Faith and Nature

Posts Tagged ‘faith’

Join Jan Steffe and me for a six week course titled Finding Joy and Generosity in Creation.  The class will look to the natural world and our experiences within it to better understand living with joy and generosity while surrounded by pain and scarcity. In response, we hope to rejoice in our responsibility and commit to generously caring for the resources with which God as entrusted us. The course will be offered at First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, 2407 Dana Street, Berkeley, CA,  starting Sunday January 10,  2010 at 11:30.  You can download the Winter Institute Program here, or register for the class here.

Where does  one find sacred spaces? Do you have to travel to some awe inspring location, or are there sacred places closer to your heart?  Does the grandeur of Yosemite Valley inspire a sense of sacred?  How about the lofty vastness of a cathedral or a mosque?  What about more mundane places?

I met recently with a friend of mine, a dancer with whom I am  collaborating on a dance and photography project, you can see some examples of the kind of work we’ll be creating here. We come from different cultures and religious traditions but we seem to share a common ground when it comes to understanding faith.

We stumbled onto a discussion of spirituality and sacredness. I found myself asking the question “what if everything around us is sacred, the coffee cups from which we were drinking, the table, and even our words?” What if even the profane words we speak are sacred?

What about socks hanging on the close line? I’m reminded about a the Carmelite Monk, brother Lawrence who is celebrated for his thoughts in a book Practicing the Presence of God.

I walk before God simply, in faith, with humility and with love; and I apply myself diligently to do nothing and think nothing which may displease Him.”

He was known for his profound peace and many came to seek spiritual guidance from him.

So what would happen if we treated everything as sacred? Would we be more mindful of the words that come out of our mouths? Would we treat our fellow human beings with more respect and dignity? Would we have more respect for the resources we extract from the planet? What do you think?

Contemplating Creation

On a recent hike in the High Sierra we chanced to come across this meadow which simply demanded that we slow down, and contemplate creation. There’s much to learn from simply taking a rest in a spot that has been untrammeled by the demands of our culture on time and resources. On the drive back through Yosemite I ran across this quote from Aldo Leopold which I think is appropriate:

… a land ethic changes the role of homo sapiens from conquerors of the land community to plain members and citizens of it. It implies respect for its fellow members, and also respect for the community as such

I find it encouraging when leaders of faith such as the Rev. James Jones, a prominent leader in the Church of England, make statements that will help map our future in terms of environmental stewardship.  Jim Wallis in Soujourner’s Magazine has the following quote from the Rev. Jones:

Just as we look back on previous times with incredulity and wonder how people, especially believers, could have not only condoned but succored the slave trade and slavery, so in later years I think subsequent generations, who will live consciously with the reality that the earth is not a limitless larder, will find it difficult to understand how we could have described ourselves so uncritically as: “consumers.”

I just finished reading the book Under Bright Wings by Peter Harris. This is a book that recounts the story of a family that take up a mission to start a nature preserve based on Christian principles.  As Peter states in the last few sentences of the book:

My only intention in recounting our experience is to encourage other Christians to take up the challenge, not least because they can see how partial and limited have been our own efforts. By virtue of God’s infinite creativity and compassion, is should not be difficult to discover ways to begin.

The book recounts some amazing experiences, as they share their faith and commitment with the community in which they that transplant themselves. From their start on an Estuary in Portugal, the program, known as A Rocha has expanded to a number of facilities throughout the world.