Considering the Birds on Earth Sunday

 

 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 

                                    Matthew 6:25-26 NRSVue

On Sunday morning Trenton United Church will acknowledge Earth Sunday, the Sunday closest to Earth Day on April 22nd. I spoke about trees on the first Sunday of this Earth Month and now we will participate in an intergenerational morning of worship and exploration of Creation related themes. Ruth and I have been asked to decorate our worship space with flowers and foliage while congregation members have been invited to bring in a favourite plant to contribute to the visual display. 

We have also been asked to do a brief information session on birds following the service while our young people are involved in theme-related crafts. We'll keep it low-key, in part because we wouldn't call ourselves "birders", those who are dedicated to bird identification and have an impressive base of knowledge. 

We do have multiple feeders outside our windows that are a constant source of pleasure for us and visitors. We figure we've seen about twenty species of birds in our backyard, maybe more. Now that we have the wonderful, free Merlin birdsong identification app we realize that there are species around us that are heard even when they're not seen. Both the Sibley Birds and Audubon apps are excellent and we still have our "old school" bird guides. 

On Sunday we'll make sure to point out that birds are everywhere in the bible, including as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Jesus makes reference to birds as well, which makes sense given that he spent a lot of time rambling around outside. I've mentioned that the Rift Valley from Africa to Europe is a migratory route for half a billion birds and Israel is along that path. 

Our rambling is what got us going in our bird interest. We'd be paddling and hiking and grew  curious about what we were seeing and hearing. While we've never joined a group of birders on a junket (or is that junco?) we are aware of the birds around us and have experienced some delightful moments. The bald eagle that flew out of a tree beside us as we paddled last week is an example of an avian thrill, but the flocks of goldfinches at our feeders these days are enchanting as well. 

There has never been a better time for birding resources than today. That said, the decline of bird species and numbers is deeply disturbing. It's estimated that in North America there are  nearly 3 billion fewer birds today than in 1970. Paying attention and giving thanks to the Creator for birds is an important aspect of our Christian discipleship. I have to wonder if Jesus were speaking today he would give birds more of a shout-out.

 

Living Streams in an Ontario Spring

 

Marsh Marigolds beside a Belleville stream this morning 

When the poor and needy seek water,

    and there is none,
    and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them,
    I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
18 I will open rivers on the bare heights
    and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water
    and the dry land springs of water.
19 

Isaiah 41: 17- 18 NRSVue 

There was considerable concern that the lack of snow this winter would mean limited Spring run-off. This affects river and lake levels and poses a problem for farmers. Thankfully, the last couple of weeks has brought a lot of rain in our part of Southern Ontario with a positive effect on waterways. There are creeks and other tributaries, marshes and swamps that are looking healthy in terms of water levels.

I've seen a few articles in the past couple of months about the buried urban streams of many towns and cities, part of the infrastructure ethos of another era to divert them through culverts and underground channels. The result has been issues of flooding as these conduits are unable to deal with the volume of water as we pave everything in sight and we dealing with more climate change super-charged storms. There was a media kerfuffle and right-wing wuffing about a "rain tax" in Toronto that was really a proposal to make property owners pay for practices contributing to run-off. Thanks to the outcry this has been scrapped.

                                                              Lost Rivers Map for Toronto  

Efforts are underway in many communities to free these waterways to reduce flooding risk and to create environments that support fish and trees, butterflies and birds. There are people who are doing the work of rediscovering these waterways, either as personal projects or part of municipal plans to restore them as buffer zones. Havergall College. a hoighty toighty girls school in Toronto, has embarked on an impressive project to restore a stream and the riparian landscape on its property. 

It got me thinking about the biblical praise for sources of water, so important in a land where there is no rain for months on end. When we were in Israel last year at this time the Spring rains had lingered and on hikes we were wading through raging streams that would dry up in Summer. Waterfalls along wadis were still in full force. Everything was green and in bloom but our family members assured us that this would change in a matter of weeks. 

A nearby evangelical church here in Belleville also came to mind, It is called Desert Stream, an active congregation with a huge parking lot. I wonder if they know that there is stream adjacent to their property running through a culvert to Lake Ontario, only a few hundreds metres away? And what runs off that parking area into the lake? 

This also got me pondering about what metaphorical "living waters' we need to bring to the surface in what often seem to be dried up mainline churches. How is Christ, Living Water, the source of abundance and refreshment -- dare I say revival?-- in such challenging times? 

                                             

                                                      Ruth at Ein Gedi is the Judean Wilderness, Israel 2023

 

Congratulations, Kai!

 

Mayor Neil Ellis (l) presents Kai Freeland with a certificate honouring his winning efforts at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Calgary, April 15, 2024. (Photo: Quinte News/John Spitters)

One of the reasons I accepted a call to Bridge St. United Church in Belleville years ago was seeing how three siblings with Down Syndrome were a welcome part of the congregation when we attended worship during a scouting mission. I have been retired in the community for almost seven years now and I still see them around town. Kai (above) is well into his thirties  yet he almost always gives me a hug when we meet and I'm touched by his warmth.

Kai is an accomplished person in various endeavours, including athletics. Belleville Council recognized him this week for his impressive medal wins of a gold, two silvers and a bronze representing Ontario at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Calgary. Next month he will  be competing in power lifting at the Special Olympics Spring Games in Waterloo.

Congratulations Kai for your prowess. You are an impressive human being, loved by God and your faith community. 

Ripley, Caravaggio, & World Art Day

Andrew Scott in Ripley (2024), viewing, from left, Caravaggio’s The Calling of St Matthew (1599–1600), The Inspiration of Saint Matthew (1602), and The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew (1599–1600). Photo: Netflix © 2023.

 The latest screen version of Patricia Highsmith's 1955 thriller novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley. is the Netflix series, Ripley. In an early episode the devious con artist Tom Ripley learns about the troubled Renaissance painter, Caravaggio, and claims that he would like to see his various works throughout Italy. 

Caravaggio was a boozer with a violent temper, a murderer who had to flee the authorities of his day. He has fascinated me since my art history undergrad days. as he does Ripley. Tom travels to various churches where his dramatic biblical paintings are displayed, a sort of foreshadowing of his own tangled web of deceit and violence. 

                                                              Supper at Emmaus -- Caravaggio 

Yesterday was  Unesco World Art Day, which has only been around for a decade or so. The April 15th date is supposedly the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci and the theme this years was "A GARDEN OF EXPRESSION: Cultivating Community Through Art." I like that there is a day to acknowledge art in its various facets including visual art, music, literature, and architecture. 

Art is often profoundly spiritual, even when it's secular, sacred although sometimes produced by those who are profane. What is sometimes labelled as Christian art can be maudlin propaganda of the worst kind and yet some of the greatest art has been commissioned for places of worship.

 I've written about my love for the relatively modern space of St. Andrew's UC in Sudbury, a congregation I served for eleven years. The sand-cast doors and art pieces, along with the design itself spoke to me every time I entered. I also served two congregations with large traditional sanctuaries I would describe as holy spaces. 

Of course, music can be sublime and worship is enhanced beyond measure by what occurs musically, including hymn singing.  I love the work of great writers such as Marilynne Robinson who create fine novels with powerful and subtle religious themes. 

Art gives intimations of the divine. Come, Holy Spirit, Come. 

                         St. Andrew's United Church Sudbury -- one of three Jordi Bonet doors 

                                                                Da Vinci designed staircase 

A Common Vision and Dream

 During worship yesterday we heard that United Church congregations across the country, including Trenton UC,  had voted in favour of supporting the development of an autonomous entity for Indigenous communities of faith with a historical connection with the UCC. This decision was reached through what we term a remit, a referendum of sorts that requires at least half of all UCC congregations (not just half of those that vote) to make a decision on substantial change for denominational policy. 

Our United Church history with Indigenous peoples is a long one, stretching back more than 200 years, before our denomination was formed by a union of the Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists. In a colonial worldview the goal was to "save the Indian heathens" without any respect for aboriginal spirituality or life on the land. The ghastly result was the United Church complicity in the Residential School system which took children from their families and were actually institutions of indoctrination and cultural genocide. Hundreds and perhaps thousands of Indigenous children died in these places and tens of thousands were scarred for life. 

Through the decades the United Church repented of these destructive, racist practices that were antithetical to the gospel of Jesus Christ through public apologies. Indigenous congregations were recognized as more than missions in a patriarchal system. Eventually the UCC changed its crest to reflect inclusion of and respect for Indigenous members. This included the "all my relations" phrase in Mohawk, and the colours of the four directions. 

 Then in 1988 the All Native Circle was formed with more than 30 congregations joining, including some from urban ministries. Some Indigenous congregations chose to remain as part of the Conferences they were part of for a variety of reasons. 

The remit is in an important progression in our UCC commitment to Truth and Reconciliation and I'm grateful that congregations across the country have chosen overwhelmingly to support it. Here is the United Church General Council news release and the response from the National Indigenous Council. 

Published On: April 9, 2024

Remit 1: Establishing an Autonomous National Indigenous Organization has passed. The National Indigenous Council, 16 regional councils, and 80% of pastoral charges in The United Church of Canada participated in the vote on Remit 1: Establishing an Autonomous National Indigenous Organization.  

In response, the National Indigenous Council shares their vision statement with the whole church. They offer words of thanks for all who have brought the church to this moment, and state their commitment to moving forward together on the path of Right Relations.

Statement from the National Indigenous Council on the Results of Remit 1: Establishing an Autonomous National Indigenous Organization

We, the National Indigenous Council, are a diverse group of Indigenous Peoples, rooted in distinct innate values and wisdom. We:

• carry a common vision and dream
• respect everyone’s story
• care for one another
• uphold community
• build positive relationships.

We thank our Ancestors and All Our Relations who have brought us to this moment. 

We are all spirit first. 

The work of Right Relations continues. 

We commit to moving forward together in a good way. 

Quaking Before God

                                                  Iranian drones intercepted over Jerusalem 

But know that the Lord set apart His faithful.

The Lord will hear when I call to Him

Quake, and do not offend.

Speak in your hearts on your beds, and be still. 

Psalm 4: 4-5 -- Robert Alter translation

I've not been a "fear of the Lord" Christian for a long time now, at least not in terms of living in a constant state of anxiety about the wrath of God for sins real and imagined. I don't like it generally and not specifically the notion that God is in an unending grumpy "don't make me come down there" state of smiteyness so sent his Son to take the heat on our behalf. I do believe I am sinner and the death of Jesus is a "crucial" aspect of my faith, but sweating before a wrathful deity just doesn't seem to be Good News. 

That said, the past few days and today the lectionary psalm is the fourth and it does some serious soul-searching. As I often do I turned to the translation of the Psalms by Robert Alter, a preeminent Hebrew scholar. He regularly offers perspectives which are not reflected in other translations and paraphrases.  

Alter uses the word "quake" to begin verse 5, unlike other versions. In his commentary he offers this:

The auditors of the poem are exhorted to tremble as an act of conscience that will dissuade them from transgression, then commune with themselves in the solitude of their beds and speak no more...The verse thus moves from a state of troubled agitation ("quake") to silence at the end. 

We live in troubling times when the foundations of our societies are trembling and we wonder what will come next. We need clear, measured leadership yet we see the rise of blustering "strong men" who are actually morally weak. 

 There are days when it seems that few of our assumptions about the way the world works apply anymore. Even the cycles of Creation are in turmoil. 

The warmongerers have seized the moment and rockets fly. Last night the drones exploded over Jerusalem, the Holy City for three religions and people quaked in the darkness, as they have in Gaza for months. Our family members in Israel had an anxious night wondering about what would unfold in the darkness. 

Psalm 4 actually ends on a hopeful note but the clear direction is to be humble and prayerful and let God be God. Human posturing and hubris without God is perilous. Three thousand years later it is advice we can heed. 

You put joy in my heart,

from the time their grain and their drink did abound.

In peace, all whole, let me lie down and sleep. 

For you, Lord, alone, do set me down safely.

Psalm 4: 8-9 -- Robert Alter

A Nun, a Priest, & a Pastor Were Arrested...

 While I spent a fair amount of time in prison years ago (a chaplaincy internship in Kingston Pen) I've never been arrested and I hope I never will be. I have taken part in a number of public marches through the years protesting wars and environmental foolishness, as well as participating in Take Back the Night walks. I'm grateful that these were peaceful assemblies and I didn't end up in the hoosegow. I'm not sure that my "model citizen" history is a good thing. 

Some people choose to make public statement through sit-ins and assemblies which will almostly certainly lead to arrests, usually in a peaceful manner. Lots of celebrities get arrested for protesting pipelines and what they believe is trespass on Indigenous lands -- Jane Fonda is an example. Far too many Indigenous people are arrested on those same lands, even when their tribal claims are clear. They are often treated with far less respect initially, only to have charges dropped. 

This week RBC, Canada's largest bank and a huge investor in fossil fuels, held a shareholders meeting that involved a sit-in. It included a Roman Catholic sister, an Anglican priest, and a Baptist pastor (they didn't go into a bar) and it seems that all of them were arrested. This is catnip for the media and the headline was Nun arrested at Toronto bank protest. It's good that they were able to bring attention to the climate emergency and the unwavering greed of financial institutions in benefitting from it. For them it is a matter of conscience and Christian faith. 

I've been reading again about the Civil Rights Movement in the United States and how often Martin Luther King Jr. and others were arrested. At times their lives were at risk, as they were arrested and while they were incarcerated. On several occasions King refused the opportunity to be bailed out in order to make a point about racial injustice. 

We can't forget that John the Baptist, Jesus, the apostles Paul and Peter, were all arrested and paid the ultimate price for their convictions. Many Christians have suffered a similar fate. 

Here is a news item about the RBC protest: 

Nine religious leaders, including a Catholic nun, were arrested by Toronto Police following a “pray-in” at a downtown RBC branch April 9.

The protest was against RBC’s continued funding of fossil fuel projects. 

“RBC is fueling a climate disaster,” said Sr. Mary-Ellen Francoeur, who was among the nine charged with trespassing for disrupting operations at the bank branch at Yonge and Gerrard Streets. “We are calling on RBC shareholders to think of future generations and to vote to immediately end funding for new fossil fuel projects and wind down existing funding as soon as possible.”

Those arrested at the pray-in are leaders or members of Catholic, Anglican, Baptist and Unitarian congregations in Toronto. 

Among those arrested was Rev. Bob Paterson-Watt, minister of Woodbine Heights Baptist Church.

“As people of faith we believe we have a moral duty to protect God’s creation,” said Paterson-Watt. “That means non-violently resisting the RBC’s business-as-usual investment in fossil fuel projects that fuel climate-linked fires, floods, droughts and heatwaves, even if that means going to jail.”

RBC was the world’s second largest financier of fossil fuel projects in 2022, according to the Banking on Climate Chaos website. It said in 2022 alone RBC made $36 billion investments in fossil fuels, the site said.

The others arrested were Len Desroches, Anglican Rev. Michael Van Dusen, Suzanne Maziarz, Lyn Adamson, Margaret Rao, Kim Bradshaw and Brooke Lydbrooke.