldview, even as she absorbed it. She got to know a Muslim teen while doing a Senate internship and was unsettled by his question about whether she thought he was going to hell. In her twenties she married an earnest young Evangelical man she really didn't know and they ended up divorced, to the dismay of their families. She is now married to a Jewish man and her parents didn't attend the wedding.

Many people who claim to be Evangelical in the United States no longer attend worship, unthinkable a generation ago. Increasingly the movement seems to have more to do with affiliation with the political right than Christian devotion based on scripture or the embracing love of Jesus. Perhaps not surprisingly. since 2006, evangelical Protestants have experienced “the most precipitous drop in affiliation” among Americans, according to the Public Religion Research Institute shrinking from 23% in 2006 to 14% in 2020. 

I found the book worthwhile and it certainly provided plenty of flashbacks to the evangelical milieu we found ourselves in as teens. It was an earnest and in some ways nurturing environment but ultimately the control and anti-intellectual, anti-science perspectives sent us in back to our mainline church roots. 

God help us all if this more extreme quasi-religious "base" for Trump, which some describe as Christo-fascism leads to another dystopian presidency. We should also be aware that there is a vocal Evangelical movement in Canada determined to influence the outcome of our next election. 

Eco-Anxiety and Eco-Assurance

 

                                                                Barred Owl -- David McNight 

                                         (apologies to David for my lousy photo of his excellent photo!)

On the weekend family members who live in Southwestern Ontario were in this part of the province when they received word from a watchful neighbour that their basement had been flooded after a torrential downpour. Their street had been turned into a river, a rain event unlike any other during more than 30 years at that location.

On Tuesday a series of storms advanced on Toronto rendering the Don Valley Parkway, a major traffic artery, into a lake and knocking out power across the city. Here in Belleville we got a Severe Thunderstorm Warning followed by a Tornado Warning. Thankfully, neither arrived, although we had lots of rain. 

There is now a term that we would never have considered or comprehended 25 years ago -- eco-anxiety. This is the ongoing uneasiness and even distress about weather, particularly castastrophic events related to climate change. We are witnessing the predictions about destructive weather coming to pass, years before what had been projected.

We watched the weather apps diligently on Tuesday, our vehicle packed with camping gear and the canoe on the roof. We were scheduled to paddle in to an island at the Depot Lakes Conservation Area that afternoon but had no intention of going in the rain. Happily, the weather system passed and we got to our site, although a few hours later than anticipated. 

We set up before going for a restorative swim and then we sat by our campfire. As we moved to retire for the night we were delighted to see fireflies throughout the trees and over the water. We have fireflies in our backyard but this was unprecedented in terms of numbers and the magical sense of their movement through the trees.

During the night we awakened to hear a barred owl, first of all in the near distance, then right above us, the closest we've ever experienced. When we quiety spoke to one another the calling stopped, no doubt because we scared it away. A short while later we heard a loon on the lake and the breeze in the pine trees. 

All this was a tonic, an antidote to my own eco-anxiety. Could this be eco-assurance, the comfort of the Creator? We can't ignore the climate emergency, the sort of whistling in the dark approach of so many governments, including that of the province of Ontario. We can be uplifted, inspired, and energizerd by the beauty around us in the natural world, or what we term Creation in our Judeo/Christian tradition. 

 For the umpteenth time I share The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry. 

 

The End of Palestinian Protest Encampments

 

During these quieter days of Summer the encampments on the campuses of universities and colleges across the country have been coming down. They were established as protests against investments in the companies in the state of Israel and in Canadian companies that produced products, including weapons, that supported Israel. 

This was a response to the carnage in Gaza, the tiny enclave adjacent to Israel that has become a living hell for more than two million people. The terrorist organization, Hamas, attacked Israel in October of 2023 killing 1200 Israelis and taking more than 100 hostages. It was a cowardly, horrendous event. Since then Israel has sought retribution, supposedly to eliminate Hamas, yet killing thousands of children and other civilians. Hospitals have been destroyed, aid dried up, and daily the civilian death toll rises. 

                                                                                              Gaza

After months of claims by student leaders that they weren't going anywhere they have, in fact, dispersed and gone elsewhere. The institutions got fed up and sought legal injunctions that would have been enforced by the police. The school year had come to an end and it's likely that many of the students wanted to go home and find work.

I have been wondering about the effectiveness of this form of protest for a while now. Interviews with student leaders demonstrated plenty of zeal, yet the outcome seemed inevitable. At the same time I'm aware that lots of humanitarian organizations and faith communities, including the United Church of Canada, have issued statements and held rallies with similar concerns. Aren't they pretty much the same, without the tents and? And I do feel that we must speak out against injustice even when it seems that it won't necessarily effect change. We can shrug and say that these efforts are quixotic or "woke" --not woke! -- but solidarity matters and silence is failure. 

The tent encampments may be gone but we can be grateful for the passion of youth. Complacency is never a virtue, and we follow the Christ, the Crucified and Risen One, whose Palm Sunday ride challenged the "powers that be" of his day. 

Amos and his Vision of Food Security

This is what the Lord God showed me: a basket of summer fruit.  

He said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” 

Then the Lord said to me,

“The end has come upon my people Israel;
    I will spare them no longer.
 The songs of the temple shall become wailings on that day,”
            says the Lord God;
“the dead bodies shall be many,
    cast out in every place. Be silent!”

Hear this, you who trample on the needy,
    and bring to ruin the poor of the land,

saying, “When will the new moon be over
    so that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath,
    so that we may offer wheat for sale?
We will make the ephah smaller and the shekel heavier
    and practice deceit with false balances,
 buying the poor for silver
    and the needy for a pair of sandals
    and selling the sweepings of the wheat.”

Amos 8:1-6 NRSV

The daily lectionary readings in the month of July include passages from the book of Amos, an 8th century BC prophet who seriously challenged what he considered to be hypocritical religion of Israel. He was withering in his criticism of those who came to worship in all their finery yet ignored the plight of the poor. 

I'm partial to a vision from God in which Amos sees a basket of fruit, a symbol of abundance. This quickly becomes a critique and warning for the systemic unfairness of the society. 

The Imagery seems so appropriate for the times in which we live. We are currently enjoying fresh corn on the cob, grown locally. We've been eating cherries and strawberries galore. We've consumed peas, chard, lettuce, and new potatoes from our backyard beds and tomatoes are starting to ripen. The variety and availablity are wonderful.

At the same time many Canadians are struggling with food insecurity and those availing themselves of meal programs and food banks is at an all-time high. We had a picnic with long-time friends recently and she mentioned that she's volunteering with a "food store" program where recipients begin each month with a certain number of points that they can use to choose food from shelves. 

Canada is one of the wealthiest countries in the world yet so many are overwhelmed with the rising cost of food. This is about physical hunger, and more. There are seniors who never thought they would visit a food bank and families who are making almost impossible choices about what bills to pay. At the same time we know that grocery chains are enjoying record profits.

I read this passage with a climate emergency perspective for the first time. Some of the foods I mentioned are available really early in the season because of higher temperatures. In many places in North America crop production is being disrupted by unprecedented drought and flooding, depending on the region. This too leads to higher prices and uncertainty about availability. 

Nearly three thousand years later the words of Amos still apply, a timeless message and a stern caution about the inequites of the word we create.