A Hopeful Prayer for Unity

 

Through the decades I have participated, albeit sporadically, in what are termed Prayer Cycles. Basically this is following a discipline and direction for regular prayer that may include personal, local, and world concerns. I haven't done so for a few years but this prayer from the World Council of Churches for the week that began yesterday struck me because of its economy of words yet remarkable breadth. It calls us to repentance and encourages us to trust that the Holy Spirit will lead us into new ways of seeing and hearing. Amen!

Stitching for their Lives?

 

Back in July I wrote about the impending "invasion" of Britain by the Bayeux Tapestry, in fact a loan by the French for the first time since it was created 900 years ago.  It  isn't actually a tapestry but a 70-metre length of intricate embroidery depicting the Battle of Hastings as the decisive conflict in the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. One theory is that it was commissioned by a French bishop and brought to life by nuns in Canterbury, England, then immediately transported across the Channel. 

The exhibit at the British Museum has now been opened to great fanfare with re-enactors and line-ups for entry, although every ticket was sold within hours. There have been many articles, including one with the headline They were stitching for their lives’: why the Bayeux tapestry is a testament to terror. This piece suggests that some, perhaps many of the women who worked on the tapestry were women from Kent who fled the marauding invaders and took sanctuary in the convent, even as their families were being terrorized. Their survival was dependent on their ability to contribute to this depiction of Norman victory. If this theory is true, were these local women intermingled with the nuns, perhaps disguised in habits? Did they become part of the daily flow of worship which is part of monastic life and what might they have prayed when it seemed that God had forsaken them? How could they have focused on their intricate work in the midst of trauma? 

In the end this is part of the speculation, scholarly or otherwise, about the Bayeux Tapestry. It is amazing that in this age of virtual everything, there can be so much excitement over a work of art created stitch by stitch. 

President Emmanuel Macron of France, left, and King Charles III at a preview of the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition. Credit...Ludovic Marin/Agence France-Presse, via Pool/Afp Via Getty Images

A Monarch Butterfly Templum

Jesus bids us shine with a clear pure light

like a little candle burning in the night:

in this world of darkness so we must shine --

you in your small corner, and I in mine. 

templum an open space for augural observation; open, clear, broad space

a place of divine worship, sanctuary, shrine, temple 

 Good friends are part of a dedicated group of volunteers who help maintain and sustain the Samuel Wilmot Nature Area on the shore of Lake Ontario near Newcastle, Ontario. One of the annual projects is tagging Monarch butterflies staging on the shore before crossing this vast body of water. Yesterday we became part of the cheerful throng of citizen scientists who headed into the goldenrod to net Monarchs and return to the tagging stations. 

The science part involves carefully extricating the butterfly from the net, measuring the length, determining gender. applying the tiny tag, and recording this information along with the identification  number. The number means that if a butterfly is captured again enroute it can be tracked in a database. 

Yesterday was encouraging regarding the Monarchs. These living stained glass windows were everywhere and for the first time in a decade all 500 tags were applied. We managed to capture 15 of them for initial tagging along with two already marked. We have seen lots of Monarchs as we've paddled recently and even in our backyard. 

In the midst of overwhelmingly lousy environmental news is was encouraging that so many of these butterflies were embarking on their perilous journey to the mountains of Mexico for Winter roosting. And it was wonderful that scores of people showed up to take part in this important work. Approximately 250,000 tags are distributed across North America each year and we were doing our part. There were families with very young children, and enthusiastic teens, and earnest university students. There were a fair number of seniors as well and a variety of colours of skin. 

Because of a congregation of butterflies strangers became a pop-up congregation. There was lots of good natured conversation and "stranger danger" was given an amnesty by parents for a couple of hours. We were given the opportunity to release the butterflies we'd captured and a couple of them I put on the hands of children watching the procedure. 

Needless to say, we felt that the uplift of this experience was holy in this "templum" a sacred space. We certainly weren't worshipping the Monarchs but we felt the awe of both Creation and Creator. All of us were letting our light shine. 

Rosh Hashanah Forgiveness

 

What is Rosh Hashanah? 

Rosh Hashanah, meaning "head of the year" in Hebrew, is the celebration of the Jewish New Year. During Rosh Hashanah, Jewish people around the world ask God for forgiveness for mistakes they’ve made over the past year and remind themselves not to repeat those mistakes in the coming year.

Today marks the beginning of the Jewish High Holidays and as you can see Rosh Hashanah involves introspection, asking God for forgiveness, and commitment to a different path, While this is an important Jewish celebration those of us who are not Jews might ask what this means for us in terms of the persistent anti-Jewish sentiments and hatreds which continue to plague our societies. 

There is is disturbing evidence all around us that anti-Semitism continues with sometimes blatant, sometimes more guarded words and actions. Added to this is the conflation of Judaism as a practiced religion, Judaism as a cultural identity, Zionism as a movement, and the state of Israel as a national entity. Sorting through all this can be confusing yet it is important to do so. 

Jesus, the Jew, understood the power of hatred and enjoined his followers to chose love. This is an important message today and every day. We can examine our own hearts and minds and seek forgiveness for stereotypes but also for indifference. 

Radical Hospitality at the Edge of the World

                                                                     Gander runways following 911 

 Let mutual affection continue.  Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. 

Hebrews 13: 1-2 NRSVue

Today is the 25th anniversary of a day of infamy when terrorists attacked key sites in the United States, including the two World Trade Towers. I recall vividly the custodian of the church I served in Halifax, Nova Scotia, coming to my study to report what he'd heard of the unfolding story. The staff gathered to watch the seemingly incomprehensible collapse of the towers. That evening our Presbytery met for its regular meeting and we discussed how our congregations might participate in providing shelter to the occupants of planes forced to land at Halifax airport, although that proved to be unnecessary. 

Through this day there will be special events in Gander, Newfoundland, to mark this solemn occasion, Gander, with fewer than 10,000 residents, along with surrounding communities sheltered 6.000 bewildered passengers from dozens of jet planes which landed at Gander airport. Over the next few days these communities exhibited extraordinary hospitality, providing food and shelter and remarkable human kindness to these frightened visitors. 

 My first pastoral charge was not far from Gander and our son was born in the Gander hospital. We spend time almost yearly on islands an hour and a half from Gander and land at the same airport with its one, small baggage carousel.  It feels more like a bus station than an international airport.  We have tried to imagine the chaos of those first few hours yet a small miracle unfolded. Locals welcomed strangers into their homes, grocery stores provided food for communal meals, parties were organized for children. There was no expectation of financial recompense. 

Beverley Bass, the pilot of an American Airlines flight that diverted to Gander, Nfld., on 9/11, greets retired air traffic controller Patrick Woodford at the local airport this week.

A couple of years ago we saw the musical Come From Away about these events in Gander and it was moving. The guy who runs the food concession in the theatre came onto the stage before the production to speak about those tumultuous days. 

Many of the stranded will be in Gander today, people who are immensely grateful for the kindness they experienced. They are appalled by the harsh treatment Canada and Canadians are receiving from the current American administration. It's as though we are enemies rather than loyal neighbours and the tone and actions are deeply alienating. 

One of the chief offenders is Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, a belligerent flack whose presence at today's commemoration offends many, me included -- he's no angel. Yet I am reminded by scripture and by Jesus that we are to welcome strangers and to love our enemies. Nearly all religions include hospitality as a virtue but Jesus instructs us to practice radical love for those who we would prefer to shun. I'll probably be working on this directive for the rest of my life.

 I pray that all goes well in Gander today and that this commemoration of astonishing hospitality transcends politics. 

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?

                          Matthew 5: 43-46 NRSVue

Canada, the United Church, and the West Bank

A few days ago Canada, France, and Great Britain announced that they would be banning products from the West Bank, the supposedly Palestinian enclave within Israel. I say supposedly because there has been a relentless program of building Israeli settlements within the West Bank. These settlements are often populated by militant Jewish settlers who harass their Palestinian neighbours, sometimes forcing them to depart farms and properties owned for generations. Other Palestinians live on land they settled after being forcibly removed from villages at the time of Israel's formation. 

The United Nations has deemed these Israeli settlements illegal but they continue to be developed. Since the 2023 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel the settlers have become increasingly violent and the Israeli military literally stands by and watches. The United States has decried these attacks and Prime Minister Netanyahu says they are unacceptable but this concern is a lie. The IDF could stop this almost immediately.

While these decisions by the three countries made the news, including predictable condemnation on Israel's part, there are other countries which have taken similar steps. The Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway, which have either banned goods or are in the process of doing so. Other countries including Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal and Sweden are considering their own actions.

This is all important but should have happened years ago. United Church members may recall that in 2012 the General Council of the UCC voted to boycott products made in Israeli settlements. Companies such as SodaStream and Ahava are situated in the West Bank. In 2013 the United Church undertook a program called Unsettling Goods: Choosing Peace in Palestine and Israel, specific to West Bank products. 

The United Church was criticized and even vilified by some here in Canada. I was still active in congregational ministry at the time and I was contacted in various ways by individuals and organizations who condemned our stance. I was more than willing to defend our actions. 

At times it seems as though the UCC could be renamed the Church of the Cheshire Cat as we shrink in membership and number of congregations, a ghost of our former presence. Yet we have been bold and courageous in so many areas including ordaining women in the 1930s, offering apologies to Indigenous peoples for residential schools, including LGBTQ2S persons in our life and work, and choosing to ban plastic products at denominational meetings. In every instance we were mocked or dismissed or condemned as heretics.

 Hmm. While I struggled with some of these decisions at the time I wouldn't change any of them now.

World Peace and the Korean Peninsula

Ecumenical Prayer service for Peace and Reunification of the Korean Peninsula in Gospel Church in Seoul, August 2019.

 

Photo: Grégoire de Fombelle/WCC

There is an important event underway in South Korea, what is described as an International Ecumenical Peace Convocation. The theme is World Peace and the Korean Peninsula. The Church as a Community of Healing, Reconciliation, and Peacebuilding. 

You are probably aware that North Korea and South Korea have been divided since the 1950s after the conclusion of a war in which Canada participated and more than 500 Canadian military personnel died. 

North Korea continues to be a totalitarian regime cut off from most of the world while South Korea is a democracy with a robust Christian community of about 14.5 million. Over the years there have been tentative efforts toward reconciliation and family reunification but this has been a difficult road. 

In 2022 the United Church was invited to participate in an ecumenical appeal where 10,000 of our members would sign a petition for peace on the Korean Peninsula. The United Church had a missionary presence in South Korea for a long time but eventually renounced all properties run by the denomination and developed a different relationship with the churches there. While there are admirable goals for the petition it didn't seem to get much attention in the UCC and didn't meet the goal. I signed it but I really wondered why given the current North Korean regime. Hey, sometimes the gesture matters as much for oneself as for the outcome.

 Here are the main points:

End the Korean War and establish a peace agreement. 

Create a Korean Peninsula and a world free from nuclear weapons and nuclear threat. 

 Resolve the conflict with dialogue and cooperation instead of sanctions and pressure. 

 Break from the vicious cycle of the arms race and invest in human security and environmental sustainability. 

The irony is that the De-militarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas is heavily armed and guarded yet has become an ecological "ark" where many species flourish without human interference. 

Will peace ever prevail on the Korean Peninsula? God only knows.