The Key to Relationships between Monarch & Indigenous Peoples

                                King Charles and Queen Camilla at Canada House this past Tuesday

 Tomorrow King Charles III and Queen Camilla will arrive in Canada for what will be Charles' 20th visit. On Tuesday he will deliver the Speech from the Throne for the opening of Parliament, an understated but direct reminder that Canada is not now nor never will be a 51st state. This is only the third time in Canadian history that the British monarch has done so in person. Of course, a lot of us aren't all that keen on our colonial past either, so take your pick. The Bloc Quebecois will be collectively washing its hair that day. 

Last Tuesday Charles and Camilla visited Canada House to mark the 100th anniversary of its presence on Trafalgar Square in London. Canadian High Commissioner to the U.K. Ralph Goodale, presented the monarch with a ceremonial key to Canada House a gesture reflecting the key given to  Charles’ great-grandfather, King George V. That key was made of Canadian bronze, silver and nickel when Canada House officially opened in June 1925.

The key given to King Charles last week marks a signficant moment for Indigenous people because it was created by Ts'msyen artist Morgan Asoyuf, who took the opportunity to elevate an important story from her home territory in Prince Rupert, B.C., the Raven 
Steals the Light.  This myth is most often attributed to Haida oral culture and shared by nations throughout what is now B.C. and Alaska. In a CBC report Morgan offers that" To be able to create this piece that is going up so high, politically... it was something that I sort of had to think about a lot..." 

Asoyuf notes the complex relationship Indigenous people have both with Canada and the Royal Family. The treaties signed with Indigenous nations across the country have never been extinguished and are cited regularly when "Crown Lands" are developed without permission or when proposals are made about changing political boundaries. First Nations have pointed out that the talk about Alberta sovereignty doesn't take into account these treaties, nor does the Ontario government's plans to open the Ring of Fire to mining exploration. 

There is also a spiritual element to the relationship between monarch and Indigenous groups. King Charles has a raft of titles including Defender of the Faith first bestowed on Henry VIII by a pope named Leo. That didn't work out well given that Charles is now the titular head of the Church of England. In the current absence of an Archbishop of Canterbury he temporarily has that role as well. So what are his religious and spiritual responsibilities to Indigneous peoples in the 21st century? 

I am more interested in this relationship than any ambivalent message being sent to Le Grande Orange. I hope all the levels of government in Canada will respectfully explore the key to Right Relationships when it comes to treaties and agreements, now and into the future. 

When I was young it was the custom to pray for our monarch, Queen Elizabeth II virtually every Sunday morning and we still sang God Save the Queen. On this Sunday I'll ask God to guide Charles in his role with Indigenous peoples in Commonwealth nations around the world. 

Migrations, Peregrinations, & Pilgrimages

 

 “Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars
    and spreads its wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
    and makes its nest on high?
28 It lives on the rock and makes its home
    in the fastness of the rocky crag.

               Job 39: 26-28 NRSVue

Are you old enough to remember reruns on television? In days of yore, long before streaming services, there were TV networks that would show repeats of prime-time dramas through the summer while the shows were in hiatus.

I realized the other day that World Migratory Bird Day had come and gone (May 10th) and it got me thinking about a blog entry from a few years ago in which I mused about the remarkable seasonal journeys of birds and compared this phenomenon to human migrations and spiritual pilgrimages. 

Coincidentally, I've read two novels recently that include the migration of sandhill cranes from Nebraska to various points north as part of the plotline. When we lived in Northern Ontario I would make a detour from my monthly Presbytery meeting in Espanola during May and October to search out these remarkable birds as they staged in fields on the shore of Georgian Bay. It was much more of a spiritual experience than the meetings. Last June we saw sandhill cranes on Haida Gwaii off BC as well. 

This is the theme for the Spring Migratory Bird Day --there is another in the Fall-- and beneath it is the blog I wrote in 2022, my version of the rerun. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that we have experienced the same migrating birds during this May despite it being the coldest in nearly 60 years. 

World Migratory Bird Day is a special day to celebrate these incredible birds and help protect them. This year, we’re focusing on making our cities, villages, towns, and communities, from rural to urban, more bird-friendly. In 2025, WMBD will raise awareness about the many challenges migratory birds face due to human activities and expanding urban development. The campaign will advocate for strategic urban planning and conservation efforts that incorporate bird-friendly practices, making sure that our communities become havens for these remarkable travelers. The 2025 theme encourages action from all sectors, including national and local governments, businesses, community groups, and individuals worldwide.

Sunday, May 15, 2022 Migratory Birds & Human Peregrinations

Yesterday we sat on our deck and watched as hummingbirds came to a feeder. It was  a wondrous sight for us geezers, as was the arrival at the same feeder by a Baltimore oriole several hours later while we were doing yard work. To top it all off a rose-breasted grosbeak showed up at another feeder later on. None of these species hang around for the summer at our place. They are on their way to an unknown destination for a summer of raising young before heading south in the Fall. 

It was fitting that yesterday was World Migratory Bird Day. We literally caught birds in the act of migrating to their seasonal homes. You may have heard the word "peregrination" to describe a journey, often on foot, sometimes purposeful and sometimes a ramble. There is a bird called the peregrine falcon and the name includes the notion of journey. If you search the word "peregrination" you will likely get a defintion along the lines of " a journey made by a pilgrim, a pilgrimage." 

Humans have always been inclined to migrate and I've wondered if religious or spiritual pilgrimages such as the Camino or the Haj are related to that compulsion to be on the move. Pilgrimages have often been demanding and even dangerous journeys with the risk of getting lost along the way -- the pilgrimage to Jerusalem by Jesus' family when he was a boy comes to mind. 

Still, these peregrinations or pilgrimages can have a profound effect on those who undertake them. Our son Isaac walked the 800+ kilometres of the Camino across France and Spain for a month when he was nineteen and I know that this journey shaped his Christian life then and to the present day. 

We may never embark on an arduous physical migration/peregrination yet we can always be intentional about our spiritual journeys. And we can enjoy those intrepid migrating birds, mysteriously guided by magnetic fields or the stars or whatever it is that compells them. 

JMW Turner & the Divine Sunset

                                Study of Sea and Sky, Isle of Wight 1827 Joseph Mallord William Turner

It's odd that in our current troubled relationship with the United States of America I couldn't imagine crossing the border from Canada for any reason other than a funeral. Ruth and I both have family in the States and fortunately everyone seems healthy at the moment. I am intrigued by a new exhibit of work by perhaps the greatest British artist, JMW Turner to mark the 250th anniversary of his birth, but the prospect of a trip to Connecticut and Yale is not appealing.

Turner spent his career experimenting with light in colour in ways that some have maintained were the precursers of Impressionism. Apparently Monet was an admirer while art critic John Ruskin described Turner as the "father of modern art' even though the devout Christian Ruskin was dismayed by his pantheistic tendencies. His artistic output was prodigious with over 550 oil paintings, 2,000 watercolours and 30,000 works on paper. 

Turner was not religious in any conventional sense although he attended a Methodist school and formed a love of scripture that resulted in about a dozen biblical paintings. including the two below. His focus was more on Creation and the extraordinary variety and power of the natural world. His Jacob's Ladder work certainly displays this. One writer has opined that for Turner catching a sunset on canvas was like opening one's eye's to the Divine. 

He was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral in London, at his request, amidst the tombs of other prominent artists. 

I wonder if the day will ever come when we feel comfortable heading south? I hope so. 

Christ Driving the Traders from the Temple, 1832

                                                        

   The Vision of Jacob’s Ladder, 1830

Albert Schweitzer & The Sermon on the Mount

 

I continue my meandering journey through the excellent and lengthy biography of Albert Scheitzer by James Brabazon. At times I can hardly fathom the sheer energy and brilliance of this giant of the 20th century who was 31 when he went to Africa with his wife Helene to establish a medical mission. By that tender age he had achieved a doctorate in philosphy, another in theology, and completed his training to be a medical doctor. He was also one of the leading authorities on JS Bach, was a pipe organ virtuoso, served a parish as a pastor, and taught at a theological college. He was also the author of the Quest of the Historical Jesus, a controversial and challenging book. 

When Albert arrived at remote Lambaréné, Gabon, he had to figure out how to open his hospital and establish supply chains to this remote jungle location. He also wanted to preach and teach but was forbidden to do so initially by the organization which sent him there because he was a newcomer. Before long he was preaching despite the prohibition and chose to focus on the chapters in Matthew's gospel we know as the Sermon on the Mount. Schweitzer decided that the simple but incisive practicality of Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5-7 were what was needed in he day-to-day interactions between and with his patients. These chapters also fit well with his devotion to the human Jesus. 

I found this touching because I have come to define my Christian faith through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ. For me the "life" part is strongly connected to the direct and challenging teaching found here in Matthew. 

Four years ago we engaged in a multi-week study at Trenton United of a book titled Sermon on the Mount: A Beginner's Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven by Amy-Jill Levine. Levine is a professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies and a Jew who admires Jesus. We all found this deeper look into these teachings to be thought-provoking and revelatory. 

Albert Schweitzer lived to the age of 90, which in encouraging because I may need a couple more decades to finish this biography. I'll probably keep you posted along the way, by the grace of God!

Admiring God's Thunder & Lightning

 

Thunderstorm AJ Casson (Group of Seven)

2 O tell of God's might, O sing of God's grace,

whose robe is the light, whose canopy space,

whose chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,

and broad is God's path on the wings of the storm.

                               O Worship the King -- Voices United 235

After this I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the spirit, and there in heaven stood a throne, with one seated on the throne! And the one seated there looks like jasper and carnelian, and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald. Around the throne are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads. 

Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder...

Revelation 4: 1-5 NRSVue

Early this past Saturday morning we woke up to loud claps of thunder, or at least I did. Ruth was already up and I couldn't find her in the house. She wasn't on one of our decks, exposed to the elements, so she took a chair outside to the covered entrance of our home. I joined her and we oohed and aahed at the flashes of lightning and the rumbles and reports of thunder. As we sat there I began humming a hymn tune and it took me a few moments to identify it and why it spontaneously came to mind. O Worship the King has the poetic and powerful second verse named the deep thunderclouds. 

 We both love thunderstorms although we're glad that our camping and tripping experiences of violent storms have largely come to an end. A couple of years ago Ruth was on the annual canoe outing in Killarney Park with a number of women from the congregation I served in Sudbury. Ruth chose to sleep in her enclosed hammock rather than a tent and one night a massive thunderstorm swept in from Georgian Bay. She was in a cocoon amidst the trees feeling very exposed to the elements. Fortunately she stayed safe and dry. 

Most of us will know of Benjamin Franklin's experiments flying kites in the midst of lightning. His invention of the lightning rod saved many buildings although some churches refused to install them because it was messing with divine purpose. Duh. 

There is a thrill to the experience, tinged with fear, that explains why there are a dozen or more references to thunder and lightning in scripture, including the final book of the New Testament, Revelation. I am loathe to admit that AI does a good job of summarizing the phenomenon:

In scripture, thunder and lightning are powerful symbolic representations of God's wrath, power and presence. The Bible often uses these natural phenomena to convey divine messages, such as warnings or judgments. Specifically, thunder is often associated with God's voice, while lightning is used to symbolize his divine light, judgment, and power. 

I'm partial to the references in Job, including the one below. We can pray that lightning strikes don't set off wildfires through this summer but I hope we can enjoy a couple more tunder-boomers in the season.

“At this also my heart trembles
    and leaps out of its place.
2 Listen, listen to the thunder of his voice
    and the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
3 Under the whole heaven he lets it loose,
    and his lightning to the corners of the earth.
4 After it his voice roars;
    he thunders with his majestic voice,
    and he does not restrain the lightnings[a] when his voice is heard.
5 God thunders wondrously with his voice;
    he does great things that we cannot comprehend.

Job 37:1-5 NRSVue

Twisting Scripture in Gaza

 

So Gideon and the hundred who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch, and they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. So the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars, holding in their left hands the torches and in their right hands the trumpets to blow, and they cried, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 

Every man stood in his place all around the camp, and all the [Midianites] in camp ran; they cried out and fled. When they blew the three hundred trumpets, the Lord set every man’s sword against his fellow and against all the army, and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,[d] as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 

Judges 7: 19-22 NRSVue

On Friday President Trump left the Middle East after a brief visit having commented on the terrible plight of Gazans as they face starvation, a rare note of compassion on his part. Blessedly, no musing about forceable removing Palestinians from the land to which they had been relocated after the Nakba in 1948. 

The next day Israel announced that it has launched a major operation in the Gaza Strip to pressure Hamas to release remaining hostages, following days of strikes across the Palestinian territory that killed hundreds of people. Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Operation Gideon's Chariots was being conducted with “great force.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to escalate pressure with the aim of destroying the militant group that has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades. Of course, many of those who have died are children and women who are victims, not combatants. 

It's sickening and blasphemous that the name for this military assault is Gideon's Chariots, a reference, presumably, to a story in the book of Judges, chapters 6 and 7. I was fascinated by this story as a kid because young Gideon led the Israelites against the far superior forces of the Midianites despite his misgivings. God comes to Gideon in a dream and assures him of victory, but instructs him to reduce his already outnumbered band of brothers. And yes, he does prevail, largely through clever nighttime confusion tactics.

What is happening in Gaza is the opposite of the premise in this story. Israel has the military superiority, the "chariots" in the form of tanks and jets and other sophisticated weaponry. In the story Gideon had no chariots or any weapons of mass destruction. While Hamas is a terrorist organization which should not exist it is sickening that the Netanyahu government trots out dubious biblical references to justify what is increasingly obvious as ethnic cleansing when the overall message is of justice, mercy, and compassion.  

Sadly, we know people of the evangelical Christian persuasion who use other disturbing passages from the Hebrew scriptures to justify mass murder, as though this is Godly justification. I despise this twisting of the biblical message for ungodly purposes. 

I wish Bibi and his minions of evil could be forced to write out the story of Gideon on the chalkboard (are there still chalkboards?) over and over until they get what it's all about. Or maybe they should be required to read George Orwell's 1984 with it's "Big Lie", the rewriting of history for manipulation and control. 

“And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth. 'Who controls the past' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.”

― George Orwell, 1984

                  Gideon and His Army Attacking the Midianites -- 16th C manuscript illustration

Joan or John the Baptist in an Editorial Cartoon?

 

I appreciate that the Pulitzer Prizes include a category for editorial cartoonists. I've expressed before that the best of them are a cross between court jesters and prophets of biblical incisiveness. This means that they "speak truth to power" with great clarity and at times risk losing their jobs or being muzzled by editors and owners of the news outlets for which they work. 

Earlier this year the 2025 Pulitzer winner, Ann Telnaes, chose to leave the Washington Post  because a cartoon she produced (above) was rejected. It includes a caricature of the WAPO owner, Jeff Bezos, a gajillionaire who bailed out the financially troubled paper a few years ago, left it alone for the most part, but now has people at the helm who lean Orange. She explains her decision:

I’ve worked for the Washington Post since 2008 as an editorial cartoonist. I have had editorial feedback and productive conversations—and some differences—about cartoons I have submitted for publication, but in all that time I’ve never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at. Until now. 

The cartoon that was killed criticizes the billionaire tech and media chief executives who have been doing their best to curry favor with incoming President-elect Trump.

What I find interesting is that WAPO acknowledged her Pulitzer win -- after all, it is a prestigious feather in the Post's cap -- but didn't mention why Telnaes left. 

She is not the only cartoonist to leave the Post.  Brilliant Canadian Michael de Adder didn't have his contract with the Washington Post renewed because of cartoons on the edge and he was let go by the Halifax Chronicle Herald as well. I'm impressed that they aren't willing to compromise their artistic integrity in a time when many voices for justice are being silenced. They would probably both laugh at being described as Joan or John the Baptist but they are voices shouting in the political wilderness.. 

Our Prime Minister on His Knees

 

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.

! Timothy 2:1-2 NRSVue

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is at the Vatican with his wife and daughter today, congregants for the first official mass conducted by Pope Leo. I've noted before that Carney is a practicing Roman Catholic, regularly attending worship. 

It can be a challenge for any political leader to hold firm to the separation between church and state. Doing so doesn't mean that spiritual values and religious commitment are inconsequential. God knows that there are many leaders in our world today who have tossed their moral compasses out the window. 

I appreciated an article from Politico about Carney in Italy and I'll share a few paragraphs here that I find encouraging: 

Attending Sunday’s liturgical service offers Canada’s new prime minister an opportunity to reflect on how his faith informs his views on markets, money and policy-making. Carney makes no apologies for the overlap. 

“We all need to avoid compartmentalization — the division of our lives into different realms, each with its own set of rules,” Carney wrote in his 2021 book, “Value(s): Building a Better World For All.” 

Six years earlier, Catholic newspaper The Tablet named the then U.K. central bank governor “Britain’s most influential Catholic.” 

The prime minister credited Pope Francis with the inspiration for his book. In 2014, the pope joined Carney and a range of policymakers at the Vatican to discuss the future of the market system. 

Carney described how the pope used the metaphor of wine and grappa to illustrate a greater economic point. The pontiff compared the market — which he defined as “self-interested” — to grappa, a distilled liquor made from wine-making residue. 

“Your job is to turn the grappa back into wine, to turn the market back into humanity,” the pope told the group. “This isn’t theology. This is reality. This is the truth.”

Here is the link to the article https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/16/mark-carney-pope-leo-xiv-rome-00352715?cid=apn

Scripture encourages us to pray for leaders so as PM Carney prays and worships with Pope Leo today, we can pray for both of these persons of Christian faith now and in the days ahead. 

Dress Codes & Our Religions

 

                                                             The Cannes Red Carpet 2025

The Cannes Film Festival in France has long been a "nothing succeeds like excess" event with the movie stars and star wannabees strutting their stuff on the red carpet. I have enjoyed the Toronto Film Festival and one of our daughters once worked for TIFF but nothing compares with Cannes.

This year the organizers have advised the celebs not to show up naked, or nearly-naked, as is the trend for glitter moments around the world such as the recent Met Gala. Needless to say, this caution is directed largely at women because men show up in tuxedos and the occasional outrageous outfit but generally keep their naughty bits tucked in. So much for equality. 

                                                     French Burkini Police, serving and protecting 

What comes to mind is the French police who patrol beaches to prohibit women from wearing too much when they head in for a swim or lounge on the shore. According to now ominpresent AI: 

...French police have patrolled beaches and enforced dress code policies, particularly regarding burkinis and other swimwear deemed "contrary to secularism". In some instances, police have ordered women to remove their swimwear or have fined them for violating these policies. These actions have sparked controversy, with some arguing they violate individual rights and freedom of expression.

While I am unsettled by dress codes of any religion that permit men to look like everyone around 

them while the women are required to assume "modest" attire I also believe in freedom from 

government overreach and imposed secularism. Of course, here in Canada we see this with

 Quebec laws. Weirdly, this seems to make secularism a religion, and a repressive one at that. 

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world...

                                                Tom Cruise & other men in suits at Cannes 2025

More Lessons from Silence & Fire

 Back in January I reflected in this blog on an article in the Globe and Mail newspaper by Pico Iyer. He is  an excellent travel writer who has become a deeply thoughtful voice for those who may be agnostics or non-theists who nonetheless appreciate the contemplative life. Years ago I wrote about his book The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere. 

The Globe article had the headline Hospitals for the Soul: What We'll Lose When Monasteries Disappear and it began with the "To get to the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, just past Georgia O’Keefe’s Ghost Ranch in northern New Mexico, you have to bump for 13 miles on barely paved tracks..." I have been to both these places so of course I was hooked and then intrigued by the prospect of his latest book Aflame: Learning From Silence. 

Patience paid off and our local library eventually got a copy which I just finished. It focussed more on his 34 year love affair with New Camaldoli Hermitage, a Benedictine monastery nestled in the Santa Lucia Mountains of Big Sur, California. This Roman Catholic order is more than a 1000 years old and observes an austere way of life yet enthusiastically engages in interfaith and ecumenical dialogue. The Hermitage is also welcoming of those who seek silence and solace who do not profess faith of any sort. Pico Iyer has visited this monastic community 100 times or more over half a lifetime.

I did not expect that the book would also be a reflection on the climate emergency, although the title might have tipped me off. In 1990 a California wildfire incinerated Iyer's home and everything in it, including notes for a book. He might have gone up in flames but for the heroic response of strangers. In the subsequent years he and his mother built another home and nearly lost it on a couple of occasions because of fire. The Hermitage has been evacuated several times for the same reason. Iyer's description of all this is subtle and yet forceful. In a way the book is a spiritual companion to Fire Weather by John Vaillant, leading us to appreciate the transitory nature of our stuff and life itself. 

This is certainly a worthwhile book if you've ever thought about spending time on retreat in a monastic community or considered entering into silence with intention. Few people have given over even 24 hours to this possibility and Iyer's books are warm and thoughtful invitations. 

Pico Iyer is a citizen of the world but he could be adopted as a Canadian, and not just because of the Globe article. He developed a friendship with Leonard Cohen who spent time as a Buddhist monk nearby. And he has written and spoken at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Cohen, Banff, and the Globe - give the man citizenship. 

                                                            A View from The Hermitage

Churches and Refugee Sponsorship

  

                                                                                  Kelly Latimore 

Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink?  And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’

           Matthew 25: 37-40 NSVue -- Jesus of Nazareth

You may have seen that a growing number of religious groups working with migrants and asylum seekers in the United States are coming up against hard realities in terms of funding. The current administration is xenophobic to the extreme and has threatened to cut off financial aid to some of those religious entities which have worked with government in sponsorship and support for decades. This sort of cooperation has existed in Canada a well and government financial assistance was vital when we sponsored Syrian refugees a decade ago. 

The latest twist in almost beyond belief. President Trump has repeatedly claimed that white South African farmers, known as Afrikaners, are facing genocide and land seizures. There is no evidence to support this and in South Africa only 7% of the population is white and own 70% of commercial farmland. Yet the Trump administration classified the white Afrikaners as refugees earlier this year making wild claims about their persecution. 

                                                 South African immigrants arriving in the US

The first "refugees" arrived this week and the government is insisting that the Episcopal Church help resettle them or risk defunding. The response from the Episcopalians is to end it's agreement. Once again those who are working for the betterment of the marginalized and oppressed are being forced into decisions that are antithetical to the gospel of Jesus Christ which informs their involvement in the first place. 

Here is a portion of coverage by the Washington Post that helps us realize what a sorry situation this is 

The Episcopal Church is ending its refugee resettlement agreement with the federal government rather than comply with a directive to help resettle White South Africans arriving in the United States as refugees, citing its “steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation.”

The church’s decision Monday, the same day that dozens of Afrikaners granted refugee status landed at Dulles International Airport drew criticism from the White House and Vice President JD Vance.

The church’s presiding bishop, Sean Rowe, said in a letter that the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, which the church’s resettlement ministry participated in for decades, “has essentially shut down” since January, with no refugees arriving and hundreds of staff laid off. Then, several weeks ago, the Trump administration told the church that it would be expected to resettle the White Afrikaners under the terms of its federal grant.

Rowe said the church wouldn’t do so given the “highly unusual manner” in which the federal government selected the White South Africans, who received “preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years.” Instead, he said, the church would end its refugee resettlement grant agreements with the government by the end of the fiscal year in September.

“I am saddened and ashamed that many of the refugees who are being denied entrance to the United States are brave people who worked alongside our military in Iraq and Afghanistan and now face danger at home because of their service to our country,” Rowe wrote. “I also grieve that victims of religious persecution, including Christians, have not been granted refuge in recent months.”

Shameful indeed. 

The Lumberjack, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?

 

There is a new stage production of the Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe at the Shaw Festival and while I loved these CS Lewis novels when I was younger I won't be going. According to a Toronto Star review the replacement of the Lion Aslan with a lumberjacky figure, the corny humour, and misplaced musical numbers make the whole thing cringey. One sentence in particular is withering: "a dull and half-baked Narnia misfire that wastes its onstage talent and seemingly has no clue what it's supposed to be." 

To be fair, most adaptations of the adventure series with displaced wartime siblings passing through a wardrobe into an enchanted land called Narnia fall short of the mark. There is nothing like the written word and a vivid imagination to enliven a story and this is hard to replicate, even in our CGI times. 

Lewis was a deeply respected Christian apologist who infuses the seven books of The Chronicles of Narnia series with often powerful Christian imagery, although we know someone who read them with enthusiasm as a child and never saw that aspect. Aslan is the Christ figure lion who allows his mane to be shorn and is mocked by his adversaries before death. How can someone in suspenders convey this? 

Over the years the concerns about racist and anti-Islamic stereotypes have smudged the reputation of the novels but there is still so much that is worthwhile. As a first year university student 50 years ago I reread all these novel to relieve the stress of exam time. I would not recommend this strategy except that I did reasonably well with the exams. I am fond of the original illustrations by Pauline Baynes who also illustrated some of Tolkien's early books. 

You may have hear that Greta Gerwig of Barbie fame is having a go at Narnia with a projected release late next year. Gerwig is brilliant so we can  hope that this attempt will fare better than the Shaw production. It's unlikely that any lumberjacks will be involved. 

A Drifting Morning of Springtime Grace

 

You may have noticed that I've been slower off the mark for blog writing in recent days. It's bbecause we are early risers and often choose to get out and about when the natural world is quiet and we don't have to contend with school buses on the way to our destinations.

This morning we were on our way to Prince Edward County, the almost-island that juts into Lake Ontario, by what some would claim is the ungodly hour of 6:30 am. Because of its location PEC has a unique climate and unusual wildflowers. We go there at least once in the Spring for the trilliums, the marsh marigolds, and other ephemerals. Timing outings for the "here today, gone tomorrow" flowers is a fun challenge for a couple of oldtimers. 

                                                                            Marsh Marigolds 

At the Beaver Meadow Conservation Area we pulled on high waterproof boots to get back to a marshy area for those marigolds. The spot is at the end of a trail and when we arrive there is always the sense we are in a watery cathedral, a holy place.  We have yet to meet any other people there and that works for us. As we stood in the absence of human-made noise the birdsong was almost overwhelming, in the best possible way. 

A stream runs through the marsh and I pointed out a moving ripple on the surface which turned out to be a fair sized snapping turtle meandering along. I think we were both holding our breath as it passed by and it was too because it didn't surface -- shared apnea? 

For some this would not be a prime-time moment but for us it was enchanting. It brought to mind the image above, a print signed by the artist but sadly illegible. I do know that it is by an Indigenous artist and we purchased it at least 30 years ago. The title, A Drifting Moment of Grace says it all. There are many churches with the name Grace and we sing of Amazing Grace but the magnanimous grace of the Creator is so often evident in the natural world. 

                                                                               Red Trilliums 

We went on to Point Petre where there are other flowers such as Dutchman's Breeches we don't see anywhere else.  Here is a partial list of the birds we either saw and heard on our rambles. I would like to claim bird nerd superiority but it is the Merlin App that identified many of them

Trumpeter Swan, Belted Kingfisher, Redstart, 

Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Common Tern, 

Yellow Warbler, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker,

 Red-Winged Blackbird, Common Merganser, Wood Thrush,

 Eastern Bluebird, Robin, Kildeer, 

Swamp Sparrow, Blue Jay, Marsh Wren, 

Common Yellowthroat, Cobra Chicken (Canada Goose) & more! 

The Real-deal Good Shepherd

@TopsyFarms

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20h

Our 2 km walking trail to the woods now has this resting feature, built with all stone from our land. Thanks to @Lenn_Add_County for the financial support. Our walking trail is free, for now passing this flock of ewes waiting to lamb. We seek a good name. Suggestions anyone?

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me...

John 10:11-14 NRSVue

At least once a year we make the ferry trip to Amherst Island in Lake Ontario for some excellent bird snooping and to stop in at Topsy Farms. We've appreciated developing a relationship with Sally, the last of the hippies who founded Topsy Farms 50-odd years ago who is now the matriarch of the sheep-herding clan.This is a working sheep farm that has diversified with a lovely wool product shop and opportunities for visitors to witness sheep-shearing in action and get "up close and personal" with lambs in the Spring. You might say that people flock to these experiences, if you were inclined toward corny jokes. 

Baarak the Fugitive Sheep Before & After

Sheep can be confounding creatures (aren't we all) who are herd animals with occasional streaks of willfulness that challenge the most experienced of shepherds. From time to time we hear a story of a rogue sheep in the Australian outback who is wily enough to evade recapture for extended periods.

The Archbishop of Paris knocks three times on the doors of Notre Dame Cathedral with his crosier or shepherd's crook, created from the charred beams of the burned structure

Yesterday was Good Shepherd Sunday in the Christian year and so we sang the 23rd Psalm and heard about feckless shepherds contrasted with the Good Shepherd, Jesus.

These are timely reminders even if we don't care much about sheep farming. It seems that there are so may wolves in sheep's clothing attempting to rule the world and they have pulled the wool over the eyes of an astonishing number of people. They encourage us to live with suspicion and contempt for the very people Jesus came to save -- I use the word "save" intentionally because I feel that we are losing our way when it comes to compassion and justice and democracy. While I'm wary of someone coming to the rescue, a human "just trust me" saviour, I want to deepen my allegiance to Some One, the real-deal Good Shepherd.

While I'm wary of someone coming to the rescue, a human "just trust me" saviour, I want to deepen my allegiance to Some One, the real-deal Good Shepherd.

My suggestion for the lovely stone seat pictured above was Coldtush-henge but I'm not holding my breath that it will stick.