Spiritual Elevation for the Anxious Generation

 

I borrowed Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation from our excellent library because I saw a review somewhere praising the book. The title intrigued me and so did the subtitle: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. Haidt explores how the over-protectiveness of parents in this generation is robbing kids of the opportunity to learn by doing. He maintains that a degree of risk is essential to development. This trend is coupled with the recent phenomenon of teens less likely to interact socially in person because they are so in thrall to their devices and the on-line world. We have moved rapidly from a discovery mode to a defend mode. Please take note that this is my six-sentence summation of numerous chapters.

I had not expected that there would be a full chapter titled Spiritual Elevation and Degradation in which he maintains that our phone-based life produces spiritual degradation in all of us.Even though Haidt is an atheist he offers a thorough exploration of the religious sensibilities and communities whose purpose is to elevate or lift us up. He looks at this through the lens of different religions traditions and spiritual practices, including:

Shared Sacredness 

Embodiment 

Stillness, Silence, and Focus 

Transcending the Self 

Be Slow to Anger, Quick to Forgive

I can't do justice to Haidt's development of these categories here, but they are all important from my perspective of a Christian who was in congregational ministry for nearly four decades. All of these were essential to life as the community of Jesus, despite the drawbacks and crazy-making churchianity, and they still are now that I'm a "civilian" Christian. 

Haidt also speaks about appreciating the "grandeur of nature" as a spiritual response, a subject dear to my heart as a Groundling, an aged child of the Creator. 

The book would be worthwhile without this chapter but it is strengthen by its inclusion and I'm grateful for the insights and affirmations it offers. 

The Scourge of AIDS in Africa Persists

 

The innermost panels of 

"The Keiskamma Altarpiece" mix photography with embroidery. 

Anthea Pokroy/Keiskamma Trust

The other day I was jolted by an article in the Toronto Star about AIDS/HIV in Africa. Nearly two decades ago ago we heard regularly about the high mortality rate in a number of African nations, leaving tens of thousands of children as orphans. These children often ended up in the care of grandmothers who were already dealing with the catastrophic loss of multiple loved ones. 

Elementary school children in rural Eswatini in a Canadian built classroom. One in four Swazi children has lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS. Danielle Burton photo

The Star article was about the tiny nation of Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, where AIDS is still a scourge, with children and teens regularly infected by sexual assaults from predatory men who are themselves are infected. 

Eswatini has attacked the virus vigorously. The country of 1.2 million has exceeded targets on HIV-treatment coverage and prevention of mother-to-child transmission, according to United Nations monitoring. Internationally funded clinics offer free access to testing and to antiretroviral medications that can keep people infected with HIV healthy for decades.

But the country still has the highest prevalence rate of HIV in the world. Almost one in three Swazi adults are living with the virus compared to one in five adults in the next most afflicted countries: Lesotho, Botswana and South Africa.

We know that organizations such as the Gates Foundation have committed billions of dollars to addressing AIDS/HIV in Africa yet the disease persists.

More than 100 of those African grandmothers created a huge mural of commemoration called the Keiskamma Altarpiece. It toured North America in 2006 and we went to see it when it was at St. James Anglican Cathedral in Toronto as part of the international AIDS conference. As we viewed it a group of those women brought to Canada by Anglican grandmothers arrived and broke into tears and wailing and prayer. Their lament was visceral and moving -- unforgettable. 

While our interest and awareness may have waned over time but it is important to keep this terrible reality in our prayers. 

Girls play in a preschool in Malkerns, Eswatini with toys donated by Canadian visitors. Young women are three times more likely to contract HIV/AIDS as young men. 

Women Disciples Overshadowed by the Twelve?

 

Some Women Accompany Jesus 

 Soon afterward he went on through one town and village after another, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. 

The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who ministered to them out of their own resources.

                     Luke 8:1-3 NRSVue

During the past year I've led two study groups on the subject of women in the bible and early church. One was based on the thought-provoking and illuminating Finding Phoebe: What New Testament Women Were Really Like by Susan Hylen. Our group conversations were really worthwhile.

Recently another book about women of the early church came to my attention, Women Who Do: Female Disciples in the Gospels, by Holly J. Carey. The Christian Century review title was Overshadowed by the Twelve, referring to the twelve men Jesus called as disciples. They have long considered the definitive group of "real" disciples, often to justify the exclusion of women from roles of leadership. 

In her review Nijay K. Gupta offers:

Thankfully, Women Who Do has opened my eyes to see women everywhere in the gospels. They believe in Jesus, serve Jesus, obey Jesus, and share about Jesus with others. All the while, the infamous Twelve often appear to be confused, worried, absent, and even dismissive of Jesus.

It’s true that the four evangelists don’t explicitly refer to any women as disciples (in Greek, mathētēs). It’s also true that the Twelve are all men. And yet, Carey points out that Jesus’ circle of students is much larger than 12

Women Who Do turns up the brightness on the gospels, so we can see their many women more vividly. Carey goes through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, chapter by chapter, as well as the book of Acts. She shows that each gospel handles the presence, lives, faith, and action of women differently while testifying to women who believe, serve, and obey Jesus—the core elements of discipleship.

While I probably won't venture into his subject for a third time in a study, at least for a while, I had to purchase the book and look forward to reading it. I'm really grateful to the women researchers and scholars who have opened up this field in recent years. 

Rolling the Dice on Sunday Scripture Readings

 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said, "Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus -- for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry."

So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us--one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection."

So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed and said, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place." And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.

                                              Acts 1 NRSVue 

Not many congregations that follow the ecumenical lectionary, the common schedule of Sunday scripture lessons, read them all each week. A Hebrew scripture reading, a psalm, an epistle passage, and a Gospel lesson makes for a lot of bible in the service.

I was curious about what we didn't hear this morning and found the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the Easter season replacement for a reading from one of the epistles/letters.

It was from Acts 1 and tells how Peter and the other post-resurrection followers of Jesus chose a replacement for Judas. He was the disciple who colluded with the authorities to arrest Jesus, an apprehension which led to his trial and execution on the cross. 

Points if you were aware that after Judas' mysterious death the apostles cast lots to replace him and bonus points if you knew that Matthias prevailed over Justus. 

There is so much to ponder in these few verses. Why did they figure they needed to choose another disciple/apostle when there were a growing number of believers? Why did Peter feel that it was necessary to rehash Judas' death in gory detail? (that part was conveniently left out of the reading). Why did they resort to a game of chance for such a seemingly important decision? And why did these two guys become candidates for the role, only to disappear from the record afterward?

In some respects this story is baffling and yet intriguing. Acts tells us a lot of stuff about the early church that seems somewhat mundane while also giving us the yowza events such as the story of Pentecost, to be told next Sunday morning. Of course, life is messy and there is a lot that happens along the way which isn't exactly eye-popping. Maybe there is a greater sense of authenticity when we hear about the everyday moments, along with the epic events. 

Pastors don't roll the dice on what we will hear on Sunday mornings, but it can be worthwhile to snoop around with the passages that don't make the cut!

A Season of Greening & of Fire

 We got out far a kayak paddle on the Bay of Quinte this morning, managing to do so before a light rain began. April in Southern Ontario was wet and our Spring world is lush and green. The trees are coming into leaf and we saw lots of creatures, including turtles and water snakes and ospreys. We regularly thank the Creator for the beauty we experience when we are rambling about in retirement. 

Before we headed out,CBC radio shared the unsettling news that parts of Northern British Columbia and  Alberta are under evacuation watches because of spreading wildfires. Fires are causing widespread telecom outages in Yukon and the Northwest Territories and it's only early May. 

We live in an ominously changing Canada when it comes to the weather, with large areas of our vast country under threat because of what would have been considered unusually dry circumstances not all that long ago. Some of the fires were never extinguished from last year. This is rapidly becoming the norm. 

You may be aware that John Vaillant's vividly written book, Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast, has been winning accolades and and awards, including a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. While it tells the story of the Alberta wildfires that caused the evacuation of tens of thousands from Fort McMurray in 2016 it is also about this new, widespread reality created by the climate emergency. Vaillaint's book has also been published under the title Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World. Vaillant describes a computer program used to model a wild fire and its spread. It is named Prometheus, the Greek god of fire, and a trickster. 

My desire is to give thanks to the biblical God who has brought all things into being, not the mythical god who was supposedly a champion of humanity yet in our context is a destroyer. This should be the greening season, a time of abundant new life, not a season of conflagration. God help us all. 

May the Fourth/Force be With Those Who Create Grotesques!

 

                                         Darth Vader Grotesque, National Cathedral, Washington DC. 

Last Saturday thousands of people donned Star Wars costumes in the annual "May the Fourth be with you" celebration. This a goofy play on the seriously intoned "may the force be with you" from the George Lucas series of films that began in 1977. 

During this week someone shared a photo of a carved figure on the National Cathedral in Washington DC, and yes, it is Darth Vader, the villain from Star Wars. This may seem improbable, perhaps an AI invention, but it is real. There are many grotesques, as they are called that are part of the cathedral's rain control system. The grotesques deflect rainwater by bouncing it off the tops of their heads and away from the stone walls.

Why a grotesque rather than a gargoyle? I had not realized that gargoyles are actually rain spouts such as the ones found on Notre Dame Cathedral. Can there be a grotesque gargoyle? This is well beyond my expertise. Most of them are barely visible from the ground, so they are sly, often ribald jokes by the craftsmen who created them

                                                              Notre Dame Cathedral Gargoyles 

Some critics don't appreciate the pop culture grotesques on the National Cathedral but carvers have been naughty and silly for centuries, so why not today? And there have been naysayers for the better part of a thousand years. The medieval French abbot St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who lived from 1090-1153, once wrote, with reference to grotesques:"What are these fantastic monsters doing in the cloisters under the very eyes of the brothers as they read?…To what purpose are here placed these creatures, half beast, half man?...Surely if we do not blush for such absurdities we should at least regret what we have spent on them."

I figure we should delight in the grotesques and gargoyles of every age, even if they bum some people out.  

                                              Grotesque from York Cathedral, Great Britain 

Can There Be a Good Funeral?

 

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 

a time to be born, and a time to die; 

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; 

a time to break down, and a time to build up; 

a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance...

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-4 NRSVue

This evening will be our third and final session on grief at Trenton United Church. The series title is Finding Our Way in Grief and the first two conversations were about how we navigate the messiness of grief individually and collectively. We realize that grief impacts us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Loss isn't experienced in a linear fashion, despite the once popular notion that there are stages, leading to the peaceful conclusion of acceptance. Rather, grief is more akin to snakes and ladders, forward and backward, in ways that are often bewildering. Our senses of loss can last a lifetime. 

We've invited two local funeral directors to participate in a question and answer session (I've already provided the questions) to consider the changing realities of grief rituals, including funeral, memorials, and other forms of leave-taking. Funeral directors are not particularly respected or liked in our society but I've worked with quite a few through the decades and most have been decent people who fulfil an important role. Some have been members of my congregations or others, and some consider their work a calling. 

In preparation I've gone back to a wise and thoughtful book called The Good Funeral: Death, Grief, and the Community of Care. The authors, Thomas Long and Thomas Lynch, are a seminary professor and a third-generation funeral director. While a lot has changed in the decade since the book was published -- Medical Assistance in Dying , the pandemic, DIY funerals -- I appreciate so much of what they have to say. 

Last week there were 18 of us, a reminder that grief is real and needs to be explored openly and honestly. It will be interesting to see who shows up today. Maybe say a prayer for our discussion? 

A Child is a Child is a Child

 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.  For,

“Whoever would love life
    and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
    and their lips from deceitful speech.
 They must turn from evil and do good;
    they must seek peace and pursue it.
 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
    and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil

1 Peter 3:9-12 NRSVue

Most of us are not on picket lines nor taking part in encampments to protest the miserable war in Gaza. As reasonable people we decry anti-semitism and realize that Israel has the right to defend itself. We also mourn the deaths of thousands, including children who have no political allegiance, no real sense of statehood. It's likely that we are weary and confused and dispirited by what has transpired during these past seven months. I came upon this tweet yesterday and it sums up my outlook succinctly. Thank you Amir Dar, whoever you are and wherever you many be. 

  Terror is always wrong.

Revenge is not a strategy.

A child is a child is a child.

Release all hostages now.

Let the aid flow.

Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians are leaving.

Without hope for a shared future, this does not end. Amir Dar

Will the True Easter Please Stand Up!

                                             Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Easter Eve Holy Fire

 Christ is risen from the dead,

Trampling down death by death,
And upon those in the tombs
Bestowing life!

Orthodox Hymn, sung since the 2nd Century

Just when I thought I had the annual timing for Easter figured out...

As you likely know, Jewish Passover and Christian Easter roam around the Spring calendar because they are lune-y, tied to the full moon around the Spring equinox. The two festivals often overlap, but not always, as was the case this year. 

You may also have noticed that this year Orthodox Christian Easter was this past Sunday, five weeks after the Roman Catholic and Protestant celebration. Huh? It turns out that in the Orthodox tradition Easter must be celebrated after Passover, a logical progression, so because Pesach was later Easter was as well. Ya live and ya learn.

I saw that the Holy Fire was kindled at the Church of the Holy Selpulchre this past Saturday, part of the ancient tradition related to this site purported to be the place of the tomb where the crucified Jesus' body was laid. Last year the RC, Protestant, and Orthodox Easter celebrations coincided and we went on Easter Eve to this church while in Jerusalem. It was a few hours after the lighting of the fire but the building was alive with singing monks and pilgrims, a remarkable experience. 

Are you thoroughly confused now? Of course, the true Easter is the one in our hearts as followers of the Risen Christ. 

The Importance of Holocaust Remembrance Day

 

Last evening marked the beginning of the 24-hour Holocaust Remembrance Day, or in Hebrew, Yom Hashoah. This is a solemn day to remember the six million Jews murdered by the Nazi regime before and during WWII. What began as localized persecution and segregation of Jews, many of whom had integrated into the fabric of their European countries, became violent and murderous. Eventually this was brought to a horrific crescendo in the Final Solution, the systematic extermination of millions simply because they were Jews. 

We are aware that anti-Judaism has existed for hundreds of years, often enabled or perpetrated by Christians. The Nazis were the most ruthless and efficient. As chilling as it is, I feel that everyone should watch the film, The Zone of Interest, about the commandant of Auschwitz who lived alongside the camp where millions were killed in a lovely home with his wife and children. 

                                                          Scene from the Zone of Interest 

It's important to remember today that many countries, including Canada, ignored the plight of Jews during the war. And after 1945 anti-Jewish stereotypes and segregation continued in many European countries, including Great Britain. When we lived in Innisfil, south of Barrie, there was a park on Lake Simcoe with a wrought iron entrance. Long-timers told me that the gap beneath the name had once proclaimed "No Jews Allowed."

We are in a moment when anti-Jewish anger and prejudice are on the rise again in many parts of the world. Many are choosing to conflate the military actions of the state of Israel in Gaza and the West Bank with the Jewish religion, everywhere. This is a disturbing and growing trend which emboldens the haters. 

I don't understand why the United Church has not encouraged its members to boldly acknowledge this remembrance day, given the uncertainty many Jews in this country feel. As followers of Yeshua the Jew, the Risen Christ we proclaim as the Prince of Peace, it is vital that we do so. 

One Sunday, Two Colours

 

The United Church of Canada has invited members to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinian peoples by wearing white to worship services this morning. While we condemn the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023, we are dismayed by Israel's military response resulting in the deaths of approximately 35,000 Gazans and widespread destruction in the enclave bringing about displacement and famine. Wearing white is in support of a ceasefire, currently being negotiated in Egypt. I imagine lots of the folk at Trenton UC will do so because they have a strong social conscience.

 This also happens to be Red Dress Day and often people wear red in solidarity with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. This is an important, solemn commemoration which also deserves recognition and often has in United Church congregations. Indigenous women are six times as likely to be murdered in Canada than the general population and for far too long these women and girls were treated as expendable. The trial of a Manitoba man who is charged with murdering four Indigenous women and disposing of their bodies in landfills got underway last week, so this year's commemoration is particularly poignant.

What to do? Wear both colours? Whatever choice, it's important to remember, to pray, to act as Christ's people committed to justice and compassion on behalf of the marginalized and down-trodden. 

Press Freedom Day & the Truth

 

Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…

Winston Churchill in the British House of Common, 1947

"Then Jesus said...if you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

John 8 NRSVue 

Yesterday was World Press Freedom Day, the opportunity to uphold the essential place of a free and unbiased "estate" of journalism in society. In an idea world the press would not be providers of propaganda subject to the whims and demands of tyrannical governments or special interest groups. We know that investigative journalism has been key to revealing injustices perpetrated by military regimes, hierarchical religious institutions, and unscrupulous companies. 

On Thursday evening I listened to a panel made up of distinguished jurists from different parts of the world, one of whom commented on how an impartial judiciary and a free press are two essential aspects of healthy democracies and I would agree, whole-heartedly. History shows that tyrants often move to suppress the influence of impartial courts and shut down honest journalism to facilitate oppression.  The relatively recent motto of the Washington Post comes to mind: "Democracy Dies in Darkness."

There were no democracies as we know them in Jesus' time and he lived and died under the "might makes right" rule of the Roman Empire. There was no press either, no gazette challenging his death sentence. Jesus did speak about truth at his trial before Pilate and he did so fearlessly. 

We are in a dark time when journalistic institutions are being challenged around the world by those who consider their work inconvenient to say the least. In the United States, a country that considers itself a bastion of democracy, the Orange Menace has derided the press relentlessly for eight years now. In Israel, often upheld as the only democracy in the Middle East, the Netanyahu government has moved to diminish the powers of the Supreme Court and muzzle the press. 

More than 100 journalists died around the world in 2023, a sobering statistic. We need to be vigilant about our freedoms. Could we say that this is a sacred responsibility?

And today?...may the fourth be with you!

Hymnus Eucharisticus & the Creator's Dawn Chorus

Magdalen College Tower

Canadians are well aware that "April is the cruelest month" (T.S. Eliot), or at least it can be. The Spring solstice officially marks the beginning of Spring but even in Southern Ontario we play "snow tire roulette", suspicious that as soon as we change over the tires there will be a blizzard. Even with the effects of climate change we can get a flop of snow that is dismaying.

Because of Earth Day on April 22 and the corresponding Earth Sunday is some denominations we have found ways to embrace our place in creation and to give thanks to the Creator. We did so throughout April in our Trenton UC congregation. 

In parts of Europe May 1st (yesterday) is May Day, acknowledged as the first day of Summer, which is mind-boggling. Summer? Wildflowers are gathered, dancing around a maypole takes place, and bonfires are lit. The origins of these festivals are ancient and pre-Christian. 

Still, there are also "if ya can't beat em, join em" events in Christian churches. Yesterday the choir of Madgalen College in Oxford, England, sang a hymn from the roof of the tower, surely not recommended for those with vertigo. They do so at the crack of dawn as people below listen.

 I'd never heard of this tradition until yesterday but I found the notion enchanting. How wonderful! I decribed it to Ruth, my partner in life, who agreed. She then commented that we are able to listen to our backyard choir of birds, the "dawn chorus", every day and she is correct, as always...or at least most of the time. 

Here is the Wikipedia description of this choral event. There are recordings and videos of the event if you're up for an internet snoop. 

The Hymnus Eucharisticus is a traditional hymn sung by the choir of boy choristers and academical clerks of Magdalen College, Oxford in England, supported by professional stipendary clerks. The choristers are boys from Magdalen College School and the academical clerks are students from Magdalen College at the University. 

The hymn is best known for its role in the events of May Morning, a 500-year-old tradition where the choir sings the hymn from Magdalen Tower at 6 a.m. each year on 1 May. This initiates the annual May Morning celebrations in Oxford. Large crowds gather in the High Street and on Magdalen Bridge to listen. The sound is very faint, although more recently amplification has been used. The crowds then disperse for other celebratory activities such as Morris Dancing. The hymn is also sung from the gallery of the college's Great Hall (the dining room) during important college occasions.

The Creator & the Hope of Spring

1 The spring has come, let all the church be part of it!

The world has changed, and God is at the heart of it!

New light, new day, new colour after winter grey.

New light, new day,

the spring has come, let all the church be part of it!

Voices United 187

A couple of days ago I saw an enthusiastic "bird nerd" report of the first Rose-breasted Grosbeak at one of the banding centres here in Ontario. I wondered is and when we would see these remarkable birds at our feeders (we usually do) and, lo and behold, not one but two males showed up this morning, a first for us.  

We have been roaming around on foot, on bicycles, and in our canoe of late, steeping ourselves in the emerging sights and sounds and even smells of Spring. This is such a hopeful time of the year in Canada, especially since the climate emergency has taken away Winter and replaced it with the Dreary season. 

We've listened to the great choruses of peepers and other frogs. We have exulted in the sight of trilliums and Dutchman's breeches and trout lilies, all wildflowers that tend to be with us briefly, "ephemerals" as they are termed. 

2 The sun is warm, let all God's children play in it!

The world expands, let's spread the Gospel way in it!

New leaf, new thrust, new greening for the love of Christ.

New leaf, new thrust,

the sun is warm, let all God's children play in it!

On a solo cycle along our Bay of Quinte I caught sight of two snappling turtles canoodling. I hadn't realized that there were two until I posted to our family chat and a family member pointed out that I had inadvertently created turtle porn. 

When I was at a Conservation Area last week I came upon a group of excited school kids who told me, a total stranger, all they creatures they had seen. We had the bond of the astonishing gift of Creation. 

I do hope you're able to stop, look and listen during these precious weeks and give thanks to the Creator. 

3 The spring has come, new people are the flowers of it.

Through wind and rain, new life is in the showers of it.

New bud, new shoot, new hope will bear the Spirit's fruit.

New bud, new shoot,

the spring has come, new people are the flowers of it!

Waiting for Shardlake

 I am looking forward to the release of a new series on Disney+ called Shardlake, a period mystery story based on a novel by C.J. Sansom. There are actually seven novels featuring a solicitor named Matthew Shardlake during the turbulent days of the reign of Henry VIII. They are acclaimed for their plots but also the meticulous research of the era by Sansom, who began his working life as a solicitor. The novels have been popular with 3 million copies sold. 

The first of the novels from 2003 is Dissolution and the title refers to the dismantling of monasteries and convents in Britain after Henry broke with the Roman Catholic Church. The television series takes us to a monastery where a murder has taken place and Shardlake has been sent to discover what has happened.

This series of novels is well-written and suspenseful at times. They also explore the often arcane and violent realities of religion in 16th century England. Loyalty to one's particular expression of Christianity could result in expulsion from society, exile, even death. I've written about William Tyndale, the Oxford scholar whose translation of the bible into English makes up more than 75% of the King James Bible. Yet Tyndale was forced to flee for his life to Europe because of his efforts and was eventually found by Henry's henchman, strangled to death and his body burned. We think Christianity has been politicized and weaponized today! Shardlake navigates his sleuthing in the midst of these troubling currents. 

I was saddened to read that C.J. Sansom died a few days ago at the age of 71. The debilitation from his cancer made for slow-going in writing his eighth, ultimately unfinished novel. He had plans for subsequent stories set during the reign of Elizabeth I. 

I hope he got to see the series before his death. Bring on Shardlake tomorrow!

Good News about Haida Sovereignty

 

According to my Air Canada app we will be leaving in 50 days for Haida Gwaii, the archipelago of islands about 100 kilometres off the coast of British Columbia. We are both excited and a bit apprehensive about our trip given that we had booked to go in 2020, then again in 2021, both trips kiboshed by COVID. We actually thought this trip wouldn't happen either because of a lack of rental vehicles (a reality on many islands) but we will be there for the Summer Solstice and we do have a junket booked to Hai Gwanaas, the national park only acessible by water or air.

We are very interested in the culture of the Haida Indigenous people whose numbers were greatly reduced by diseases brought by settlers and whose language dwindled dangerously. We have seen and heard of how Haida culture and spirituality have been revived from the embers to illuminate the Nation once again. 

As a retired minister in a denomination that was part of the colonial assault on Indigenous spiritual identity and connection to the land and sea across the country I want to find my way humbly into a greater understanding and respect for this proud culture. I'm not sure if there is a United Church presence on Haida Gwaii and honestly it isn't of particular interest to me. 

You may be aware that the Haida Nation has been involved in a decades-long fight to stop the plundering of the rich forest resources of the islands by companies given cutting rights by the government of British Columbia. This led to confrontations involving police and activists but in the end the Haida prevailed, to a degree, in ways that are now serving as models for Indigenous groups around the world. 

Recently the government of British Columbia entered into an agreement with the Haida Nation regarding sovereignty. This agreement builds on those already formulated and enacted during the past 50 years. Here are excerpts from the release issued by the BC government: 

The Province of B.C. and the Council of the Haida Nation (CHN) stood in HlGaagilda and signed the historic Gaayhllxid • Gíhlagalgang “Rising Tide” Haida Title Lands Agreement, a first-of-its-kind negotiated agreement recognizing Haida Aboriginal title in Haida Gwaii.

Title recognition shifts the ownership and jurisdiction of land from the Crown to the Haida Nation in Crown law. The agreement provides for a staged implementation of the title, creating stability and certainty for all residents of Haida Gwaii, now and for generations to come.

CHN and the Government of B.C. have been working actively since 2021 to formally recognize Haida Aboriginal title in Haida Gwaii. The staged approach reflected in this agreement means that CHN and B.C. can determine in a planned and orderly way how the title will be implemented.

The agreement explicitly protects and maintains private property rights and existing government services and infrastructure in Haida Gwaii, including:

• Private property interests are confirmed and are not affected by this agreement.
• Local governments, public infrastructure, programs and services will continue under current B.C. laws.
• Highways, airports, ferry terminals, health care and schools are not affected.
• Haida Gwaii residents will continue to receive municipal services and pay property taxes in the same way they do today.
• Provincially issued leases, permits and other approvals to use Crown lands and recreational access remain in effect over a several-year transition period, with future management to be negotiated with input from communities, businesses and residents.

Haida citizens voted 95% in favour of the agreement at a special assembly on April 6, 2024. Later this month, B.C. will introduce supporting legislation to formally recognize Haida Aboriginal title in provincial law.

Quick Facts:

• The Council of the Haida Nation has been the governing body for the Haida Nation for 50 years.
• Haida Gwaii is located approximately 100 kilometres west of the northern coast of British Columbia and is a group of more than 200 islands totalling approximately one million hectares (3,750 square miles).
• The Haida have been on Haida Gwaii for millenia.
• The Council of the Haida Nation was formed in 1974 and the Constitution of the Haida Nation was formally adopted in 2003.
• The constitution mandates the CHN to conduct the external affairs of the Haida Nation and to steward the lands and waters of Haida Gwaii on behalf of the Haida Nation, ensuring that the Haida relationship with Haida Gwaii continues in perpetuity.
• The CHN has negotiated and signed agreements with other coastal First Nations, non-governmental organizations and local communities, and continues to work on agreements with both the federal and provincial governments.

Freedom Seders in 2024

 

More than 30 years ago I was in Israel with a group and I had lots of interesting chats with our guide, a woman my age. At one point we discussed the diversity of outlooks on a range of subjects within Israel and in the Jewish diaspora. She shrugged and with a chuckle offered "there is a saying, ten Jews, twelve opinions." 

This has certainly come to the fore since the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel and the subsequent military response by the IDF in Gaza. There are Israeli citizens and lots of Jews who feel that the devastating retribution is justified and some within the radical right would accept the obliteration of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. 

As I noted at the beginning of Passover 2024 a week ago, Jews are gathering around the Seder table and in public places with a variety of outlooks. There are events involving Jews and others for what are being called a Freedom Seders, harking back to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s in the United States. There were Jews, including the great  rabbi and thinker, Abraham Joshua Heschel, who not only supported civil rights but marched in solidarity with Dr. King. In April 1969, on the first anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Jewish and African-American activists came together in Washington, D.C. to share a meal that came to be known as the Freedom Seder.

The Freedom Seders of this past week included a public one that took place in the past 24 hours in Berlin,  Germany. These Jewish protestors reject what they are convinced is the oppression of the Palestinian people who must be liberated, not subjugated. They call on the German government to cease supplying arms to Israel, also a the focus of another such seder in Brooklyn, New York. 

I saw a news clip from London in which an elderly Jewish Holocaust survivor took part in a pro-Palestinian rally and made the connection between persecution of Jews and what is happening in Gaza today. 

We have to realize the complexity of this situation which doesn't lend itself to simplistic "us and them" statements. We can appreciate the willingness of Jews to ask the hard questions about what is unfolding in a deeply troubled part of the world.