Artist Sandi Hester memorized & used these verses for inspiration
But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
8 ask the plants of the earth,and they will teach you,
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?
10 In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of every human being.
Job 12: 7- 10 NRSVue
Yes, these are verses I've foisted upon you a number of times in the past but I never get tired of them, even if you might.
Yesterday Ruth suggested that we sit down together with our February calendar page for the Listening and Looking with Jesus project at Trenton United. You may have read in earlier blog entries that I invited the congregation to participate in this endeavour, handing out calendar pages and an explanatory blurb to about 40 people who were interested.
The concept was to pay attention to the natural world from inside or outside during the month, a notion following on an interview I heard on CBC RadioThe Current. Matt Galloway interviewed Dr. Holli-Anne Passmore who is doing a psych project with students at Concordia University in Edmonton on how being intentionally attentive to nature may alter mood and reduce anxiety. I contacted Dr. Passmore to let her know that her project had inspired me and she was and is delighted that we've taken this on and wants to hear about the outcome.
Since Rev Isaac is away today I'm the worship leader and our entire service, in word and song, will be on this theme. We'll create the Prayers of the People from the observations everyone is invited to offer. Trenton UC folk are remarkably willing to share within the service and I'm looking forward to this.
Ruth and I have already started into the month of March because we enjoyed hearing what the other had observed, some days almost identical while others were entirely different.
I may update you on how it goes, providing people show up!
Once again, here is how I framed the invitation:
Listening and Looking with Jesus…in
February!
“Instructions for living a
life.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.” ― poet
Mary Oliver
"When
people notice nature, and not necessarily even just spend extra time, but just
[notice] it, we know it enhances our positive emotions…"
Dr.
Holli-Anne Passmore -associate professor of psychology at the Concordia
University of Edmonton who studies the correlation between nature &
well-being
You are
invited to take time each day during the month of February to pay attention to
the natural world we Christians call Creation. We will look, listen, engage all
of our senses, for a few minutes or longer during this shortest month. You
might:
Notice your houseplants or the
lengthening days from the comfort indoors
Pay attention to the birds at feeders
(or the squirrels!)
Go for a walk, skate, ski &
consider tracks in the snow, ice on the bay/river, the changing sky, birdsong
Create a snow angel (providing you
can get back up again!)
Jot down
what you experienced in the squares of the February calendar page, or perhaps create
a tiny drawing.
On Sunday
March 2 you’ll have the opportunity after worship to share what was meaningful
for you as you paid attention to the world around you.
“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….
Matthew 6: 25 -26 NRSVue
CBC The Current interview with Dr.
Passmore
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/noticing-nature-experts-1.7434315
No comments:
Post a Comment