Narnia, Meryl and Juliana of Norwich?

 

With the Church through the ages,

we speak of God as one and triune:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We also speak of God as
    Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer
    God, Christ, and Spirit
    Mother, Friend, and Comforter
    Source of Life, Living Word, and Bond of Love,
    and in other ways that speak faithfully of
the One on whom our hearts rely,
the fully shared life at the heart of the universe.

from A Song of Faith, United Church of Canada

The buzz is building for the Narnia movie now filming in London, Great Britain with a release sometime next year. There have been several adaptations of the Chronicles of Narnia children's series written by Christian author C.S. Lewis in the 1950s, with varying degrees of success. I'm not sure that it's possible to have a visual portrayal of any portion of this saga that could match what happens when the imagination of the reader or listener encounters the printed page.

The film-maker endeavouring to do so this time is the impressive Greta Gerwig of Lady Bird, Little Women, and Barbie fame. Apparently Narnia: The Magician's Nephew is taking some creative liberties with the story in both time period and aspects of the setting. What has emerged as the most controversial tweak is the voice for one of the characters, the wise and noble lion, Aslan, who is a Christ figure. Gerwig has chosen to cast Meryl Streep in this role -- who can't she play? -- and this has caused a leonine uproar in the conservative Christian sphere. How dare a fictional character who is a lion but may be Jesus be besmirched with a woman's voice? 

Of course, Jesus, the Christ, was a man and the traditional trinitarian formula describes God as "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." Yet in a desire to comprehend "God with Us"  Christians through the ages have explored the feminine aspects of the Triune Deity, although often with strong push-back and censure. The Medieval mystic, Juliana of Norwich was one of them:

It is a characteristic of God to overcome evil with good.

Jesus Christ therefore, who himself overcame evil with good, is our true Mother. We received our ‘Being’ from Him ­ and this is where His Maternity starts ­ And with it comes the gentle Protection and Guard of Love which will never ceases to surround us. 

Just as God is our Father, so God is also our Mother. 

Jesus, as our true Mother? Heretical, some would claim. This makes the words from the United Church Song of Faith seem rather tame, don't you think? Perhaps we turn to the holy words of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe for guidance:

“But as for Aslan himself, the Beavers and the children didn’t know what to do or say when they saw him. People who have not been in Narnia sometimes think that a thing cannot be good and terrible at the same time. If the children had ever thought so, they were cured of it now. For when they tried to look at Aslan’s face they just caught a glimpse of the golden mane and the great, royal, solemn, overwhelming eyes; and then they found they couldn’t look at him and went all trembly.”

So, it may be that Gerwig's "terrible" choice for Aslan is inspired, if not providentially consistent with Lewis' seemingly contradictory vision. Someone has asked whether Christians don't have more important things to do than worry about the voice of Aslan. I hope the film lives up to the hype.

Rivers of Death and Life

  

 He said to me, “Mortal, have you seen this?” Then he led me back along the bank of the river.  As I came back, I saw on the bank of the river a great many trees on the one side and on the other.

Ezekiel 47: 6-7 NRSVue 

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

Revelation 22:1-2 NRSVue

We are a week away from the conclusion of Creation Time or the Season of Creation or Creationtide, depending on the Christian tradition. Earlier in the month Christians everywhere were invited to reflect on verses from the book of the prophet Ezekiel which I hadn't seen before supporting the theme of Living Water. There are actually more verses in Chapter 47 worth our consideration including those above with a vision of a river lined by trees that I realize are reflecting in another vision found in Revelation,  the last book of the New Testament. 

I've been more aware of river stories during these weeks because of the scripture and the Living Water focus. 

Last week thousands gathered in Toronto for a rally at Queen's Park in solidarity with the Indigenous Peoples of Grassy Narrows a small community in Northern Ontario that has been poisoned for more than half an century. It's estimated that 90% of the residents have health issues related to this poisoning including Minamata Disease. Back in April the Globe and Mail described what transpired: 

In one of Canada’s worst cases of environmental racism, the Dryden Chemical Company in northern Ontario released more than 9,000 kg of mercury into the Wabigoon-English River system from 1962 to 1970. This poisoned multiple generations of Anishinaabeg from the First Nations communities of Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek (Grassy Narrows) and Wabaseemoong (White Dog). The province eventually ordered the plant to stop the practice, but according to the Canadian Environmental Law Association, airborne emissions continued until the company ceased using mercury-based processing in October, 1975.

The recent protest drew attention to the ongoing reality of mercury in the river, the failure to clean up the problem, and lack of medical support for residents. When we celebrate the visions, biblical and otherwise, of clean water, flowing living water, we must include environmental justice and the ways in which contamination of waterways often affect the marginalized in societies the most. One of the Grassy Narrows participants, Chrissy Isaacs, said: 

Our people were river people, and our main food source was from the river and our livelihood was from the river. That was robbed from me from birth. I never got that chance to actually be able to really live that part of my life.”

In a much more hopeful story, the salmon are running again in the Klamath River, a 430 kilometre waterway from Oregon to California. For centuries Indigenous Peoples along this river depended on salmon for their livelihood and culture as well. Hydro-electric dams were built blocking the salmon run. Those dams have finally been removed and to everyone's astonishment the salmon returned almost immediately and have reoccupied most of their range. 

Change can happen, justice can be realized, and we can share our visions for the restored world the Creator intends. 

Pope Leo & Religious Fervour in France

 

                                                        Champs Elysees during the Papal Visit

Europe has become an increasingly secular region, even though thousands of Christian church buildings dot the countryside of a number of countries. France is one of them, not only in the exodus of worshippers and distancing from traditional religious roots but in the restrictive policies of the government.

During the past few days Pope Leo has been in France and we might assume that the head of a struggling Roman Catholic church would receive a tepid welcome. This has not been the case and it may be that the pontiff is surprised by the numbers of people who have participated in public events, many of them young adults.

An estimated 800,000 lined the Champs Elysees for a drive-by on his way to celebrate an outdoor mass. I notice that there were many nuns there in habits. Strictly speaking, was this an illegal religious demonstration? I'm confident that no one was arrested or fined.

 Leo will celebrate a mass in majestic Notre Dame Cathedral with its majestic sanctuary, almost destroyed a few years ago.  Leo stood outside Notre Dame last week and grew emotional as thousands sang Salve Regina. 

These remarkable displays of religious fervour seem to support evidence of a renewed interest in Christianity in France, particularly amongst younger people. The number of young adult baptisms has grown significantly in the past few years, including a 25% increase in 2025.

Huge crowds to honour popes are not new and often as Protestants we attempt to understand the religious rockstar flavour of these papal visits. I imagine Pope Leo, a humble man, is praying that this is evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit sparking a renewed desire to follow the light of Christ in a world that seems increasingly confusing and dark.  

Orange Shirt Sunday

 

Today we wear orange

to remember and honour all the Indigenous children who went to residential schools.

Today we wear orange and we pray
for the residential school and intergenerational survivors who are still struggling.

Today we wear orange and we are thankful
for those who speak the truth, and who work to shine a light on injustice.

Today we wear orange in the name of compassion and the spirit of truth and reconciliation.

Help us, God, to remember and act on this this every day.

Amen.

We put up our Every Child Matters flag a week ago, a bit earlier than usual this year for a reason. In Canada September 30th is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day -- Every Child Matters. Established to honour Residential School Survivors, their families, and those who never returned home, it serves as a reminder of the lasting impacts of the Residential School system in which several Christian denominations were complicit, including the United Church of Canada.

The orange shirt aspect is inspired by the story of Phyllis Webstad having her orange shirt taken away on the first day at a residential school. The movement began as a grassroots initiative in 2013 in BC and is now recognized by the Canadian government, many organizations and school boards, and by individuals across the country. 

The United Church encourages acknowledgement with Orange Shirt Sunday, which this year is September 27 -- tomorrow. The sanctuary at Trenton United will be decorated appropriately and we're encouraged to wear orange to our worship service tomorrow. 

One reason for putting up our flag earlier is that there is a growing denialist movement that publicly attacks Webstad personally, also claiming that Residential Schools weren't so bad and children didn't die there despite evidence in school records. They actually produce orange tee-shirts with denialist slogans.  It's wicked and disheartening. 

Still, rather than despairing we will affirm Truth and Reconciliation as a matter of justice and faith. 

9 to 5 Day & Dolly's Generous Faith

In several cities and states in the US this is 9-2-5 or 9 to 5 Day, a play on words, or numbers, to honour the late, great entertainer and philanthropist, Dolly Parton. September 25, 9/25 -- get it? Dolly died a month ago at the age of 80 and lots of fans were shocked. She didn't make a big deal about her illnesses and offered assurances to those who were concerned about her health.

I was never much of a fan of her music because it leaned country, although she was eventually elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This honour was as much about how admired she was in the music world generally. She wrote and sang hits for herself and there were highly successful covers by other musicians -- think Whitney Houston. Her 9 to 5 working life anthem was central to a highly successful comedy film of the same name  in which she starred. 

I have certainly admired Dolly Parton through the years for her astonishing philanthropy and acceptance of people from all backgrounds without judgement. She grew up in a "hell fire and brimstone" Pentecostal church and knew that wasn't for her. But she was open about her Christian faith and how it kept her grounded in a crazy industry. She recorded several Gospel albums. 

Her generosity was legendary even though she wasn't inclined to draw attention to herself. According to RNS:

 In the 1990s, Parton created a program to give free books to children as a tribute to her father, who was unable to read or write. Her Imagination Library has donated more than 300 million books across the globe. In a 2018 interview, she also cited the Bible as inspiration for this program. “In the Bible, where it talks about honor your father and mother, … I think means to bring honor to their name.” In more recent years, she gave a $1 million donation for COVID-19 research that was partly used to fund the Moderna vaccine and announced a similar donation to help victims of Hurricane Helene, which affected Tennessee, her home state, and six others in 2024, People magazine reported.

When we were on rather remote Change Islands, Newfoundland, in August a neighbour, a big Parton fan, told us that she had received Imagination Library books when she was a child.

 In 2022 Amazon's Jeff Bezos gave Parton 100 million dollars to further her philanthropic efforts. 

Our oldest grandchild, now in his teens, was obsessed with the song Jolene when he was two and three, insisting that we play it whenever he was in our vehicle. I was so grateful when that phase ended. 

I figure Dolly would have made an excellent President but of course the States would never choose an entertainer as a governor or a president...

Gathering to Pray for our Jewish Neighbours

 

We took part in this service last evening, part of a small gathering at Trenton United Church with a purpose of prayer, reflection, and lament. During the service we lit a candle and we sang.

 Of course we prayed for the Sons of Jacob Synagogue and Jews everywhere who wonder about their safety in this country. The attack in neighbouring Belleville was the most violent of recent anti-Semitic incidents with Constable Jeffery Smith seriously injured in an exchange of gunfire with the attacker, who has since died. We prayed for Jeffrey Smith's recovery and for his family. Eventually we also prayed for the family of the perpetrator who live in the Trenton area. 

We were invited to consider what individual acts of kindness and mutual understanding we could engage in and to choose hope rather than despair. 

In the tranquility I thought of the other police officer who responded and was part of the shoot-out. I imagine that the majority of officers in Canada would go their entire careers without being involved in a fatal shooting and this has to be a traumatizing experience even when there is no doubt about the necessity of potentially lethal force. 

We were grateful for the opportunity to bring this deeply unsettling incident and its consequences before God, affirming the importance of freedom of religious expression. As we left the sanctuary we realized that a police cruiser was parked out front, sent to ensure that we too would be able to worship and reflect in peace. We were thankful and mindful that we live in unsettling times. 

Bon Echo Grandeur and Mystery

 

Autumn has arrived in Southern Ontario with a skein of glorious days, sunny and, well, autumnal. This morning we decided to "carpe diem" and head northward to Bon Echo Provincial Park, a gem in our region,  There was evidence of Fall colour along the way and we arrived at the park before many campers had stirred. 

We unloaded our kayaks and headed toward the towering cliff (100+ metres in height, maybe 1.5 km in length) which is Mazinaw Rock. There was virtually no breeze and the morning light was idea for viewing the Indigenous pictographs painted just above the water line along the cliff face. The red ochre images depict human and animal figures, as well as a number of abstract and geometric symbols. 

We have paddled along this cliff a number of times through the years and I've written about doing so in this blog. Today's calm allowed us to take our time and see more of the pictographs than we have on any other occasion. There were no other people around, unlike the Summer when it borders on chaotic. We made our leisurely and contemplative way along the cliff and back. 

Ruth commented that looking for the images was not unlike birding. The invisible becomes visible with attention and spaciousness in terms of time. We found that our breathing slowed and we could simply take in the grandeur of the cliff and the mystery of the unexplained images.

Who were these artists, probably Algonkian, and what was the purpose of their work? Some of the Group of Seven along with other painters came to the lodge which once stood at the water's edge, before Bon Echo was a provincial park. Some of the regular guests at that lodge were clergy who came to enjoy the marvelous view of Creation. While I appreciate these paintings and the sensibilities of the pastors who spent time there I have a reverence for these mysterious and deeply meaningful pictographs. Once again we were moved by what we experienced.