Assisted Dying in Britain

 Assisted Dying has been illegal in Great Britain, but as of yesterday it is permitted, at least in the first stage of legislation.There was an intense debate in the British House of Commons but in the end the bill was passed by 330 votes to 275. This will now be scrutinized in parliamentary committees and amendments to the bill may be put forward.

The bill applies to those who are at least 18 years old, have received a terminal diagnosis and have no more than six months to live. Two doctors and a judge would have to give their approval, and fatal drugs would need to be self-administered.This is more restrictive in almost every way than Canadian legislation. 

Among those opposed were religious leaders, although the now departed Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, was supportive. The objections were valid, as they have been in here in Canada. It is our responsibility to protect the vulnerable, to ensure that palliative care is available to everyone, and to have safeguards for those with disabilities.

I have been concerned that the tail has wagged the dog with our federal government bowing to pressures from provincial courts along with the speed at which some changes have been introduced. Still, I do feel that Medical Assistance in Dying, as it's termed in Canada, should be an option. We have gained the ability to prolong life even when it means suffering for some. According to the New York Times: 

Peter Prinsley, a Labour lawmaker and surgeon, rejected claims by opponents of the bill that its scope would later be extended to include a wider category of people. “This is not some slippery slope,” he said. “We are shortening death, not life, for our patients. This is not life or death; this is death or death.”

It is rightly argued that we should not be "playing god" in these often difficult and emotional circumstances and God help us and judge us if we become cavalier about assisting people to end their lives. It could also be said that we could be acting as deities when we use means to extend life, causing suffering and indignity. 

I've offered before that it is our duty to listen carefully and to make our voices heard whenever new proposals are made regarding what we term MAID. The balance between compassion and justice will never be easy. 

Prayers, Intercessions & Thanksgivings...for everyone...

 

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and acceptable before God our Savior,  who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 

For there is one God;  there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all—this was attested at the right time. For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth; I am not lying), a teacher of the gentiles in faith and truth.

1 Timothy 2:1-7 NRSVue

This is the day after American Thanksgiving and I thank God that there are no reports of mass shootings around dinner tables across the nation. There have been lots of articles with suggestions on how to keep the temperature of conversations about politics and religion at a simmer rather than boiling over in a society which has become increasingly polarized. 

Earlier in the week I took a look at the scripture readings for this day, usually the same as for our Canadian Thanksgiving Sunday early in October. Two of the passages are about turning to God in order to quell fear and anxiety, including words from Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. So often anger is the outward and inappropriate expression of fear, and we certainly live in uncertain and anxious times. 

There is also a passage from the New Testament letter called 1 Timothy inviting us to pray for those in authority, whoever they might be. When I was growing up it was a regular practice to pray for the monarch and other leaders during Sunday worship and it never occurred to me that this was because of a biblical injunction to do so. I figure that all "good" religion is political in that we are called to be engaged citizens of our societies, living out the compassion of Christ. What we need to avoid is the "us and them" politics that pit people against one another, even within families. 

It is a tradition in many households on both sides of the border to offer a prayer of thanks before partaking of the Thanksgiving feast, even if blessings at mealtime are no longer regular occurrence in these households.  Slipping in a few verses of scripture might have been a good idea as well. 

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the gentiles who seek all these things, and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6: 31-33 NRSVue

Murray Sinclair and Who We Are

 

When I offered a tribute to the late Murray Sinclair, the co-chair of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, I mentioned that I had received notice from the library that his autobiography, Who We Are: Four Questions for a Life and a Nation was ready for pickup.

I've read it now and I'm glad I did so close to the time of his death. I hadn't realized that his grandmother, a devout Catholic, was determined that young Murray would become a priest. This was not his desire but there was a sense of obligation, to the point that he began his studies. In the end he chose a different direction, becoming a lawyer, then a judge, although he questioned thse vocations as well because the settler legal system was so biased against Indigenous people, including those in the legal profession.

What I found intriguing is that despite the horrors of the Residential Schools, a system designed to destory Indigenous identity with the complicity of Christian denominations, Sinclair never gave up on that aspect of his faith. He always felt that there was opportunity for Christianity and Indigenous spirituality to find places of mutual respect and compatibility on the way to reconciliation. He writes about speaking with an Elder who was convinced that if Jesus were here in person he would be in the sweat lodge with them, learning their ways. 

Sinclair recognized the value of the Ten Commandments and even speaks about hell, although he muses that hell is the prison system. At the conclusion of one Truth and Reconciliation session he offered a paraphrase of the Lord's Prayer substituting "Our Creator who lives among the spirits" for "Our Father who art in heaven" and "You are special. Thank you for being special to us" for "Hallowed be your name." Half of the people present appreciated this effort and the other half felt that is was wrong given the pain inflicted by the Christian church.

Murray felt that the ill-fated White Paper developed by Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chretien (1969) would have done great harm in Indigenous peoples if it had been adopted. He didn't like Justin Trudeau either, because of too much talk and too little action. 

He did have a sense of humour, once signing autographs for people who thought he was Elijah Harper, doing so deadpan as his young daughter looked on.  He shared the story with Harper who later presented him with a tee-shirt during a meeting reading "I Am Not Elijah Harper." 

Murray Sinclair wrote from the premise that the Elders of many traditions have considered the "great questions of life." They are: 

Where do I come from? 

Where am I going? 

Why am I here?

Who am I? 

These are excellent questions for any of us, at every stage of life. Reading the book strengthened my conviction that Murray Sinclair was a great Canadian and that we can honour his memory by working to implement the Calls to Action created out of the Truth and Reconciliation process. I'm grateful for his spiritual witness along with so much more. 

Our Prayerful Requests

 

 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.  

But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

                                      Matthew 7:5-6 NRSVue

I was going through one of the suits I rarely have occasion to wear anymore and in one of the pockets I found this note with a prayer request. It is about a seven-year-old with cancer, a terrible reality for any child and loved ones. I have obscured the name of the child and of the person requesting the prayer but I honestly don't recall who the latter was. I vaguelyt recall that the child was not a part of the congregation I served but the request was made out of love.

Finding this note touched me because it was a reminder of all the requests for prayer over the years for so many different circumstances, many of them dire. I often wondered what to pray and felt a strange sense of responsibility to bend God's ear, even though I was just one person of sometimes shaky faith . Did any of these persons figure I had an "in" with God that they didn't have? I have often felt disappointment and even failure in prayer, for others and myself, yet I persist. I didn't want to be a hypocrite because Jesus makes it clear often in the Sermon on the Mount that he didn't have patience for phonies.I just can't give it up. I suppose I'm more like the desperate father who brings his ailing son to Jesus and admits,  “I believe; help my unbelief!” 

 The gospels tell us that Jesus prayed and he encouraged his followers to do so as well. He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before he was arrested and crucified, and he wanted a different outcome. 

I hope that the child who was the subject of this note is now a teenager -- given the age of the suit, that would be about right. I may not have been sure what to pray at the time but it was important that the writer shared this burden with others and chose the possibilities of prayer in the midst of uncertainty. 

Considering Joy as Christmas Approaches

 

 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.  When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. 

And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit  and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 

For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

Luke 1:39-45 NRSVue 

We decided to watch the new Netflix film Joy because the subject matter of this biopic intrigued us and because Bill Nighy is one of the principal actors and he rarely disappoints. The film is about the team that developed in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the late 1960s and beyond. 

In 1968 Nurse Jean Purdy was hired in Cambridge, Great Britain for a lab manager post by scientist Dr Robert Edwards. Together, they recruit innovative obstetrician and surgeon Patrick Steptoe. Although Purdy was arguably in a subordinate role the two men regarded her as an equal partner in their efforts.

There was lots of resistance to this research from the medical community and from Christian institutions. They were accused of playing god and Edwards was termed Dr. Frankestein. 

                                                                                 Jean Purdy

Purdy has been described as a devout Christian and struggled with the fact that Steptoe also performed abortions. In the film Jean and her mother are shown to be regular churchgoers. They had a close relationship with their vicar Reverend Paulson but eventually she was asked to stop attending worship and was shunned by her mother for a time.

One of the reasons I was interested in the film is that the daily scripture readings last week s included the story of "barren" Hannah, who prayed fervently for a child and was mocked for her infertility by her husband's other wife. In the end her prayers are answered and she gives birth to Samuel who grows up to be a prophet of Israel. 

It struck me as I read about Hannah that there are a lot of biblical stories about infertility and unexpected fertility (Mary, the mother of Jesus.) Women have always been the vulnerable ones in these stories, often shamed, because of course it was never because the guys were shooting blanks. The in vitro researchers were well aware of the sadness and stigma many of their patients experienced. During my years in ministry I was aware of the struggles of some parishioners to have children. For some there was joy as a result of treatment,  for others grief.

Millions of women around the world have conceived as a result of IVF. What a remarkable gift to those parents. Yet when we look south of the border many jurisdictions are resolutely marching back in time, making women vulnerable once again after decades of progress when it comes to reproductive choice. This includes ending funding for IVF in some states. And once again it is often Christians who are leading the pack in calling for restrictive legislation. Women are afraid of prosecution and censure for treatments and procedures and so are the medical personnel who want to help them. Some have died for lack of timely medical intervention. We need to be vigilant in our country as we seem to be shifting to the right. 

Dr. Edwards eventually won the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his research and success. Dr. Steptoe had died by this time and Nobel Prizes can't be awarded posthumously. Jean Purdy? Edwards insisted that her name be added to the plaque honouring their work, initially to no avail. Her efforts were recognized long after her cancer death at age 39.

The first "test tube baby" -- remember that term? -- was Louise Joy Brown who is now 46 years old and a physician. 

Perhaps in the weeks ahead when we hear in Luke about barren Elizabeth, getting on in years, and the confused young Mary who is told of an unexpected pregnancy we can ponder how these stories are received by women in the midst of their own challenges with infertlity and fertility.

COP29 or FLOP29?

 

Two weeks ago I wrote as the United Nations COP29 climate conference got underway. I expressed my cynicism about these gathering and the weasel words of wealthier nations when it comes to making a difference to the climate emergency. I did express a glimmer of hope but it felt like whistling in the dark, especially since the host country was Azerbijan, a petro-state with no interest in curbing fossil fuel extraction, not to mention a lousy human rights record. The nations most affected asked for 1.3 trillion dollars in aid from rich nation to make the carbon transition and got 300 billion. While that seems like a lot more than spare change it isn't enough. 

Katharine Hayhoe is Canadian climate scientist now living and teaching in Texas. She is an evangelical  who bucks the trend of climate change denying conservative Christians. She is wise, science-based, and refuses to give up hope because of her faith in God the Creator. I've heard her speak and admire her greatly. Yesterday she shared an assessment of this conference with the title COP29 or FLOP29? Here are a few paragraphs:

Why global action always falls short—and what you can do to help

Negotiations at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, ended today. The final proposal asks wealthy nations to provide $300 billion a year to help poorer nations make the energy transition and adapt to climate change.   This is more than the $100 billion commitment from a few years ago, but during the negotiations, a previous offer for $250 billion per year was called “insulting” and “unacceptable” by poorer nations. In response, the coalition of small island states and least-developed countries walked out. The Independent High Level Expert Group on Climate Finance estimates that developing countries need around $1 trillion a year.   These ongoing challenges highlight a fundamental issue: while these Conferences of the Parties are necessary for global climate negotiations, they fall far short of the urgent and transformative action we need.   First, the structure and format of these meetings, unchanged since the inaugural one in 1995, no longer meet the scale or complexity of today’s climate crisis. For that reason, I signed this open letter advocating for critical reforms to COP. One of the key recommendations is that countries unwilling to commit to phasing out fossil fuels should no longer be eligible to host these conferences. As the letter states, “Host countries must demonstrate their high level of ambition to uphold the goals of the Paris Agreement.”   Second, I believe climate action must extend well beyond national gatherings. It has to become a shared responsibility across every region and sector. We need collaborative efforts where cities unite to share solutions, organizations strive to outdo each other in tangible progress, and energy companies come together to lead industry-wide transformations. If we are to meet our climate goals, we don’t just need better COPs; we have to re-imagine how we mobilize change at every level. It's all rather sobering, and guess who's coming to the White House?

Taylor Swift and Transcendence.

 Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift(ie), nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the skillful, but time and chance happen to them all. For no one can anticipate one’s time. Like fish taken in a cruel net or like birds caught in a snare, so mortals are snared at a time of calamity, when it suddenly falls upon them. 

                 Ecclesiastes 9: 10-12 NRSVue

Two weeks ago our daughter in Toronto got word from a friend in Ottawa that a block of tickets had been opened up for one of the Taylor Swift concerts in Toronto and she had been contacted because she was on the waiting list for purchase. As a young mom living 450 kilometres from the Big Smoke it wasn't in the cards for her to attend. Would Emily and husband Brad be interested? I'm not sure that Emily is a Swiftie but she decided that she couldn't pass up the chance to be part of a global cultural phenomenon, at ticket face value no less, so her answer was an immediate yes. This is about the music and so much more. 

The next day report was that it was an amazing, maybe even awesome experience even though they were in the nose bleed section of a stadium with 50,000 others. These concerts are a of spectacle bordering on transcendence yet they also create intimacy and kinship. This resonates with the megachurch experience, often highly orchestrated and designed to engender awe. The sort of worship experience offered by so many dwindling congregations may include the intimacy and kinship aspects, although sometimes they can feel like closed clubs. 

Neither of us feels even the slightest envy of Emily and Brad or their 300,000 new BFFs (50,000 x 6 concerts) yet I do appreciate what could be described as the spiritual hunger of the "congregations" for these spectacles. 

I think of the late Christmas Eve services in various congregations I served where we lit candles at the conclusion and walked outside to sing Silent Night. It was always special. At the Swift concerts attendees held up their wrists so their Apple Watches could illuminate the darkness. I do prefer "old school" -- take that fire marshalls. 

We're off to church shortly and I'm praying that there are no pyrotechnics Too many church buildings burn down without them. 

The verses above (David Mundy translation) are the best I could do to make a Taylor Swift connection!

Holy Bread, from Seed to Sacrament

For decades now Ruth, my partner in life, has been making communion bread, first of all for congregations I served and now for the faith family where our son, Isaac, is pastor. It began out of her disdain for the tiny, less than wonderful,  Wonder Bread cubes served up in so many mainline Protestant churches. How could this reflect Jesus' words "this is my body broken for you" or the profound mystery of one of our two Protestant sacraments? Ruth wanted to chew on the bread and taste it, so has always cut much larger pieces. 

In addition, she has spent time with Sunday School groups where they stirred and kneaded the bread dough and punched it down after the yeast began its mysterious work toward a first rising. This was always met with great enthusiasm and, yes, wonder. The pans of dough would be brought home for baking and then frozen for use in the communion service of the following week. 

As I wrote this blog entry yesterday our home is redolent with the aroma of baking bread and while it's not intended for a worship service this is always holy. And its a perfect sensory backdrop for sharing a story about a congregation taking all of this a step further. According to a Sojourners magazine article this month: 

A little over a year ago, members of Ann Arbor’s Zion Lutheran Church in Michigan stood on an L-shaped plot bordering their church garden. Those 800 square feet of ordinary lawn were on the cusp of transformation, about to become the source of Zion’s own Communion bread.

While Christians traditionally think of Communion as transforming partakers during the church service, project leader Betsy King-McDonald wanted to explore the life-giving properties of the Eucharist at an earlier stage — starting in the soil.

“How can we foster life in all the choices we make to the table?” she asked. This question led King-McDonald, a doctoral student at Western Theological Seminary, to partner with Zion Lutheran in growing heirloom wheat for their Communion bread.

I don't know that there are many congregations with the property or the wherewithal to engage in this sort of process which is both practical and contemplative. Bread is made from grains and the little miracle of planted seeds becoming a nourishing meal is something we may take for granted. Even though it may prove to be a challenge for the Zion congregation to sustain over the long term there is an earthy mindfulness here that is commendable. 

                                                    

                                                                 Flatbread Library Sameer Farouk 

Yesterday morning I also listened to a fascinating conversation about an exhibition at the Toronto Biennial of Art called Flatbread Library. While Sameer Farouk ( or Farooq, I've seen his name both spelled ways) is from Cape Breton he was inspired by a visit to Pakistan where flatbreads are often hung outside bakeries as advertising. He noted that these breads don't know national boundaries and that there is so much creativity they deserve to be in a museum. 

Jesus is the Bread of Life for Christians but different religions have bread rituals because it is the staff of life.

I am so looking forward to this bread...

Notre Dame's Cloaks of Many Colours

 

I continue to read any article about the astonishing restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral that crosses my path. Having visited Notre Dame several times over 50 years the massive church  fascinates me 

The extensive fire of five years ago nearly caused the 900-year-old cathedral to collapse, yet in the end most of what is essential to the structure was saved. The work is nearing completion and beginning December 7th there will be six-month period of celebratory masses. The building will open to the public, by ticket, on December 8th. The bells were rung earlier this month in anticipation and a bold new set of vestments has been created for the celebrants. Here is an excerpt from a Globe and Mail article about these vestments:

When Jean-Charles de Castelbajac watched as Notre Dame cathedral burned in April 2019, he felt compelled to act somehow. Returning home, the French fashion designer began sketching ideas, imagining the monument’s reconstruction.

So, when the Paris Archbishop’s emissary approached him to design the liturgical garments for the cathedral’s reopening next month, Castelbajac – a believer with personal roots with the church – felt the moment transcended mere coincidence. 

“It’s bigger than a job. It’s a bit mysterious … mysterious,” Castelbajac said, his eyes brimming with wonder as he previewed some of the 2,000 colourful pieces for 700 celebrants at his Paris home. “It’s a calling. To be called like that is synchronicity.”

When I was ordained in 1980, a mere lad of 25,  it was usual practice for United Church clergy to gown up on Sunday mornings. Before I headed away to my settlement charge in Newfoundland I acquired a cream-coloured alb, a deep blue Church of Scotland gown, and a grey cassock, all gifts from my home congregation and my mother. This was much more varied than my father's stern black gown. Over time I added a varied set of stoles for the seasons of the liturgical year, some of them quite striking. By the time I retired I wore this garb far less often and some UCC ministers don't wear gowns or robes at all. I really liked the artistic variety but times change. I never wore a Hawiain shirt, the quasi-liturgical "robe" of some evangelical pastors. 

I know that there was some debate over whether to modernize Notre Dame in some aspects with the ultimate decision to restore meticulously to the original design, even to reconstructing roof trusses nicknamed the forest from oaks felled across France. These vestments are a bold statement about the present and future of worship in this historic place. Of course, some will despise them because they are so bold and far from traditional. I'm impressed by this decision and look forward to seeing the photos from those opening worship experiences. 

Emily Carr & A Rare Discovery

 

Masset, Q.C.I., painted in 1912 by renowned Canadian artist Emily Carr, in an undated handout reproduction. The piece, which was sold at auction in Toronto Wednesday, was recovered from a barn in New York state. It depicts an Indigenous memorial post that stood in Masset, a village in B.C.'s Haida Gwaii archipelago. (Heffel Fine Art Auction House/The Canadian Press)

 A couple of months ago we heard about the discovery of a painting at a barn sale in New York State by an art dealer. He didn't recognize the name Emily Carr but he sensed that this work would be a worthwhile buy at $50 US. Yesterday the painting realized $349,250 Cdn at a Toronto auction, not a bad return for having a keen eye. 

The painting depicts what was a familiar subject for Carr, a totem pole from the British Columbia northwest Pacific coast. In this instance it was from Haida Gwaii, the group of island we visited in June of this year. We spent several days in and around Masset, now a thriving centre for the revived art of Haida carving, including totem poles. The QCI of the title refers to the Queen Charlotte Islands, the colonial name for Haida Gwaii. They were "named" for a British ship, not the queen herself. 

                    Emily Carr, Skedans, 1912. Oil on canvas, 89.5 x 148 cm. Photo: Sotheby's.

While we were there we also ventured southward to Skedans, a traditional and long-abandoned village in Gwaii Haanas National Park, accessible by boat. At this site there are the decaying remains of several totem poles, including one depicted by Emily Carr. They are returning to the earth from which they came, as is the tradition. 

Our young, enthusiastic, and, well, sketchily-informed Haida guide condemned Carr as an intrusive settler who cold-heartedly ignored the plight of Haida communities decimated by smallpox. Yes, she was the product of a colonial society but she was committed to portraying a culture for which she had great respect. Even though she was a Christian she had a sense of the spiritual connection of Indigenous peoples in that region to the forests and the sea. At a time when missionaries were instructing Haida people to burn their totem poles as graven images she was memorializing them in her paintings. 

Emily Carr is often connected to the Group of Seven artists who respected her talent yet didn't invited her into their all-male club. And for all their brilliance in painting the Canadian wilderness they seldom included the First Peoples of the different regions they visited in their works. 

We have talked about our trip to Haida Gwaii many times since our return. We are deeply grateful that we got there after two cancelled attempts due to the COVID pandemic. It was a spiritual experience in so many ways, including the opportunity to witness the remarkable revival of Haida culture. We were even there on National Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day, the Summer Solstice, although we hadn't considered that this would be the case. 

                                                                          

                                                                               Skidegate

The Genius of Leonardo

 I watched all four hours of the two segments of  Leonardo Da Vinci, the PBS documentary created by Ken Burns. In truth I saw about three and a half hours, maybe a bit more, because I drifted off during the latter part of the first episode. I don't feel that this was Burns's best work but it was still worthwhile in many respects. I've read the tour de force biography by Walter Isaacson who is interviewed in the series but there is a lot to be said for a visual presentation of the life and times of a person who understood perhaps more than any other human being that the eye is the window to the brain and therefore the soul. 

The term genius gets thrown around far too much but Leonardo was an extraordinary polymath whose mind was unceasingly at work. A surgeon is interviewed about his anatomical studies through human dissection which altered perceptions of the way our bodies function that had existed for centuries. More than this, the surgeon pointed out that Leonardo's understanding of musculature and speculation about the circulatory system were hundreds of years ahead of modern science.

Leonardo was an engineer who was consulted about fortifications even though he strongly condemned war. He was able to imagine and create aerial views of landscapes long before planes or drones. He was a keen observer of nature and the flight of birds in a way that allowed him to figure out the dynamics of flight. His notebooks, many of which have survived, ran to thousands of passages of drawings and written musings. Yes, he was a genius. 

As an artist he led the way in creating exquisite three-dimensional subjects on a two-dimensional plane and his principles of modelling and perspective were emulated by some of the greatest painters of the Renaissance. He didn't produce many paintings and many of the commissioned works he started weren't completed because he would move on to other projects or decide that they weren't done. He transported the Mona Lisa, arguably the most famous painting of all time, on a donkey when he moved from Italy to France in later life. 

The documentary noted that he was known for having a keen sense of humour and I wish we'd heard more about this, although there may not be much available. His depictions of nature in the backgrounds of portraits and religious works were often accurate representations of landscapes he knew. And while he wasn't particularly religious he knew the iconography and stories of Christian faith -- his livelihood depended on it. That said, he believed in a Creator and his conviction that everything is rooted in nature he expressed his admiration for what he experienced around him. 

It's helpful for me to reflect on this documentary and I hope you get a chance to watch it, even if a nap mid-episode is needed. 

Here are some of the resources PBS has made available.

https://www.pbs.org/show/leonardo-da-vinci/

Evil Empires & the Desire for Justice

 We are called to be the Church:

    to celebrate God’s presence,
    to live with respect in Creation,
    to love and serve others,
    to seek justice and resist evil,
    to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,
       our judge and our hope.

From A New Creed of the United Church of Canada, 1968

Some of us are old enough to remember President Ronald Reagan and the speech in which he referred from 1983 during which he referred to the Soviet Union as the Evil Empire. Over the course of 40 years what is now Russia was drawn back  into the fold of international relations only to be ostracized again because of its totalitarianism.

We could say that there are now multiple evil empires, including Iran, supposedly an Islamic theocracy which is using its proxies and agents to create havoc around the world. We heard recently that there had been an Iranian plot to assassinate Donald Trump and in the last few days about a credible threat on the life of Canadian Irwin Cotler. If Cotler's name is less familiar, he was a the Justice Minister and Attorney General in the federal Liberal government of the early 2000s. He was an eloquent defender of human rights around the globe and continues to be a critic of the Iranian regime. 

Now 84, Cotler is on the board of the Advancing Human Rights NGO and the international chair of the Montreal-based Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. He served as Canada’s first special envoy on Holocaust remembrance and combatting antisemitism from 2020 to 2023. 

Yesterday the House of Commons adopted a motion to condemn Iran’s alleged plot to assassinate former justice minister Irwin Cotler and affirm Canada’s steadfast support for the renowned champion of human rights.

 While Cotler was in the Liberal government I heard him give an eloquent speech on the subject of human rights (probably CBC Radio) that impressed me so much I contacted his office in the hope of getting a transcript. To my surprise, his parliamentary assistant told me that this was an extemporaneous address but he would see what he could do. Sometime later a package arrived in the mail -- remember snail mail? -- with a close approximation of his remarks and I may still have it somewhere...somewhere...somewhere. 

Cotler did not mention evil empires nor did he make reference to religion, He grew up in a Jewish family but I have no idea what his personal religious sensibilities might be. I'm glad that the Iranians were unsuccessful in their plot on his life and while he has been somewhat controversial in his staunch defense of Israel during the current conflict (he does support a two-state solution) we can admire who he has been and what he still represents in overcoming evil in our world. 

I would note that the United Church does acknowledge the reality of evil and our commitment to seek justice. And if you're curious, here are the "evil empire" remarks made by Reagan four decades ago to a group of evangelical Christians: 

Yes, let us pray for the salvation of all of those who live in that totalitarian darkness—pray they will discover the joy of knowing God. But until they do, let us be aware that while they preach the supremacy of the State, declare its omnipotence over individual man, and predict its eventual domination of all peoples on the earth, they are the focus of evil in the modern world .... 

So, in your discussions of the nuclear freeze proposals, I urge you to beware the temptation of pride—the temptation of blithely declaring yourselves above it all and label both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire, to simply call the arms race a giant misunderstanding and thereby remove yourself from the struggle between right and wrong and good and evil.

Farewell & Thankyou to Our Lady of Calvary Abbey

 

              Our Lady of Calvary Chapel with worshippers from the surrounding communities

When we lived in Halifax I took time away from my busy ministry in a downtown congregation to go on retreat at the Cistercian monastery near Rogersville in rural New Brunswick. I ended up doing so three times over several years because I appreciated the solitude and atmosphere of Our Lady of Calvary Abbey. During the first visit I realized how extensive this agricultural community was and on subsequent winter visits I took my cross-country skis to explore the farm trails through the woods and fields.

I would go by train and because Rogersville was an irregular stop with a tiny station I had to instruct the conductor that I was getting off or they would have sailed on through. On my first visit the brother who picked me up let me know that one of the other monks had died and when I attended my first daily office the plain, locally constructed coffin was in the centre of the choir section where the monks sat for the services. 

Some of you may recall a blog in which I wrote about getting permission to stop at the hermitage of one of the brothers who lived in the woods. I smelled the wood smoke from his tiny abode while out skiing and realized the cabin was nearby. He was very welcoming and it turned out that he was one of two American brothers at Rogersville who had lived for a time at the Trappist Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemane, the Kentucky home of perhaps the most famous of 20th century Christian monks, Thomas Merton. This brother had recently returned from a visit to the doctor in Moncton and observed that everyone seemed harried in their daily busyness. The other amiable American asked if he could accompany one day and produced skis that looked as though they had been fashioned from pieces of the ark. 

Our Lady of Calvary came to mind recently so I looked to see if they had an online presence. I discovered on their website that they had closed earlier this year. When I visited there were eight or nine brothers, most of them aged, and even though more had joined them over time they were down to three when the decision was made to close the monastery and a nearby Trappistine convent. 

I shared this news with son Isaac who as a university student also spent time there and worked with the brothers and outside employees in the barns. He commented on their humour while working and watching them shed their overalls to make a beeline for the chapel, magically reappearing in their robes.

                                                                     Brother Leo, Guest Master 

I appreciated Brother Leo, the friendly guest master, who had been a stone mason in Halifax when he felt drawn to the monastic life. He always made sure that I knew where we were in the prayer book because this was a French-speaking community. He loved the psalms, most of which he knew by heart after years of chanting them. He was more robust during the years I visited than in the photo, above. 

We were both saddened by the news of the closure, although it seemed inevitable. I always felt calmer and renewed when I departed. This isolated faith community was not only a Christ-light but a sort of prayer power station. Thank you to the monks and nuns of those communities whose "ora et labora" -- prayer and work -- made a difference through the decades. If I recall correctly those words were above the doors to the chicken barn. 

Hannah's Prayer of Hope in Tough Times

                                                       Hannah Invokes God -- Marc Chagall 1956

 Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord;

    my strength is exalted in my God.

My mouth derides my enemies
    because I rejoice in your victory.

 There is no Holy One like the Lord,
    no one besides you;
    there is no Rock like our God.
 Talk no more so very proudly;
    let not arrogance come from your mouth,
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
    and by him actions are weighed.
 The bows of the mighty are broken,
    but the feeble gird on strength.
 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
    but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.
The barren has borne seven,
    but she who has many children is forlorn.
 The Lord kills and brings to life;
    he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
 The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
    he brings low; he also exalts.
 He raises up the poor from the dust;
    he lifts the needy from the ash heap
to make them sit with princes
    and inherit a seat of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
    and on them he has set the world.

 He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
    but the wicked will perish in darkness,
    for not by might does one prevail.
 The Lord! His adversaries will be shattered;
    the Most High will thunder in heaven.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
    he will give strength to his king
    and exalt the power of his anointed.”

1 Samuel: 1-10 NRSVue 

From time to time the daily lectionary readings substitute a biblical passage fot  a psalm and I'm not sure why. Over the past four days the reading has been what is usually called Hannah's Prayer from 1 Samuel and it supposedly her response to the realization that she was pregnant after years of disappointment.  After all, in that patriarchal society "barrenness" was always the woman's problem and even though she was loved by her husband she felt shame, a circumstance deepened by the provocation and mocking by his other wife (so much for biblical marital values.) To make it worse, the priest assumed that as she entreated God through prayer she was drunk, although he eventually understood the depth of her faith. This prayer is the celebration of her pregnancy with the child who would be Samuel the great leader and prophet of Israel. 

This is a powerful passage which may have been the source of or inspiration for the Magnificat, Mary's Song in the gospel of Luke celebrating her pregnancy with Jesus.  While more of a fuss will be made over that passage at the end of Advent, Hannah's prayer offers a series of improbable role reversals in a "might makes right" world. 

I am struggling not to be aghast and discouraged by what seems to be an alarming rise in totalitarianism around the world, sometimes only thinly disguised, including in the United States. That this is a prayer by a women who feels vulnerable because she seems to have no control over her fertility is especially meaningful. We could all do to contemplate these hopeful verses and let them serve as an antidote to despair. The pillars of our worldview may seem shaky these days yet ultimately our foundation is God, Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer. 

One last comment: there is very little art about Hannah's prayer or Mary's song that is more than maudlin propaganda. And most of the art regarding Hannah is about her humbly beseeching God in prayer, not her celebration of possibility and promise.