Monarch Butterflies & the Season of Creation?

                                                                           Photo by Deb J

Last week I chuckled when a good friend sent me the link for a worthwhile article in the Atlantic Monthly on the subject of Monarch butterflies. I'd come upon the same article earlier in the day but thought I might be too predictable by sending it their way. They also live not far from the shore of Lake Ontario and have become dedicated Monarch protectors, involved with a group who net and tag these wondrous creatures in late Summer and into the Fall as they embark on the perilous journey to Mexico. 

Monarchs have been in serious decline for a number of reasons including habitat loss along the flight route and in the mountainous forest area where they roost by the millions over the Winter. While greater efforts have been made to establish a protected forest preserve, poaching for lumber and clear-cutting to grow avocados destined for northern markets are serious threats. One prominent conservationist in Mexico was murdered and others have lived under threat of violence. 

It seems that the population following the Eastern flyways may have stabilized after years of decline, which is good news. Sadly, this is not the case for the Western Monarchs. 

There is no mention of butterflies in the Judeo/Christian scriptures even though there is a variety of  species in Israel and the region. Butterflies are sometimes used in Christian imagery for transformation.and resurrection. 

I wonder if Monarchs could be the foundation for the Season of Creation in North America, given that these Sundays are in September and early October, a key period for migration southward? 

We live in a time of precarity for many species and yet we live in hope for their survival and ours. Only the willfully blind cannot see and feel the effects of the Climate Emergency and it is discouraging that we continue to commit the sins of disregard for Creation. 

Monarchs roosting in El Rosario butterfly sanctuary, part of Mexico’s Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve

On the theme of Monarchs and Creation we could celebrate those dedicated humans here and all along the migratory paths who chose to carry on their support in hope. Why not connect with organizations and researchers who are doing this work and maybe even invite folk to  provide financial support?

We might express our wonder for these creatures and become better informed about their  astonishing journey. We could make the connection with other migrations, including humans who are searching for a better life as climate refugees in a changing world. 

Some congregations are on properties which could grow pollinator plants, including the essential milkweed. Members could be encouraged to record their sightings of Monarchs. Hymns, prayers, other liturgical resources could be developed, including a call to repentance and change of heart. 

I'll stop now! 

When I mentioned to these friends that we saw a number of Monarchs on a beach in Prince Edward County and then in our backyard she sent the photo above from their yard. 

Let's keep hoping, praying, and acting for Creation. And maybe read Barbara Kingsolver's novel which includes a faith community. 

Fingerbowl Epiphany

 

We spent a couple of days with two of our grandchildren and enjoyed a bunch of outing and activities. Who knew that a six-year-old would be delighted by a fingerbowl at Swiss Chalet? We figured that these bowls on longer existed, but here they were. 

Later I reminisced with our daughter, their mom, about an earlier time in her life when she was commuting to Toronto from Oshawa five days a week and then working three Swiss Chalet shifts on the weekend. It was surprisingly good money because of the tips and made a big difference for weekly expenses. 

 She reminded me that on Sunday afternoons co-workers would groan "here come the church people" as groups filtered in after their worship services.

 I asked,  why church people, and she said that they tended to be entitled and even rude. So, these folk had heard the Good News of Jesus, maybe a sermon from time to time about a commandment saying "Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy" only to be the source of eye-rolling on the part of people who were serving them on that sabbath. 

I spent many years working as a pastor with and for some of the finest people I've ever met. Their faith informed their lives and that Good News was evident in their kindness and compassion. Unfortunately I could also understand why our daughter's co-workers felt the way they did. It seemed that some church folk -- always only a few but often a vocal minority -- didn't get the memo about loving their neighbours as themselves as an expression of loving God. 

Witnessing to Christ is not about cornering someone with a few trite phrases about God's amazing love. It is demonstrating genuineness in everyday actions. Maybe the fingerbowls could be an opportunity to renew baptismal vows!

Ah well, I'll keep the image of my grandchild soaking their fingers with a happy grin as though it was a spa day. 

Closing a Cathedral of Creativity

 

During this past weekend thousands of people congregated at the McMichael Gallery in Kleinberg, Ontario, perhaps the greatest collection of Canadian art. I use "congregated" intentionally and I might have described the gallery as a shrine or even a cathedral or artistic expression. 

Not surprisingly folk wanted a last opportunity to experience the McMichael before it closes for three years to facilitate a major redevelopment and expansion. When I read about this it was as though I was being told that a cherished church was being closed, albeit temporarily. At our age three years can bring significant life-changing events, as we constantly see with our contemporaries. I suppose what I am feeling is grief, in a way. 

We visit the McMichael at least once a year, sometimes twice or thrice, depending on the exhibitions. I first visited the gallery in the 1960s, shortly after the McMichaels gave their expansive log home and impressive collection of art, mostly Group of Seven and Tom Thomson paintings, to the Ontario government to be used in perpetuity as a museum. I've written about having my photo taken as a boy with AY Jackson, one of those painters who was living there at the time who would sit in a sunny nook. 

 The collection has expanded over the decades and many of the exhibits now bring in well curated works by Aboriginal artists and contemporary creators from other cultures as well as offering retrospectives of women who were largely ignored in previous eras. An exhibition at the McMichael introduced us to the work of Christi Belcourt, a contemporary Metis artist. 

Over time the McMichael has been expanded and refurbished but this is unprecedented. Closing for three years seems a huge price to pay for those who value time there so deeply. I know that this decision wasn't taken lightly and I pray that the project doesn't extend beyond the timeline. 

Sarah Milroy, the executive director and chief curator speaks of the 'sacred trust" the gallery represents and this an apt description. I so often have experienced a sense of the holy in art galleries and museums. Creativity in its many forms, including music, is, for me, a reflection of the Creator. 

Seeing Red

 

It's ben fun to introduce our four grandchildren to some of the cartoons and kids series of our past, although the violence and sexism of the usually clever Looney Tunes and others is an eye-opener.

Ruth found the original Anne of Green Gables series with Megan Follows and it didn't go well with our six-year-old grandchild. He is one of two redheads amongst the four, a persistent trait in the family, including Ruth, especially when she was pregnant and the hormones deepened her usually strawberry blonde hair. He was alarmed by the prejudice against Anne's ginger locks by adults and children. 

You may recall that schoolmate Gilbert called Anne "carrot" and it wasn't a term of endearment. Of course Anne was fiery in her response to her tormentor, an emotional stereotype of redheads. Yet Anne bemoaned her "life-long sorrow" and claimed she could never be happy with red hair. She managed to dye her hair green in an attempt to free herself from the curse and had her locks shorn as a result.

The shock of all this was so deep for our grandchild that they had to stop watching, immediately. He has yet to experience this in life and so was unsettled at the prospect. But maybe this silly prejudice has come to an end. 

                                                       Mary Magdalene  --Andrea Solario 1495-1524 

You may be aware that Mary Magdalene was maligned as a "wanton woman" for centuries in the church even though this is not supported by the gospels and often portrayed with red hair. 

That's the way with stereotypes and prejudices, isn't it?  Humans categorize others according to race, creed, colour and gender and it continues to be a powerful tool for control. We see it south of the border right now and it's certainly a grim aspect of our Canadian history. I grew up knowing little about other religions but Muslims were definitely not to be trusted. Aboriginal spirituality was pagan.  Homosexuals were considered an abomination and some people protested the use of the word "gay" because it was too positive, although calling someone gay was a slur. Dumb? Yup. 

I'm not a fan of the doctrine of original sin although I've concluded that hatred seems to be bred in the bone. Some say that we learn our prejudices, which is probably true, but we take to them readily. 

As Jesus-followers we can follow his example in creating a welcoming and loving environment for all rather than weaponizing our faith for exclusion. We can repent of our sins of prejudice and embrace the way of love. This shouldn't be so difficult. 

It's encouraging to see in recent years the embrace of gingerness with a growing number of gatherings and even multi-day festivals. Why not "say it loud, say it proud"? 

Neil Young and Mother Earth

                                                         1990 Promotional Poster 

[Verse 1]
Oh, Mother Earth with your fields of green
Once more laid down by the hungry hand
How long can you give and not receive?
And feed this world ruled by greed
And feed this world ruled by greed

[Verse 2]
Oh, ball of fire in the summer sky
Your healing light, your parade of days
Are they betrayed by the men of power
Who hold this world in their changing hands
They hold the world in their changing hands

[Guitar Solo]

[Verse 3]
Oh, freedom land, can you let this go?
Down to the streets where the numbers grow
Respect Mother Earth and Her giving ways
Or trade away our children's days
Or trade away our children's days

[Outro]
Respect Mother Earth and Her healing ways
Or trade away our children's days

I did not know that way back in 1990 Neil Young, rock music legend, environmentalist, and general curmudgeon wrote a song for his "mother", Planet Earth. It is called Mother Earth: Natural Anthem. I came upon a video of a live version with Crazy Horse, his band at the time. It starts out with some gritty distortion but settles into a ballad, a lament for what Christians term Creation. 

The tune had the feel of a hymn and as I listened it sounded a lot like a traditional hymn I couldn't quite conjure up. Finally I realized that the melody was O Waly Waly, or a close facsimile. In the United Church hymn resource Voices United there are several hymns using this tune including the familiar Though I May Speak. 

There is another, O Blessed Spring, that I can't recall singing but I like the earthy and seasonal lyrics. Am I correct about the Neil Young tune or am I imagining things? 

1 O blessed spring, where Word and sign

embrace us into Christ the Vine,

here Christ enjoins each one to be

a branch of this lifegiving tree.

2 Through summer heat of youthful years,

uncertain faith, rebellious tears,

sustained by Christ's infusing rain,

the boughs will shout for joy again.

3 Christ, holy Vine, Christ, living Tree,

be praised for this blessed mystery:

that Word and water thus revive

and join us to your Tree of Life.

4 When autumn cools and youth is cold,

when limbs their heavy harvest hold,

then through us warm the Christ will move

with gifts of beauty, wisdom, love.

5 As winter comes, as winters must,

we breathe our last, return to dust;

still held in Christ, our souls take wing

and trust the promise of the spring.

                                                               Neil Young Love Earth Tour 

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

 

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.  

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world.  

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.  We love because he first loved us. 

        1 John 4: 16-19 NRSVue

Don't be afraid, my love is stronger, my love is stronger than your fear.

Don't be afraid, my love is stronger 

and I have promised, promised to be always near. 

        More Voices 90 

I have the mute button ready when the Ontario Government indoctrination TV commercials begin during the evening news cast. Last year our incompetent and morally bankrupt  provincial government spent more than $100 million of taxpayers money pumping its own tires, a practice the Auditor General has declared as sketchy, at best, and maybe illegal.  Many of them such as the Ring of Fire commercials are deliberately misleading, touting initiatives that are actually decades away. 

The commercial that I find reprehensible at the moment is the A Safer Ontario ad which claims that: Ontario is working to protect our neighbourhoods by tackling auto theft, clearing encampments, shutting down drug injection sites near schools and daycares, building more jails and strengthening the bail system, so criminals stay behind bars.

There is no explanation of whether affordable housing is provided for those who are "living rough" or if closing down safe injection sites may actually create more risk or whether warehousing criminals does make us safer in the long run or whether denying bail will pass the legal test. These are simplistic promises based on anxiety and fear. 

There is statistical evidence that crime rates are dropping across the province and the number of murders in Toronto continues to fall. Yet we're encouraged to feel scared about our society and that Daddy Dougie will protect us. If things are so bad  just what has he been doing for the past eight years? 

It's not as though there are no concerns for public safety  -- there always are -- and we want a functioning and secure society. It's the fearmongering that is so troubling. How about using some of the $100+ million for solutions for the unhoused? 

There are many biblical verses in Older and New Testaments which encourage us to live beyond our fears with the promise that God, in Christ, is our companion in even our darkest moments. Jesus is my Saviour, not Premier Ford. 

Emancipation Day & the United Church

 

Today, August 1 is Emancipation Day in Canada. I've written about this important opportunity for reflection and hope a number of times. This year I'll share the message from the Right Reverend Dr. Kimberly Heath, Moderator of the United Church: 

[Emancipation Day] is a day to remember, to reflect, and to honour the resilience, strength, and contributions of people of African descent whose lives and communities were forever shaped by centuries of enslavement. 

For more than 400 years, millions of African peoples were captured, forced to migrate, and subjected to horrific treatment under the transatlantic slave trade system. Families were separated. Languages, cultures, and identities were targeted for erasure. More than 15 million people of African descent were affected. This horrific system resulted in the deaths, torture, and abuse of Black peoples, and has had intergenerational effects. 

The impacts of enslavement were not limited to distant places or distant history. 

People were enslaved in what is now Canada. While enslavement was legally abolished across the British Empire on August 1, 1834, its legacy did not end there. The legacies of enslavement are directly linked to anti-Black racism today. 

Emancipation Day invites truth-telling about that history and the current realities of racial injustices. 

As a church, we are called not only to remember the past but also to respond in the present. 

At the most recent General Council, the United Church also took an important action by committing to a process that may lead to a formal apology for the church's historic connections to enslavement. A working group has begun this work and will bring recommendations to the next General Council in 2028. This reflects a growing understanding that truth-telling, accountability, and repair are essential parts of reconciliation and justice. An apology is not the end of the story. But it is part of a process of repair and healing. 

The United Church of Canada has also committed to engaging with the United Nations’ Second International Decade for People of African Descent, joining a global commitment to recognize the themes of justice, recognition, and development and to continue to confront anti-Black racism. 

A history of enslavement is also not the only part of the story for Black peoples in Canada. Emancipation Day can also be a day to honour the endurance, faith, leadership, and contributions of Black communities. Black people have been part of the United Church since before church Union and continue to shape The United Church of Canada through ministry, worship, scholarship, advocacy, and community and prophetic leadership. Emancipation Day can be a day to celebrate freedom now, with festivals and parades. 

On this Emancipation Day, may we re-commit to confronting anti-Black racism and historical injustices and together continue to build a church with better places of belonging for people of all identities. 

                                                                              Kimberly Heath