Environmental Justice on the Agenda at COP29

 

God of blessings, 
the universe sings of your glory. 
Deepen our gratitude for all you have made 
and awaken in us a renewed commitment 
to care for the earth and each other. 

Inspire world leaders at COP29, 
with openness to listen to those most affected by climate change 
and with courage to act urgently and wisely, 
so that our common home may be healed and restored  
and all people, and generations to come, may delight in it. 

Amen.

I'll concede that I'm in Dad Joke country when I say that Azerbijan sounds as though it is a place from a Harry Potter novel (actually Azkaban), but how many of us could find this country on a map. Yet representatives from many countries  are in Baku, the capital, for another United Nations Climate Change Conference, this one COP29. This one is different in focus from the recent UN biodiversity meeting in Columbia but there is a significant issue which is essentially the same in both. Who pays for the practical steps necessary for poorer nations to meet climate emission targets and habitat restoration, an estimated one trillion US dollars dollars?

One of the arguments for these reparations is that rich countries have plundered wealth from those poorer global neigbours for hundreds of years through colonialism and it's now time for them to make good for the sake of the planet on which we all live. It shouldn't surprise any of us that while there is a fair amount of talk about a global fund for this to happen financially, well off nations don't want to make any firm commitments toward making this happen. With a new/old administration with an isolationist bent looming in the United States we can be reasonably sure that there won't be a will to make this fund a reality.

I have grown fairly cynical about these conferences because too often they seem like opportunities for representatives to stay in expensive accommodation and eat in the lap of luxury, while they talk until they are blue and green in the face without setting attainable targets. Dubious choices are made about locations in countries that have lousy environmental records and hidden agendas.

At most of the summits there what amount to shadow conferences with NGOs and religious groups offering a counter narrative based on reciprocity and straight talk. The Christian groups often offer calls to action as well as reminders that we are people of the Creator and live with Incarnational hope. I suppose this means that cynicism is not an option for this Christian even though it's not easy being green and getting harder. I'll keep praying and looking for Azerbijan. 

Lest We Forget 2024

        National Silver Cross Mother Maureen Anderson who lost two sons who served in Afghanistan. 

Again this year acknowledged Remembrance Day from the comfort of my home,watching the commemoration held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. For decades I made a point of heading to a cenotaph for the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, no matter the weather, as my way of honouring my veteran father and father-in-law and so many others who served country and cause. 

I am always moved by the bugle, the bagpipes, the childrens choir, the moments of silence.  I get downright teary when I see veterans and service persons wiping away their tears. The presence of the Silver Cross Mother and the presentation of wreaths are all aspects of showing respect and gratitude. It's important that there is now a strong representation from Indigenous veterans 

Chaplains have been asked to be as inclusive as possible and while I appreciate and support this there is something of a "to whom it may concern" feel to the prayers and remarks. The sense of reverence and the holy comes more from the solemnity of ritual, along with the thousands of Canadians who put aside differences and take the time to remember.

I wrote recently about wife Ruth's diligence in transcribing her British mother's diaries from WW2. We've followed Norah's story from working in a shop to enlisting in the Wrens, resulting in her meeting Canadian serviceman Max, probably at a dance, and the rest is family history. This exercise of love and discovery makes me want to take in the latest exhibit at the Canadian War Museum about women artists and how they have perceived the conflicts in which our country has engaged: 

Women artists experienced war in distinct ways. Through their art, they reflect different perspectives on war and Canada’s military history, influenced by their own lived experiences and identities. Outside the Lines, which opened on May 24, 2024, is the Museum’s latest and most extensive look at war and conflict through the eyes of women artists.

I hope that you've found ways to pause and remember today as we acknowledge all those who served. 

The Good News for Being Ordinary

 

Does anyone really want to be moyen, middle of the pack...ordinary? Being ordinary haunts many of us and even when people excel they may experience what has been dubbed "imposter syndrome" the underlying sense that they aren't special. We don't want ordinary experiences either and there are unlimited sources of information about the latest extraordinary vacation spots with a million Instagram moments shared online. We could live in a perpetual state of FOMO. 

We are coming to the conclusion of Ordinary Time in the liturgical year of the Christian church, roughly six months following the season of Easter to the beginning of Advent. Mercifully and appropriately, we have now included the weeks of Creation Time in September to break up the long haul. The word "ordinary" in this context derives from the ordinal numerals by which week are counted after the Christmas season toward Lent as well as this longer period. Snore. How can we get behind this as Good News? 

Perhaps we need to give a little more credit to the ordinary in our lives. Recently Ruth and I had a conversation about the month of November. She really appreciates it and I don't. The leaves and flowers are gone, paddling season has all but ended, the days are wan and short. What's to like? 

Ruth savours this oasis of time between the relentless activity of earlier seasons and the ramped up pace leading to Christmas. Turn on the fireplace, curl up with a book, take care of the little things (yes, we are retired). We can still go for walks and the occasional cycle on a pleasant day. We did just that yesterday, swishing through the Fall leaves and listening to the clatter of bare branches. She makes a point worth pondering.

This lengthy Ordinary Time was originally meant to consider the life of Jesus and what it means to be disciples. I don't know that there a lot of congregations that emphasize this intentionally and here in Canada there is the reality of sparse attendance during the Summer months. Yet we carry on, hopefully been fed spirituality from week to week. Today is the sacrament of communion in our congregation and while this may seem less than a heavenly banquet there is the mystical nourishment of bread and wine/juice. 

Should we celebrate the ordinary? Some of the most remarkable people I've met through my lifetime might be perceived as ordinary yet they have profoundly touched my life, including influencing my spiritual growth. 

I'm not sure that I'll sing the praises of ordinariness just yet, but there is a case to be made. 

Honouring the Great Murray Sinclair

 

This past week a great Canadian died and the accolades poured in.  Murray Sinclair, former judge and senator, was only 74 (now young in my estimation) yet he led a remarkable life which touched so many people across Canada. 

Sinclair was an Indigneous person who faced discrimination as he began his law practice as a young man. With his long black hair and ponytail judges would sometimes assume he was the accused rather than the white person alongside him. He was so disgusted by the prejudices of the judicial system that at first he turned down the offer to become the first Indigenous judge in Manitoba.  

Sinclair became highly respected and was the ideal candidate for what may have been his most important and demanding role as Chief Commissoner for the national Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This was a lengthy process with the goal of listening to those who had been profoundly harmed by the Residential School System in Canada. Sinclair Sinclair participated in hundreds of hearings across Canada involving thousands of survivors.  The culmination was the TRC’s report in 2015 with a section of 94 Calls to Action. I can't imagine what it was like for those commissioners to be witnesses to so much grief and pain, yet they did so with compassion and empathy. I wonder if this solemn responsibility contributed to his health challenges and relatively early death.

I have waited to write a blog entry about Murray Sinclair in the hope that the United Church would issue it's own statement about his death. The UCC was one of the denominations complicit in the cultural genocide of the Residential Schools, which were really institutions of indoctrination. As such there were representatives from the United Church present on a regular basis through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and I'm assuming that some of them came to know Murray Sinclair. I hope there will be a denominational statement of respect and appreciation along the way.

This morning I'll pick up my library-hold copy of Sinclair's final book, Who We Are: Four Questions for a Life and A Nation. The publication is timely and I'll take the availability as providential. 

One of the best ways we can honour Murray Sinclair is by reading the Calls to Action and asking how we can respond as a denomination and a nation. Here is a link to those recommendations because so much still needs to be done. 

https://nctr.ca/about/history-of-the-trc/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-of-canada/

 

Reading the Signs of the Times

 

                                                          The Aftermath of Flooding in Spain 

When [Jesus] was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”  Jesus answered them, “Beware that no one leads you astray.  For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will lead many astray.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines  and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.

Matthew 24: 3-8 NRSVue

More news from Spain about torrential rains and floods sweeping through towns creating havoc. It was only a couple of weeks ago that massive flooding in the Valencia area killed more than 200 people, including eight in a garage where they were likely preparing to flee in their vehicles. It was terrible to see the outcome yet not surprising given the frequency of weather related catastrophes these days. 

In the aftermath of the earlier flooding the king and queen of Spain along with the Prime Minister and other government officials visited the region to offer support. They were met by angry people who had lost everything and who hurled insults and mud at the usually popular monarch and the officials, saying that the dangers of climate change were being ignored. They were whisked away but later King Felipe expressed that he understood why these area residents were so angry in light of what they had suffered. 

King Felipe of Spain

For decades now we've been told that climate-change accelerated weather would create extremes, whether heat and fire, or unprecedented rainfall. The only thing climate scientists have got wrong is that this is happening faster than they predicted and that the change is becoming a runaway train. Government officials in jurisdictions around the planet offer "thoughts and prayers" and make lame promises to rebuild better than before. This just doesn't happen. There are plenty of reports of communities devastated by weather events that are limping back to everyday life, far behind schedule. 

In North Carolina, hard hit by Hurricane Helene there are still people who haven't had basic services restored despite a massive response in what is the wealthiest country in the world. As I write, another huge fire rages in California, a state with the population of Canada. Many have been evacuated or lost their homes because the flames are unstoppable. 

I figure that there will be increasing outrage in response to events such as these and that civil unrest related to climate chaos will become more of a security threat. It will go beyond flinging mud at a figure-head monarch and government spokespeople. Why can't elected leaders grasp thh magnitude of the threat to our social stability? 

There are Christians who are fascinated by the promise of the return of Christ and dine out on ominous scripture passages about the "signs of the times." Often these same people are climate-change deniers, ignoring the apocalyptic indicators all around us. If we believe in a Creator God and an Incarnational God, in the person of Jesus, why wouldn't we humbly see and hear what is right before us? 

Perhaps it's simpler to subscribe to a "beam me up Jesus" theology and to worship false Messiahs of prosperity rather than to do the humbling and hard work of charting a new course for humanity. In the Little Apocalypse of Matthew Jesus paints a grim picture yet encourages his disciples to be alert and ready and hopeful. Can we hear that today? 

Seeking Clarity Near the Gates of Gaza

Once Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went in to her.  The Gazites were told,“Samson has come here.” So they circled around and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They kept quiet all night, thinking, “Let us wait until the light of the morning; then we will kill him.”  But Samson lay only until midnight. 

Then at midnight he rose up, took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.

Judges 16:1-3 NRSVue

I've just finished reading The Gates of Gaza: A Story of Betrayal, Survival, and Hope by respected Israeli journalist, Amir Tibon. Tibon writes for Haaretz, a newspaper with the third largest circulation in Israel which has existed for more than a century.  It is widely read by international observers, especially in its English edition, and discussed in the international press. I have attended online seminars offered by Haaretz and found them really worthwhile. 

In this book Tibon offers his perspective as a Jewish Israeli citizen living with his family in kibbutz Nahal Oz, close to the border with Gaza at the time of the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023. All of the residences on the kibbutz have fortified safe rooms in the event of mortar and rocket attacks, an intermittent reality living so close to the border fence. The morning of October 7 this family and others knew that something different was unfolding because of the intensity of the attack followed by the sound of gunfire close at hand. They went immediately to their safe room with two young daughters and waited in the dark. 

While they soon lost electricity they were able to use their phones to communicate with other residents and inform family and friends elsewhere that they were in crisis, although they really had no idea what was unfolding close at hand, whether the attack was nation-wide, and whether the military was responding. Their family story ended up gaining global attention because Tibon's father, a retired general living in Tel Aviv, armed himself and set out for the kibbutz with his mother. Along their dangerous journey they saved the lives of others. The book becomes a gripping page-turner in a way I didn't expect. 

Tibon alternates chapters about the 70-year history of Nahal Oz as part of the emerging state of Israel with the harrowing personal events of October 7th. His family moved to the kibbutz for a number of reasons, including a hope for a greater sense of community, a life away from the hectic pace of a city, and cheaper housing costs. While they knew there was risk they also knew that there had been periods of relative peace between the Israeli border communities and they believed in a two-state solution. They loved the natural beauty of the surrounding area with the Negev desert immediately at hand. 

This is not a religious book by any means but Tibon does note the biblical importance of Gaza for millennia and the wild story in Judges of the powerful Samson pulling down the city gates, hence the title of the book.  

Tibon and his family survived because of the heroic response of the security team on the kibbutz and the arrival of a military contingent that included his now civilian father. Fourteen members of their kibbutz were killed, all of the them known to them,  but in one neighbouring community 100 died and in another, 60. The music festival where more than 300 were massacred was only a few kilometres away.

Despite the horror they experienced personally, the grim reality that they may never return to their community, and the national crisis, Tibon takes a measured approach in outlining what has transpired through the decades. His disdain for Prime Minister Netanyahu is apparent and he recognizes the terrible retributive toll for the Palestinian people. He goes so far as to acknowlege the accusations of others within Israel who use the controversial terms  "apartheid" and "genocide" 

It brought to mind the controversy that erupted 15 years ago around the use of the word apartheid in United Church document regarding the Israeli response in Gaza and the West Bank.The word was eventually dropped under pressure but is has emerged in the UCC discussion again this year due to the destruction and deaths in Gaza. 

I found The Gates of Gaza very helpful even though finding clarity in this complex scenario seems impossible. I'm committed to doing so, just the same. 

God Lights Up My Darkness

 

It is you who light my lamp;

    the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.
29 By you I can outrun a troop,
    and by my God I can leap over a wall.
30 This God—his way is perfect;
    the promise of the Lord proves true;
    he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

                  Psalm 18: 28-30 NRSVue

 I woke up this morning, checked the news, and immediately felt despondent. Those of you who know me will understand why. I'm not partial to despots and dictators. After a bracing cup of coffee I got dressed as per usual, putting on one sock at a time, although I may have put them both on the same foot. I gathered up everything I need for a study group on the New Creed of the United Church in Trenton. Life goes on and we blessed in many ways.

I also read the daily psalm which is Psalm 18: 20-30 and it was reassuring, even though I wasn't quite ready to be hopeful. When I feel that I am stumbling in darkness, bewildered and scared, God lights my way. And even though it would be a challenge to outrun my four-year-old grandson, with God I can lap a troop (of turtles?) or leap a wall (of Lego?) While I can't take this literally it does speak to my battered heart and soul. 

The words of a favourite hymn also came to mind, and one verse in particular. I'll do my best to hold on to theses psalm verses and  hymn lyrics through this day. Let's choose not to lose heart. 

3 This is God's wondrous world:

O let me ne'er forget

that though the wrong seems oft so strong,

God is the ruler yet.

This is God's wondrous world:

why should my heart be sad?

Let voices sing, let the heavens ring:

God reigns, let earth be glad!

A Tale of Two COP16 Headlines

 

The Peaceable Kingdom -- Edward Hicks 

6 The wolf shall live with the lamb;
    the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the lion will feed[b] together,
    and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
    their young shall lie down together;
    and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
    and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy
    on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah 11:   NRSVue

Biodiversity Cop16: Important Agreement Reached Toward Goal of "Making Peace with Nature"

Cop16 ends in disarray and indecision despite biodiversity breakthroughs

The United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Cali, Columbia came to a close over the weekend and who knows what the outcome really was. During the nearly two week event there was little media attention given to this essential gathering. There were probably more reports about stealing and eating pets and geese in Ohio -- does that count as biodiversity? 

The headlines in summation were confusing as well. The organizers declared it a success and offered this:

The 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 16) was suspended in the morning of Nov. 2 but not before countries agreed on an expanded role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in saving biodiversity and a groundbreaking agreement on the operationalization of a new global mechanism to share benefits from digital genetic information. 

“Over the last weeks, we have seen the largest, whole-of-society mobilization for biodiversity unfold in Cali, triggering interest from around the globe. We have seen Indigenous Peoples and local communities, civil society, businesses and financial institutions, sub-national governments, cities and local authorities, women and youth present remarkable initiatives and action. 

And through it all, this COP delivered a seminal message: the time has come to make peace with nature. “From Cali, this UN Biodiversity Conference sent a powerful call to action. It has never been clearer that the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement in a synergistic fashion will make peace with nature within reach."

Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity

This sounds hopeful to me but a piece in The Guardian gave a very different impression: 

Observers said that despite the agreements, Cop16 fell short of what was needed to halt the crisis in the natural world, warning that many governments and UN officials were not acting with the required urgency. They pointed to a lack of leadership from the EU, China, Canada and others who had played a leading role in helping to reach agreements on this decade’s targets just two years ago. 

During the summit, it became clear that many countries were making weak or no progress on crucial aims such as reforming environmentally harmful subsidies, protected areas and even submitting national plans for meeting the targets. 

“We saw insufficient leadership from the wealthier countries, the European Union and France in particular, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, the UK, but also China. The executive secretary of the UN convention on biodiversity was also quite phantomatic,” said Oscar Soria, director of thinktank the Common Initiative. 

Brian O’Donnell, director of the Campaign for Nature, said too many countries and UN officials came to Cali without the urgency and level of ambition needed. “The world doesn’t have time for business as usual,” he said. “The suspension of the Cop without any agreed-upon finance strategy is alarming.”

I read all this as "we've talked a lot and came to some aspirational conclusions (once again) but rich countries aren't prepared to put their money where their mouths are." This is disappointing but as Christians we must be committed to making peace with nature, or Creation, as we also call our wonderful, awe-inspiring, biodiverse planetary home. 

You may have noticed that as the elephants and donkeys sparred with one another during this US election campaign there was almost no discussion of climate change or biodiversity loss. The United States will have to be a key participant in any progress toward making peace with Turtle Island...is anyone stealing turtles? God, the Creator and Redeemer, help us all. 

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC PARTICIPATE IN A CEREMONY TO HONOUR THE NATURAL WORLD IN THE “GREEN ZONE” OF COP16. MOLLY ROBSON / GLOBAL WITNESS

In Memory of Ruth, Norah & Courageous Women Through Time

                                                Naomi and her daughters (Ruth & Orpah) Marc Chagall 

So [Naomi] said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.”  But Ruth said,

“Do not press me to leave you, to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people and your God my God.
 Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus to me,  and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!”

When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

                                                       Ruth 1:15-18 NRSVue

 Yesterday I realized that one of the Sunday lectionary readings was from the Hebrew scripture book of Ruth. It's about a Moabite woman who marries outside of her clan only to have her husband and the other men in his immediate family die. Rather than return to the shelter of her family she elects to travel with her mother-in-law, Naomi, back to Bethlehem, her hometown. It's a remarkable story of courage, of love, of creating new bonds of kinship. Although the book of Ruth is only a few chapters long it is a story with a happy ending,  and as Christians we are aware of Ruth in the genealogy of Jesus at the beginning of the gospel of Matthew.

As it happened Ruth, my partner in life, was working away at transcribing one of her late mother's diaries.This is a labour of love and curiosity she's sharing with a couple of her siblings as they have worked away to discipher their mother's tiny and quirky writing. Her mother grew up in Leamington Spa, Great Britain, and as a young woman experienced World War II in her village not far from Coventry, one of the cities extensively damaged by a German bombing raid and bombs fell in her town. Along the way she left her job in a shop and joined the Wrens, the nickname for the Women's Royal Naval Service. She left home as a 20-year-old to do so despite the disapproval of her fiance, who was in military service himself.  

                                                                             Norah (right) as a Wren

 

 This young man didn't become her husband and, instead, she fell in love with a Canadian serviceman who was seconded to a chaplain and would eventually become an ordained minister and moderator in the Presbyterian church. So far, no one has discovered how Norah decided that she wouldn't marry Jack and that Max was the man for her. There is a tantalizing gap in the diary entries during the war. 

Eventually Norah and Max married and she emigrated to Canada. She came on a warbride ship to Halifax and when we lived there we saw exactly where she arrived in this country. Then she travelled by train to Montreal where she was met by her husband and began a new life.She became a minister's wife at a time when there were conventions about that role "and Rev. Mrs Max Putnam poured..." The story of her diaries is of a free-spirited young woman who loved the movies and dances and seemed to have unlimited energy for cycling and walking outings with a gaggle of friends. She attended worship weekly and taught Sunday School in Britain, but did she have any real sense of what was ahead of her as a mother of five children with an endlessly busy clergy husband? Did she feel stifled by the expectations? The diary entries end abruptly the day she lands in Canada. 

I never met my mother-in-law because she died before I met Ruth but I hear and see her intrepid spirit in the person I've be with for 50 years. 

Even today there are so many stories of refugee and immigrant women from many cultures who summon the courage to start over, often with little prospect of being reunited with distant loved ones. We saw this with the Syrian refugee families sponsored by many Canadian faith groups and the Vietnamese "boat people" decades before. 

What did faith have to do with their decisions whether it was Christian, or Muslim, or Buddhist? Did they pray for the strength to go to a distant land? They deserve to be honoured and admired for who they were and will continue to be in the memory of those they love. 

Max and Norah

Are the Lies Winning?

 

 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word. You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

John 8:43-45 NRSVue

I've been thinking a lot about lying lately and you can probably guess why. In two days Americans go to the polls on what is the official voting day in the presidential election (millions have taken advantage of advance voting) and the lies are thicker on the ground and in the air than Autumn leaves. One of the candidates lies almost every time he opens his mouth and as the campaign draws to a close they torrent of falsehoods is increasingly venomous. Recently the New Yorker offered a podcast with the unsettling title: The Lies Are Winning: “We’ve moved from a moment of alternative facts with Kellyanne Conway to now embracing the idea of lies,” Jane Mayer says.

During the one presidential debate the Orange Menace lied, absurdly, about immigrants stealing and eating cats and dogs in the small city of Springfield, Ohio. This assertion and Kamala Harris's  facial expression in reaction was the funniest moment of the debate. Sadly it set off a frenzy of threats against immigrants and both the mayor of Springfield and the governor of Ohio later insisted that this wasn't true. When VP candidate Vance was pressed on this issue he conceded that the story was made up -- a lie -- but insisted that this was necessary because the media wasn't covering issues the way they wanted. Little wonder that there is a "The Lies Are Winning" headline. 

At the risk of sounding cynical, politicians are inclined to lie but we all are, or at least we "fudge the truth" or veer into "truthiness." Leaders lie during times of war, supposedly to keep spirits up during dark times. We lie rather than hurt the feelings of those we love. Lies can be much more sinister and individuals do so for self-preservation, even under official or unofficial oath, or to escape the consequences of destructive behaviour in relationships. Lying undermines trust and can be lethal.

Little wonder that the bible takes a dim view of lying with plenty of warnings about this sin in both the Older and Newer Testaments. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells his listeners to be honest, that a yes should be yes and a no should be no. He also describes the devil as "the father of lies" and says that he is being rejected because he is a truth-teller. You would think that this would set off alarms and sirens for evangelical Christians in the US who are casting votes but it seems to be "don't confuse me with the bible, my mind is made up." Where did all those WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) bracelets of the 1990s go? 

We can never embrace or condone lying, even though it will always be a part of human existence. Lying is a sin, telling the truth is a virtue -- the bible and Jesus tells me so. I wish this mattered in all elections and in every facet of life. 

The Time Change & Circadian Spirituality

Deep peace of the running wave to you.

Deep peace of the flowing air to you.

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you

Deep peace of the shining stars to you

Deep peace of the gentle night to you

Moon and stars pour their healing light on you

Deep peace of Christ, the light of the world to you. 

                                 Celtic Benediction

A circadian rhythm is a natural 24-hour cycle of physical, mental, and behavioral changes that occur in the body. It's also known as the "body's clock". Circadian rhythms are controlled by a biological clock in the brain, and are primarily influenced by light and dark. They affect many important bodily functions, including: Sleep patterns, Hormone release, Appetite and digestion, and Body temperature.

This morning I sat in the gloom and listened to yet another earnest annual piece on CBC Radio about what we all know as "the Time Change." Then my Globe and Mail newspaper arrived with a front page headline on the same subject. For most of my adult life -- half a century? -- there have been discussions about ending the semi-annual changing of the clocks described as Daylight Saving and Standard Time. The former is an absurd term when you consider it. We humans can't manufacture or save daylight. Our planet continues its relentless elliptical orbit around our star and in the Northern Hemisphere we pay the price for where we live in Winter when the Sun casts its wan and miserly light upon us for a few hours in  the day. 

Historians tell us that in medieval Europe large portions of the population were inclined toward a form of hibernation in the colder, darker months to conserve energy. Today we are enlightened, literally, flicking the switches to goose our internal clocks, Seasonal Affective Order be damned. 

We're also informed that changing the clocks messes with our Circadian Rhythms, a term that always conjures up swarms of grasshopper-like insects for me. It is actually the natural 24-hour brain cycle by which we function as critters, humans included. 

What is the equivalent of the Circadian Rhythm in our spiritual lives, including our worship gatherings. Every year congregations attempt to prepare the faithful for the time change, only to have a couple of bewildered people show up far too early or wander in late. Most religions have patterns for worship and some individuals include a daily time for prayer and reflection. Monastic communities are ordered by the "offices", gathering seven times each day to chant the psalms or some other forms of prayerful worship. 

These are worthwhile but I wonder how we might become more attuned to the patterns of the Earth rather than imposing our will upon them? In a broad spectrum of Indigenous communities around the globe spiritual expression is tied to the planetary rhythms. Judaism does begin the Sabbath at sunset and all three of the Abrahamic religions set festivals according to the moon, including our Christian Easter. 

One of my most profound spiritual moments this year was on the afternoon of the solar eclipse. We were in a farm field next to a huge marsh, and as the sky went dark the confused Spring Peepers joined in a great chorus until the sun shone again. There was something about those few moments that connected me to Creator and Creation in a way that's hard to explain. 

Will the Time Change conundrum be resolved in my lifetime? I'm not holding my breath. I might give some more thought to the notion of Circadian Spirituality. 

All Saints Day & Life's Greatest Mystery

 

1 For all the saints, who from their labours rest,

all who by faith before the world confessed,

your name, O Jesus, be forever blest.

Hallelujah, hallelujah!

Voice United 705

Last evening we sat outside to distribute candy to the costumed cuties coming to our door. It was so mild I was in a tee-shirt, a far cry from some Halloweens where we were trying to figure out how to get costumes over parkas when we lived in Sudbury decades ago.

It was All Hallow's Eve, a Celtic Druidic recognition of the "thin place" between this life and the next, coopted by Christians. Along with All Hallow's Eve the church celebrated All Saints (November 1) and All Souls (November 2).

This got me thinking about the exhibition, Death: Life's Greatest Mystery, which we attended at the Royal Ontaro Museum earlier this year. It was so popular on the free admission day that the line-up went down the block and well around the corner. At the time I wrote that it was fascinating to see families there, with parents explaining to children what they were seeing. A lot has been said about living in a death-denying culture, but not in this crowd. 

Death is a profound mystery and a grim reality for all creatures. We do our best as humans to create rituals of meaning and as Christians we affirm our hope that because of Jesus' death and resurrection we are eternal beings. I've included a few images from the exhibition for your perusal. I quite like the notion of being buried in a death boat to take my on my final earthly voyage but I doubt my family could me convinced.