Each morning when I wake up, I do New York Times Wordle and pray while I read the news. I usually read 3 well known (but shall remain nameless) news apps. I take a look at Top Stories, World, Local and Entertainment. These stories are filled reports of wildfires in Canada, Spain, France, Greece, Maui, mainland USA, Italy.
In this month of particular focus on creation, do we find articles about the fires in Russia, China, Middle East, central Africa? I want to pray for all who are affected by wildfires (and other disasters of nature). I couldn’t find any articles about wildfires in these areas the 3 news apps. It was only when I did an internet search that I found anything.
For the first time, it struck me just how much the news is filtered. I suppose many of you have already realized this. We condescendingly claim that news from certain countries is controlled by their government. But is our news any different?
I know that we can’t get all the news from every country but… who does the filtering? What filters do they use? Do they report on what we are interested in or what we need to know? And who decides what we need to know?
One well-known politician talks about ‘fake news’. To be sure, all news is reported from a certain perspective. Does that make it fake? Maybe we should read news from a variety of perspectives? Just to make sure we have our bases covered.
We need to keep our wits about us as we read or watch the news. We need to read with a grain of salt.
In Genesis, God gave humans stewardship of his creation. We have not been good stewards, but we can repent by turning from our old slothful ways and turn toward loving care and thoughtful stewardship of all God allows us to enjoy. We need to think about those who come after us. What are we leaving them with?
...in everything that's living, there is a promise of a Love: planted in the seeds below and in the stars above. We must listen to it's message. Become faithful stewards In These Times. https://vimeo.com/356232009/d84f7c1e05?share=copy
All Creation is groaning, waiting for us to realize the fullness of who we are so that we.might be effective change makers and bring about justice and healing on the Earth as it is in Heaven.
May the collective agreement in prayer, spur us onto right action, coming from a place of Stillness as we wait for God's 'how' in our unknowing. Thank you.
Thank you, Diana, for making us aware of this Season of Creation. I love the prayers you’ve included. Together, perhaps we can stop those who put their profits ahead of God’s creation.
For almost four years two friends and I have met month to each share a haiku we wrote and a reflection (haibun) on each others haiku. This idea of celebrating nature and the cycles of nature was a part of our conversation today. I guess we we’re aligned on something bigger and we didn’t even know it.
Solstice
Summer solstice morn
Otter, blue heron, marmot
We greet the season
(Inspired by standing on the banks of an Idaho river this past summer solstice and having a blue heron, marmot and river otter join me to watch the sunrise.) 🌅☀️🌞
Does this liturgical season have anything to do with the Jewish High holy days, which are themselves oriented around the end and the beginning of the agricultural year and also commemorate, in part, the creation of the world?
You know, I don't think so. But I love this. That's a meaningful connection we can build upon to make the Seasons a more inclusive liturgical celebration and reflection with Christians and Jews. (Something I've hoped for!)
The original Day of Prayer came from an Eastern Orthodox bishop -- and their liturgical year begins on September 1, drawing, I believe from the tradition that Jesus preached in the synagogue in Nazareth around that time. (Western Christians begin their year on the first Sunday of Advent, four weeks in advance of Christmas -- moveable date)
Today is our fiftieth wedding anniversary. For many years we dreamed of taking a Mediterranean Cruise to celebrate this milestone but learning about the environmental impacts of the cruise ship industry has caused us to revise our plans. Consequently we are enjoying a few days staycation anniversary celebration closer to home. (Downtown Vancouver isn’t such a bad place to be!)
Still it’s a bit baffling to us how so many folks lament climate change one moment and climb on a transatlantic flight the next. It sometimes feels like environmental concerns and travel aspirations occupy separate compartments in our minds! These decisions are difficult but important. Is it fair to say that our societal values seem a bit dissociative at this point.
What beautiful quotes on creation and prayers. I am thinking of an article I read this week online in National Geo about how the bishops in Ireland are proposing that each parish put aside 30% of their land for pollinators. I'm not Catholic but I sure smiled at this and thought it was a super cool thing for a church to do. I grew up in Bible churches and never heard anything even close proposed to honor the natural world.
As we begin this season of Creation, I looked back over the news for last month. Creation-related articles have not been hard to find. Some of the articles highlighted the sad news of devastation by wildfires (unbelievably, some set intentionally), flooding, hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes, algae blooms. Some highlighted the innovations we have made in trying to repair or slow down the deterioration we have caused. Innovations such as:
- cattle grazing on harvested potato fields; providing natural fertilizer and reducing the need to claim more land for cattle farming
- Ecological corridors
- Fast Forest seed pods to increase post-fire reforestation
- Breeding cattle to release less methane
- Promoting lawns that are more natural and require fewer resources (water, cutting) than many current lawns
- Creation of more sustainability careers to meet the demand of young people
- Increased move from oil and gas HVAC to heat pumps
- Waterfront homes tap into lakes for cheaper geothermal heating
- WasteShark- used in Toronto harbour to remove waste and micro plastics from the water
These are reasons to have hope. Now is the time to assess our use of natural resources (energy, water, food, air, etc), financial support of sustainability initiatives and help for those whose access to healthy resources is limited.
I love this hopeful post! I think it would be fantastic if congregations and other sorts of local communities would agitate, organize, and fund raise for such initiatives. Supporting and sharing innovators and their innovations seems so positive!
Thank you for attention to Season of Creation. Your prayers of intersession are welcome, look forward to each day. God, who listens to every living thing, Help us listen as you do. Amen.
Each morning when I wake up, I do New York Times Wordle and pray while I read the news. I usually read 3 well known (but shall remain nameless) news apps. I take a look at Top Stories, World, Local and Entertainment. These stories are filled reports of wildfires in Canada, Spain, France, Greece, Maui, mainland USA, Italy.
In this month of particular focus on creation, do we find articles about the fires in Russia, China, Middle East, central Africa? I want to pray for all who are affected by wildfires (and other disasters of nature). I couldn’t find any articles about wildfires in these areas the 3 news apps. It was only when I did an internet search that I found anything.
For the first time, it struck me just how much the news is filtered. I suppose many of you have already realized this. We condescendingly claim that news from certain countries is controlled by their government. But is our news any different?
I know that we can’t get all the news from every country but… who does the filtering? What filters do they use? Do they report on what we are interested in or what we need to know? And who decides what we need to know?
One well-known politician talks about ‘fake news’. To be sure, all news is reported from a certain perspective. Does that make it fake? Maybe we should read news from a variety of perspectives? Just to make sure we have our bases covered.
We need to keep our wits about us as we read or watch the news. We need to read with a grain of salt.
But that’s just what I think. What do you think?
In Genesis, God gave humans stewardship of his creation. We have not been good stewards, but we can repent by turning from our old slothful ways and turn toward loving care and thoughtful stewardship of all God allows us to enjoy. We need to think about those who come after us. What are we leaving them with?
Thank you Diana. This is food for the soul. And I love the quote from the poem Aurora Leigh; I've used it many times!
...in everything that's living, there is a promise of a Love: planted in the seeds below and in the stars above. We must listen to it's message. Become faithful stewards In These Times. https://vimeo.com/356232009/d84f7c1e05?share=copy
Amen, amen, A-MEN!
Thank you for this post Diana
I will forward to a chair of our church green team
Other churches have started them in the past few years
We run a monthly styrofoam recycling event and next hope to launch a Tree Keepers program
For the first time at the church picnic we used compostable dishes
My new bike is electric so now many days I spend car less.
I think care for the Earth is a way to bring churches together
All Creation is groaning, waiting for us to realize the fullness of who we are so that we.might be effective change makers and bring about justice and healing on the Earth as it is in Heaven.
May the collective agreement in prayer, spur us onto right action, coming from a place of Stillness as we wait for God's 'how' in our unknowing. Thank you.
Thank you, Diana, for making us aware of this Season of Creation. I love the prayers you’ve included. Together, perhaps we can stop those who put their profits ahead of God’s creation.
Love your photos.
For almost four years two friends and I have met month to each share a haiku we wrote and a reflection (haibun) on each others haiku. This idea of celebrating nature and the cycles of nature was a part of our conversation today. I guess we we’re aligned on something bigger and we didn’t even know it.
Solstice
Summer solstice morn
Otter, blue heron, marmot
We greet the season
(Inspired by standing on the banks of an Idaho river this past summer solstice and having a blue heron, marmot and river otter join me to watch the sunrise.) 🌅☀️🌞
Does this liturgical season have anything to do with the Jewish High holy days, which are themselves oriented around the end and the beginning of the agricultural year and also commemorate, in part, the creation of the world?
You know, I don't think so. But I love this. That's a meaningful connection we can build upon to make the Seasons a more inclusive liturgical celebration and reflection with Christians and Jews. (Something I've hoped for!)
The original Day of Prayer came from an Eastern Orthodox bishop -- and their liturgical year begins on September 1, drawing, I believe from the tradition that Jesus preached in the synagogue in Nazareth around that time. (Western Christians begin their year on the first Sunday of Advent, four weeks in advance of Christmas -- moveable date)
Thank you for a wonderful start to the season of creation! I am enjoying rereading Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul by John Philip Newell. ❤️
Today is our fiftieth wedding anniversary. For many years we dreamed of taking a Mediterranean Cruise to celebrate this milestone but learning about the environmental impacts of the cruise ship industry has caused us to revise our plans. Consequently we are enjoying a few days staycation anniversary celebration closer to home. (Downtown Vancouver isn’t such a bad place to be!)
Still it’s a bit baffling to us how so many folks lament climate change one moment and climb on a transatlantic flight the next. It sometimes feels like environmental concerns and travel aspirations occupy separate compartments in our minds! These decisions are difficult but important. Is it fair to say that our societal values seem a bit dissociative at this point.
What beautiful quotes on creation and prayers. I am thinking of an article I read this week online in National Geo about how the bishops in Ireland are proposing that each parish put aside 30% of their land for pollinators. I'm not Catholic but I sure smiled at this and thought it was a super cool thing for a church to do. I grew up in Bible churches and never heard anything even close proposed to honor the natural world.
As we begin this season of Creation, I looked back over the news for last month. Creation-related articles have not been hard to find. Some of the articles highlighted the sad news of devastation by wildfires (unbelievably, some set intentionally), flooding, hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes, algae blooms. Some highlighted the innovations we have made in trying to repair or slow down the deterioration we have caused. Innovations such as:
- cattle grazing on harvested potato fields; providing natural fertilizer and reducing the need to claim more land for cattle farming
- Ecological corridors
- Fast Forest seed pods to increase post-fire reforestation
- Breeding cattle to release less methane
- Promoting lawns that are more natural and require fewer resources (water, cutting) than many current lawns
- Creation of more sustainability careers to meet the demand of young people
- Increased move from oil and gas HVAC to heat pumps
- Waterfront homes tap into lakes for cheaper geothermal heating
- WasteShark- used in Toronto harbour to remove waste and micro plastics from the water
These are reasons to have hope. Now is the time to assess our use of natural resources (energy, water, food, air, etc), financial support of sustainability initiatives and help for those whose access to healthy resources is limited.
But that’s just what I think. What do you think?
I love this hopeful post! I think it would be fantastic if congregations and other sorts of local communities would agitate, organize, and fund raise for such initiatives. Supporting and sharing innovators and their innovations seems so positive!
Thank you for attention to Season of Creation. Your prayers of intersession are welcome, look forward to each day. God, who listens to every living thing, Help us listen as you do. Amen.