World Wildlife Day & Celebrating Creation

 

Finding ourselves in a world of beauty and mystery,

   of living things, diverse and interdependent,

   of complex patterns of growth and evolution,

   of subatomic particles and cosmic swirls,

we sing of God the Creator,

the Maker and Source of all that is.

 Each part of creation reveals unique aspects of God the Creator,

   who is both in creation and beyond it.

All parts of creation, animate and inanimate, are related.

All creation is good.

We sing of the Creator,

   who made humans to live and move

   and have their being in God.

In and with God,

   we can direct our lives toward right relationship

   with each other and with God.

We can discover our place as one strand in the web of life.

from A Song of Faith, United Church of Canada Creed

Two mornings ago I was at the Frink Conservation Area fairly early and between the hour and the cold (-15C) I had the place entirely to myself, at least in terms of humans. It was sunny and tranquil except for birdsong as I made my way to the Moira River. I trained my binoculars on the eagles nest on the far side and to my delight the pair of them were visible, head and shoulders, until one of them bobbed out of sight.I was bouyed by seeing them for the rest of the day although I was also happy to view the variety of birds at our feeders. Last week we walked at Presqu'ille Provincial Park and on the road out we came upon four deer feeding on cedar. One of them stood up on its haunches to get some tasty morsels. Again, a gift.

Yesterday was World Wildlife Day and it got me thinking about the importance of appreciating Creation and Creator. Unfortunately, the loss of biodiversity and habitat due to human activity as well as the effects of climate change mean that the astonishing abundance of our planet, unique in the solar system, are diminishing rapidly, and bird species are highly vulnerable. We have become an urban species so the wonders of the natural world are less accessible to billions and while eco-tourism is on the rise it is a privilege of the realitvely wealthy. 

As I read through the psalms on a day-to-day basis I'm struck by how often abundance and diversity are celebrated as gifts from the Creator. And humans are warned against hubris, which I assume includes a President who dismantles environmental laws and, yes, a Prime Minster who seems to be losing the narrative on what the United Church describes as "living with respect in Creation" in one of its creeds. 

Only four years ago our Canadian government set an important target for conservation of federal land declaring:

The federal government has set the goal of conserving 30 percent of Canada’s land and water by 2030, because science shows that nature needs our help in order to reverse the decline in biodiversity, better fight climate change, and maintain a strong, sustainable economy.

This is a laudable goal -- one of the best initiatives of the Trudeau era --  recognizing that "economy" and "ecology" share the root word for "home". Yet we likely won't meet it. We can still aspire to it as a nation and pray for it as followers of an earthy Christ. 

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
    the world, and those who live in it,
2 for he has founded it on the seas
    and established it on the rivers.

                                 Psalm 24: 1-2 NRSVue

It's a Small World After All

It 's a world of laughter
A world of tears
It's a world of hopes
And a world of fears
There's so much that we share
That it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all

It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small, small world

 [God] shall judge between the nations
    and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation;
    neither shall they learn war any more.
5 O house of Jacob,
    come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!

Isaiah 2:4-5 NRSVue

Again this year we will travel to Newfoundland and a house on Change Islands adjacent to Fogom loaned to us by a kind friend . He is a Newfoundlander by birth but he flew for Emirates Airlines for years and has now retired in Dubai. He spends about a quarter to a third of the year on Change Islands and we fit around his schedule. We reached out to him when Iran retaliated against US and Israeli attacks, including with drone strikes in Dubai. He assured us that he was safe but he's heard the explosions. We hadn't been aware that Dubai was so close to Iran, one of the leading proponents of international terror. 

A couple of years ago we nervously stayed in touch with Ruth's sister and brother-in-law who were still living in Israel. After the October 7 2023 attacks by Hamas and Israel's destructive response they were vigilant in paying attention to alerts about incoming missiles. One Sunday morning as they left church they saw Israeli missiles intercepting Hamas rockets in the sky to the southwest. When they moved to the States it took time to address their constant anxiety from that time. 

It's hard for us to grasp that we know people who have dealt with these sorts of threats as we live in the relative security in Canada.

 We were also part of sponsorship for Syrian refugees who fled their country because of threats to their safety and there are Ukrainians who fled their country living in our community. 

 Yet this is the reality for so many -- untold millions -- and there are no guarantees of safety as geopolitical realities can change in a heartbeat. How do we sort through the endless barrage of information? 

While the lyrics above are from a corny Disney song they are surprisingly apt for the time in which we live. We now know within minutes about situations that are grim and seemingly insurmountable. It makes the world smaller and scarier. 

I'm grateful that we are part of a faith community that upholds those who suffering around the world every Sunday morning. We ask for peace in the Middle East even though it seems almost impossible. We want solutions that don't involve the deaths of innocent people and the sickening expenditures of wars that we're told aren't really wars. 

We are often invited to respond with financial support by the United Church in situations of dire need. An aspect of our gratitude as Christians is to act with compassion and concern. We aren't helpless or hopeless even when circumstances seem dire. We choose to walk in God's light. 

Galileo, Psalm 145, & the Heavens

I will extol you, my God and King,
    and bless your name forever and ever.

Every day I will bless you
    and praise your name forever and ever.

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
    his greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall extol your works to another
    and shall declare your mighty acts.

They will recount the glorious[a] splendor of your majesty,
    and on your wondrous works I will meditate.

They will proclaim the might of your awesome deeds,
    and I will declare your greatness.
 They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness
    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
    and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

                                      Psalm 145: 1-7, 21 (of 21 Verses)

In January a historian spotted a verse or verses from a psalm in a very old manuscript. This note is now attributed to Galileo, a discovery that intrigues me. 

Here is the description from an article in the Smithsonian Magazine: 

Historian Ivan Malara spotted the inscriptions in January while leafing through a 1551 copy of the Almagest at Italy’s National Central Library of Florence. Malara realized that a loose page in the text—a second-century C.E. astronomical manual by the Greco-Roman polymath Ptolemy, which asserts that Earth is at the center of the universe—contained a transcription of Psalm 145. The handwriting was reminiscent of Galileo’s, an astronomer often lionized as the “father of modern science.” Additional annotations in the book’s margins similarly matched Galileo’s hand.

There are lots of reasons to remember Galileo, not the least of which is the conflict between the astronomer and the Roman Catholic church regarding his proposition that our solar system is heliocentric solar rather than geocentric .Galileo was tried for his supposedly heretical premise that the Earth and other planets were in orbit around the Sun rather than the Earth being at the centre. He did avoid torture or execution but as the result of two trials for heresy he was placed under house arrest for the rest of his life and ordered not to promulgate his dangerous views. 

It isn't widely shared that Jesuit astronomers came to similar conclusions shortly after Galileo did but it took until 1992, a mere 359 years, for the RC Church to admit it was wrong. While the inquisition of Galileo is often cited as evidence of the anti-science outlook of the Church the RCs have an astronomical observatory near the Vatican and another in Arizona. Guy Consolmo, the director of astronomy for the Vatican believes in science and religion working alongside one another rather than as competing ideologies.

You may have been aware that six planets were in alignment Saturday night, all of them in orbit around the sun. And early tomorrow morning there will be a lunar eclipse. Set your alarm!

I would love to know what portion of Psalm 145 captured Galileo but I suppose we'll never know. It's hard to imagine that he was kindly disposed toward religion as his life progressed yet we can thank the Creator for his contributions to our understanding of the heavens. 

                                                           Vatican Observatory

Black History in Quinte Region

 

Yesterday was the last of February and the final day of Black History Month. I attended an event at Belleville Public Library along with 65 to 75 others titled Black Roots in Belleville and the Quinte Region with Dr. Nikki Clarke as the presenter. 

Even though the "Quinte Region" aspect was a bit thin the event as a whole was certainly worthwhile and Dr. Clarke was engaging. I discovered that in February of 1926 Carter G. Woodson initiated the first celebration of Negro History Week which led to Black History Month. He chose February to honour the birth month of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. I also found out that 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of Black History Month in Canada.

I am aware that in the early 19th century there were enslavers in Belleville, including a couple of families associated with Bridge St. Methodist Church, eventually Bridge St. UC, the congregation I served as lead minister. No one suggested we include that aspect of our history in our 200th anniversary info. 

I was intrigued to hear that Belleville was also a stop on the Underground Railroad, the conduit for enslaved people escaping the United States on their way to Canada. I would have enjoyed learning more about that aspect of Belleville's history along with the places of worship for those who chose to live in the town of that era. 

I sat next to a charming young man named Kharington Petgrave who is a teacher and Social Justice Educator in Peterborough. I enjoyed our conversation about his work before and after the presentation. 

The event as a whole was uplifting and even playful at times. There were also reminders during the hour that anti-Black racism exists in Canada and that while progress has been made we have a long way to go. Kudos to BPL for holding this event. 

                                                                           Kharington Petgrave 

Putting Flesh on the Message of Francis

                                                             Sculpture of a Seated St. Francis

 Most High, all-powerful, good Lord, Yours are the praises, the glory, and the honor, and all blessing,

To You alone, Most High, do they belong, and no human is worthy to mention Your name.

Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun, who is the day and through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor; and bears a likeness of You, Most High One.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather, through whom You give sustenance to Your creatures.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water,
who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night, and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth,
who sustains and governs us,
and who produces various fruit with colored flowers and herbs.

Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your love, and bear infirmity and tribulation.
Blessed are those who endure in peace for by You, Most High, shall they be crowned.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death,
from whom no one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will, for the second death shall do them no harm.

Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks
and serve Him with great humility.

Canticle of the Creatures -- Francis of Assisi, 1226

No, no, no, no!!!

I've noted that this year marks of the 200th anniversary of the death of Francis of Assisi. He is the Roman Catholic patron saint of ecology because of his expansive love for all God's creatures and he universe itself. Francis chose a life of austerity whilc at the same time celebrating the abundance of Creation. As the Franciscan and Poor Clare orders took shape around him simplicity was a guiding principle. Francis' Canticle of the Creatures is considered by some to be the first poem in Italian. 

                              The bones of St. Francis, preserved in a nitrogen-filled plexiglass case

My multiple "no's!" are because the skeletal remains of Francis (c'mon, are they really?) have been brought from the crypt in the baslica dedicated in his honour for viewing to mark this Special Year. The bones will be displayed in a nitrogen filled case and pilgrims can book online to see them at a clip of 1500 an hour. By my math that's 25 a minute, so only a few seconds of viewing, hardly a profound contemplative experience.

Honouring Francis is a wonderful notion but we might all do better to read the environmental encyclical of the late Pope Francis called Laudato Si, inspired by his namesake. Or to take on a personal commitment in this year to heal and nurture Creation. I do like that there are many events in this celebratory year exploring Indigenous perspectives on the Canticle and a Muslim/Christian dialogue on Francis and his focus on peace. 

At Trenton United folk have been invited to be Bird-Brained with St. Francis in Lent, recording the birds they see during the season. I'm delighted by those who've enthusiastically spoken to me about the birds they've sighted.

To pass by ancient bones in a crowd does not honour Francis, in my estimation. Francis can be our inspiration, not a lucky charm...maybe that's St. Patrick? 

                                               Francis and Clare with the Creatures -- artist unknown

Jews and the Swedish Connection of WWII

He has told you, O mortal, what is good,
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice and to love kindness
    and to walk humbly with your God?

                Micah 8:6 NRSVue 

This week we came across  a film called The Swedish Connection on Netflix and almost gave it a pass because the reviews suggested it was okay but not brilliant. Yet the subject matter of this drama intrigued us, the efforts by lower-level bureacratic officials in officially neutral Sweden during the Second World War to save Jews from their own country living elsewhere. Later they extended the effort to bring Jews to Sweden from other Scandanavian countries.

When I checked, the principal characters were actual people who were engaged in this merciful and sometimes perilous work. One of them, Gosta Engzall, faced resistance from his political superiors because of the risk of antagonizing the Nazis, yet in the telling of the story he went from being timid to bold in his efforts and was instrumental in protecting 100,000 Jews. Happily, he lived to be one hundred. The film was inspiring and we pondered the courage of everyday people, including Christians, to live out practical compassion for those who they didn't know and were of a different religion. 

In October 1943, the Danish underground initiated an operation to transfer Jews to the Swedish coast in boats, thereby saving most of Denmark’s Jews. Gilbert Lassen ferried the Jews in his boat to a ship waiting about 200 meters from the shore, which took them to Sweden.

It sparked a memory of seeing a small fishing boat at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. It had belonged to one of the hundreds of fisherman who embarked on a night-time evacuation of 8,000 Jews and non-Jewish spouses in Denmark to Sweden when news leaked of a plan by the Nazis to round them up. 

In the film there were fleeting glimpses of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who issued passports to hundreds of Hungarian Jews so they could escape the Nazi occupied country. Also, Dag Hammarskjold, who was involved in saving Jews and went on to become the second Secretary General of the United Nations. 

While Wallenberg and Hammarskjold have received considerable recognition, Engzall and his determined team have only more recently been acknowledged.

Before his death in a plane crash in the 1950s Hammerskjold was championing displaced Palestinians. He was committed to justice, wherever that led him.

All these points of connection were "cause for pause" for two ordinary viewers who as Christians want to be "brave", or at least engaged in the issues of our time, following a moral compass inspired by Christ's compassiom.  

                                                                         Dag Hammarskjold

Truth-Telling in Black History Month

 

Illustration from the New Yorker article What the Royal Family's Links to Slavery Mean in the Age of Epstein by Sam Knight 

As Black History Month draws to a close I'm pondering a specific event from nearly 20 years ago and the larger picture of enslaved people in the British Empire. 

Somehow I missed the coverage of a worship service that took place in Westminster Abbey in 2007 to commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Great Britain and eventually through the Empire. 

The monarch, Queen Elizabeth II was in the congregation, as was Prime Minister Tony Blair. Lady (Kate) Davson, the great-great-great grand-daughter of William Wilberforce, who led the abolition movement, read a House of Commons speech made by her ancestor.

According to the BBC the eloquent Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, offered a reflection describing  slavery as:

...an offence to human dignity and freedom and "the greatest cause of grief to God's spirit".

Dr Williams told the congregation that slavery was not a regional problem in the world, but was "hideously persistent" in our nations and cultures. "We, who are the heirs of the slave-owning and slave-trading nations of the past, have to face the fact that our historic prosperity was built in large part on this atrocity," he said.

"Those who are the heirs of the communities ravaged by the slave trade know very well that much of their present suffering and struggling is the result of centuries of abuse."

                                                                          Toyin Agbetu in 2007

Near the end of the service a human rights advocate name Toyin Agbetu began shouting: "This is an insult to us." He addressed the Queen saying "You should be ashamed. We should not be here... I want all the Christians who are Africans to walk out of here with me! He condemned African Christians for taking part and told them to walk out. Although he was visibly angry he was escorted out the Abbey without incident. Nearly 20 years later Agbetu is still involved in human rights issues. 

From what I've read, Queen Elizabeth I first involved the royal family in the slave trade despite her personal misgivings because England was teetering on bankruptcy and the enticement of wealth through trafficking human beings was more than she could resist. While King Charles III has expressed remorse for the scourge of slavery the immense wealth of the royal family was enhanced by the trans-Atlantic slave trade as was the prosperity of so many other "lords and ladies." 

What should the consequences be in terms of reparations? The Church of England has embarked on what has been a controversial initiative to raise £100 million for an investment fund to help repair damage caused by its historic links to slavery. The Anglican Church had invested large amounts of money into a company that transported tens of thousands of slaves.

While a report says this is not enough for "healing, justice, and repair"  others argue that a struggling Church can't be held liable for the sins of the past. 

We can't consider Black History without acknowledging the racist wrongs of past and present. What is our responsibility to atone for those sins?