Consider, the Grand Canyon, the Smokey Mountains in Fall, a starry sky at night in the countryside: these things witness to God, the living center of the universe and all else. But New York? Washington? Kabul? These cities range from scary to great, but bear witness to humanity more than God.
A faith centered on the Cross should give us deeper insight into human brokenness — alienation from the natural world, estrangement from the creatures that share our planet. This is the brokenness underlying resistance, indifference and apathy in the face of the ecological crisis.
“We value your input and we know you hold us accountable”
I have come to think of this narrative as evidence of the creativity of God delighting in God’s own creation—a sort of cosmic playfulness at the level of ecological communion, connection, and transformation. The grace that I find in the story of the salmon is evidence to me of deep, sacred connections of life-sustaining nourishment at multiple levels.
Walking along, I found myself thinking about healthcare. With 45.7 million uninsured — roughly one out of 6 Americans — I tried to imagine who that one vulnerable person was: the kid on the scooter? The guy with the guitar? The woman watching the hawk? Strange to think how easy it is in a public park — and how hard, apparently, in a town hall meeting — to recognize that what benefits some of us benefits us all, that when we work for the common good we’re all better off.
From the Church of England: The Archbishop of Canterbury shares concerns for our planet in the new Ready Steady Slow videocast – encouraging … sign
In the yard of the abandoned house next door (awaiting new construction), grass and shrubs have grown up, and a family of deer has taken up residence there. There’s now so much growing next door that they don’t even come into my yard any more. The rabbits, on the other hand, have eaten down just about whatever will grow – and yet there is something lovely, peaceful about them.
How can your church help make a long term difference to the environment and in the short run help people to simplify their lives?