A little prayer inspired by a daily chore and the mysteries that happen as my food and garden waste transforms into fertile soil.
Bless these scraps these left behind treasures. Bless this little pile of transformation where death and life intermingle and miracles happen. Amen. - Wendy Janzen
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Our August worship gathering began with a picnic, moved into a tree identification walk, and ended with our worship gathering. We took time this month to better get to know the trees who host us each month at Bechtel Park. Among the trees we identified were three varieties of oaks, black walnut, beech, ash, black cherry, maples, ironwood, hemlock, and willow. Our worship theme was inspired by this blog post written by an acquaintance of mine, Ragan Sutterfield, called the Hospitality of Oaks. “The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day.” - Genesis 18:1 Ragan points out that oaks are the most hospitable trees. They provide acorns, of course, to feed birds and squirrels. But their generosity extends far beyond that. Oaks are the exclusive larval host plant for over a hundred different butterfly and moth species. That means that the caterpillars of these insects can only eat the leaves of oak trees. Such an abundance of caterpillars also means an abundance of food for birds, many of which rely on them to feed their young. The bark and branches of the oak is also a favourable place for other life to grow, from lichen and moss to ferns. The hospitality of oaks is not only on the outside, either. As they mature, oaks tend to hollow out, creating a space for animals in the enclosure of the tree’s healthy and living outer layers. Given their abundant generosity, it was a grove of oaks that were the real hosts of Abraham’s encounter with God at Mamre. It was the oaks that provided a hospitable space for Abraham’s tent, and in turn created a hospitable space for him to encounter God through welcoming three visiting strangers. Abraham was only able to extend hospitality to the visitors because he first received hospitality from the oaks. During our wandering time, we were invited to engage with a tree - any kind of tree. Reflect on its hospitality, and the gifts it has to offer. Or reflect more generally on the hospitality this forest offers you today, or recall a memory of a particular tree that has nurtured you in a particular way. In all of this, how does the hospitality of trees invite us to encounter God, and God's hospitality toward us? What can we offer in return? Look: See how
the morning sun touches this one patch of leaves, just so. Light, bringing colour, illuminating space, drawing my attention to this moment. Now it's shifted, diffused, sun climbs higher, slipping behind clouds. Had I missed this moment, would anything have changed? So many similar fleeting moments, like the squirrel dancing in the supple branches atop a willow or the bumblebee buzzing by on her way to breakfast. This morning, I pay attention, notice the light, the life, the intersection of the universe and my existence here in this moment, in this ordinary place. I find myself in sacred space, and am changed. - Wendy Janzen Water, Wind, Earth & Fire - the elements that are the building blocks of all life. Elements is also the word that we use for the wine and bread of communion. Our July worship gathering connected and played with the interconnection between the communion elements and the elements of the earth/God’s provision in the natural world. Thomas Merton said that the elements can act as spiritual guides to help us on our sacred journey. The qualities of these elements invite us to pray with them, helping us to know the nature of God. Henriette shared this quote from Barbara Brown Taylor: “To lie with my back flat on the fragrant ground is to receive a transfusion of the same power that makes the green blade rise. To remember that I am dirt and to dirt I shall return is to be given my life back again, if only for one present moment at a time. Where other people see acreage, timber, soil, and river frontage, I see God's body, or at least as much of it as I am able to see. In the only wisdom I have at my disposal, the Creator does not live apart from creation but spans and suffuses it. When I take a breath, God's Holy Spirit enters me. When a cricket speaks to me, I talk back. Like everything else on earth, I am an embodied soul, who leaps to life when I recognize my kin.” We wandered, reflecting on the elements, and were invited to respond afterwards by sharing the elements together in the ritual of communion. On our altar, we had the elements of life - bread which comes from earth, juice filled with water, a feather representing air, and a flame of fire - this is the stuff of which we, and all living things are made. -Have you ever heard
the evening song of a hermit thrush drifting across a still lake? Their whimsical trills weave and bounce through the treetops and reverberate joy for living this moment. I imagine God must have been so delighted when She heard it the first time that She closed her eyes and whispered: so good! - Wendy Janzen On this mundane
Monday morning when the same sun shines in my window and the same birds sing their same songs from the same trees, I gently wake to this new day I've never lived before and give thanks. - Wendy Janzen Wherever you find yourself this month, take time to notice how or where God shows up. Last month I discovered a lovely children's book called Sometimes I Feel Like a River, by Danielle Daniel and Josée Bisaillon. It inspired me to ask the question of myself, 'what in nature do I feel like today?' It then inspired me to dig further, and see if the same metaphor could apply to God. I offer these questions to you this month as a spiritual practice. Take time this month to go for a mindful walk outdoors and see what draws your attention. Using your imagination, complete the sentence 'sometimes I feel like...' (a river, the sky, a snail...). Next, do it again with this variation 'sometimes God/Spirit feels like...' What insights arise? How does creation mirror things about who you are or who God is? Consider recording your reflections your in a journal, maybe turn it into a poem, draw/paint a picture, or express your insights through body movement. Here is a sample that I wrote (and you can find another in the previous post). Sometimes, I feel like a lake, deep, wide, full. I can hold it all, I ride the waves, I feel buoyant, I dive deep. Sometimes, God feels like a lake, deep, wide, full. God holds mystery, crashes and churns with intimidating indignation, shimmers with wonder, is fluid and calm. I can only see a part of the whole of God. Sometimes, I feel like the sky,
open, light, and vast. At times, I am clear; I see the big picture and hold things lightly. At times, all seems clouded, heavy to the point of bursting and I shed tears that fall to the earth. Sometimes, God feels like the sky, open, light, and vast. At times, beautiful, inviting, approachable like a sunset. At times, thundering, and I watch from a safe distance. All encompassing, close and far, breathing life, connecting everything. Our June gathering offered opportunity to reflect on the summer solstice - the sun’s pause, and on the sun’s fire. With forest fires raging across Canada this month how are we feeling?
At this point in the year, we celebrate the sun's strength, heat, light and energy. Due to this, the season of summer is often associated with the element of fire. Fire has been on my mind a lot this month, and for many of us that felt heavy, especially when smoke filled our skies and affected our air quality earlier in the month. Fire can be devastatingly destructive, and fire can be beneficial. Wildfires have always been a natural part of healthy forest ecosystems. In natural cycles, fire releases nutrients for the soil, opens the canopy, and cracks opens seeds of certain trees that require heat to germinate. It is only since the advent of clear cutting, fire suppression, and climate change that extreme fires have become so destructive. As we approach the season of summer, I invite us to reflect on fire - its benefits and its harm. And as we remember how fire has destroyed vast sections of forest, I want to share these words paraphrased from 1 Corinthians 12:26 - If one part suffers, all suffer together; and if one part rejoices, all rejoice together. We are all one body - us and the earth, the forest, the water, the air. We are all interconnected and all part of each other in a web of belonging. Take time to pause and reflect on the impacts of the sun, fire, and light on our lives, and on the earth. Hold the paradoxes of hope and despair, of brokenness and beauty, of suffering and rejoicing. What are you seeing, feeling, hearing, thinking? What is this place sharing with you today? Where is God showing up? Our May worship gathering invited us to reflect on the hospitality we receive from God and from the Earth, and how we offer hospitality in return as an act of reciprocity.
As part of the readings & reflections time, the following was shared by Leah Bowman: Robin Wall Kimmerer speaks in her book Braiding Sweetgrass about reciprocity; the idea that there should be a give and take between humans and non humans. She sometimes refers to this idea as the Honorable Harvest, where you only take what you need. For far too long, humans have been doing a whole lot of taking; too much taking; taking to the point of extinction; taking to the point of resource depletion; taking to the point, as some may say, of no return. I'd like to read a couple of quotes from Braiding Sweetgrass where Robin reflects on this concept to get us thinking about this idea. “...all flourishing is mutual. We need the berries and the berries need us. Their gifts multiply by our care for them, and dwindle from our neglect. We are bound in a covenant of reciprocity, a pact of mutual responsibility to sustain those who sustain us.” (p 382) “The moral covenant of reciprocity calls us to honor our responsibilities for all we have been given, for all that we have taken. It’s our turn now, long overdue. … Whatever our gift, we are called to give it and to dance for the renewal of the world. In return for the privilege of breath.” (p 384) Today we want to reflect on what it means to engage in reciprocity and hospitality with the earth & beings that are other than us. What does it mean to be neighborly to the earth and other beings? The Voice translation of the golden rule in Luke 6:31 reads: "Think of the kindness you wish others would show you; do the same for them.” What does it look like to extend Jesus' invitation to both our human and our more-than-human neighbours? How do you show kindness to all beings? How do you see reciprocity & hospitality happening in this place, at this moment right before you? What are the ways that you are currently engaging in reciprocity and hospitality in your life, with your little corner of the world? Are there things that you are currently doing or wish to do that would foster a spirit of reciprocity & hospitality? At the end of our gathering we each took a little handful of black-oil sunflower seeds and left them behind somewhere as a symbolic act of reciprocity. |
AuthorReflections, poetry, prayers, photos, and resources written by Wendy Janzen unless otherwise noted. Archives
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