FURRY FRIENDS

Ross, Isabel and their dog Emma enjoy the Blessing of Animals service at St. Augustine of Canterbury in Toronto on Oct. 1. At right, the Rev. Megan Jull and her son Matthew enjoy a moment with Squeaks the guinea pig.

GREAT & SMALL

The blessing of animals service at St. James Cathedral on Sept. 30 attracts a large crowd. The Rev. Canon Dr. Stephen Fields and the Very Rev. Peter Wall blessed all manner of pets and other animals, including Mirvish and Northrup (at left), two Clydesdale horses of the Toronto Police Service Mounted Unit. In addition to the blessing, One Health Partners gave a demonstration with therapy dogs and a miniature horse that are taken to hospitals and seniors’ homes to visit people with health issues and those in palliative care.

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Kit Woods, who has a transgender son, was screamed at and told she would go to hell at a protest in Barrie on Sept. 20. Despite the encounter, she says she would do it again.

“A hundred per cent,” she says. “I feel in my guts and soul that I have to because of my son and all the other trans kids. I don’t want them to have to face this – they’ve been through enough. I will always, always go.”

Protests were held across the country by people who were opposed to sexual orientation and gender identity education in schools. The protesters wanted school boards to implement policies that would require young people to get parental consent before teachers could use their preferred first names and pronouns. The policies are currently in place in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. The counter-protests were held to support LGBTQ2S+ students and oppose the policies.

Ms. Woods, who went to the counter-protest in Barrie with her sister, the Rev. Canon Erin Martin, incumbent of All Saints, King City, says requiring young people to get parental consent before teachers can use their preferred first names and pronouns is not only misguided but dangerous. “In an ideal world, all kids would have the support of their families. Kids would be able to tell them things honestly and truthfully. But for the majority of trans kids, they do not have supportive homes. Most of them are afraid to even suggest to their family that they’re something other than what their family wants them to be. School is the only place where they can be free to express who they are, to have it be acknowledged and for them to feel like human beings.

“When my son came out, he was afraid and didn’t know how to tell us, so he came out at school first, using his new name and pronoun. I didn’t know that until he was ready to tell me. When he did, we were supportive. But other kids can face violence or get kicked out of their homes. Almost every single trans kid that I’ve met has tried to commit suicide or contemplated committing suicide, including my son. The suicide rate among trans children is so high. If those kids go to school and they’re forced to hide because they can’t use their names or pronouns for fear of their parents will find out, they will resort to taking their lives. Children will die. It really is life or death. I wish other parents could know that. It’s not their rights being taken away: it’s the kids’ rights to be safe and to live.”

She says the aggression of the protesters in Barrie shocked and disturbed her. The number of protesters far outnumbered the counter-protesters.

“A woman came and stood in front of Erin and I with her thick Bible,” she recalls. “She screamed at us about going to hell. At one point I was afraid she was going to hit Erin with the Bible. There were other people – red-faced and in our faces. Thank goodness for the police. They broke up some really tense moments.”

One moment in particular was seared into her mind. “I always try to see that people are good, and that perhaps people just don’t understand. So if there was an opportunity to say something to someone that might reach them, I always – maybe naively – wanted to do that. There was a man nearby who was on the side of the protesters, saying ‘Protect our kids, protect our kids.’ And I thought maybe I could respond to him. I said, ‘Your kids are protected. Mine isn’t. My son needed protection when he was coming out, when he was transitioning.’ And the man looked at me and said, ‘If your kid was going to transition, he should have killed himself first.’ I couldn’t believe he said that. I couldn’t believe that came out of someone’s mouth.”

Despite the hate directed at her and the other counter-protesters, she says she was glad she went. “People needed to stand there with everyone else. At one point I was with a small group of mothers who had trans kids and we were standing side by side with tears in our eyes, saying protect our children too. It was so moving but very, very difficult at the same time.”

She was encouraged by the turnout of Anglicans at other counter-protests in the diocese. “I see a lot of Anglican communities coming together purposefully. I think it’s really important because Anglicans haven’t shied away from standing on the right side of what we know God wants us to do – love our neighbour and be in community and fellowship with each other. I just hope that these issues come into the hearts of other Anglicans, outside of the ones who are already affirming.”

In Toronto, Bishop Kevin Robertson and other Anglicans took part in a counter-protest that started at the 519 Community Centre on Church Street and made its way through the city’s streets before ending on the west side of the front lawn of Queen’s Park, where more than 1,000 people gathered to listen to speeches and voice their support for LGBTQ2S+ students. In addition, Church of the Redeemer, Bloor St. was open for people who wanted to rest in a safe place.

The counter-protesters at Queen’s Park outnumbered the protesters, who gathered on the north lawn of the legislative building. Large numbers of counter-protesters turned out in other cities such as Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver.

Chris Ambidge, a member of Redeemer and a long-time advocate of LGBTQ2S+ rights in the Church, took part in the walk and counter-protest at Queen’s Park. “I’ve been pushing for queer equality and status since 1985. It’s important for me to stand up and be there when there are public expressions of homophobia and transphobia happening. I needed to be with a group of people who were saying no, and saying it loudly.”

He says adults have a duty to protect students as they go through their formative years and are questioning their sexuality and gender identity. “People who are in their teens are very vulnerable and figuring themselves out. It’s incumbent upon those of us who have gone through that time of life to protect them and make their growing up safe.”

He says Canada has become much more accepting of gender diversity and the diversity of sexual expression, but advocates need to remain vigilant. “Jesus has always had preferential treatment for the downtrodden and the weak, and that’s what we have to do too.”

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Now in its 35^th year, the St. Thomas Poetry Series will host a reading on Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Thomas, 383 Huron St., Toronto. The 35^th book in its publication series, The Gravity of Love by David Waltner-Toews, will be launched.

Mr. Waltner-Toews, recently named to the Order of Canada, is a distinguished veterinary epidemiologist from the University of Guelph. He has published several books on pandemics (most recently, A Conspiracy of Chickens and On Pandemics), in addition to books of poetry and short stories. He will be introduced by Hildi Froese Tiessen, a pioneering scholar in Canadian Mennonite literature who taught for many years at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo.

Also reading on this program will be Alice Major, past president of the League of Canadian Poets and Edmonton’s first poet laureate. She is the author of a dozen highly regarded books of poetry, two novels for young adults and a collection of essays about poetry and science. This will be the Toronto launch for her latest collection, Knife on Stone (Turnstone Press, 2023). She will be introduced by freelance editor, literary consultant, poet and publisher Allan Briesmaster of Thornhill.

A reception with book table will follow in the parish hall. If you are unable to attend in person, the reading will be livestreamed on St. Thomas’s YouTube channel.

For more information about the series or to order The Gravity of Love, visit www.stthomaspoetryseries.com.

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Rather than stay silent about the incident, the Rev. Randy Williams, the interim priest-in-charge of the church, wrote a letter to the local newspaper, the Uxbridge Cosmos.

“Silence means consent,” he says, explaining why he wrote the letter. “It means that someone has done this to us, and we’re accepting it. Or we’re afraid. And that’s one thing we didn’t want to condone.”

The church’s rainbow-coloured flag was cut down and thrown into some nearby bushes. It had been attached by wires to the church’s outdoor sign. The congregation had put it up in June in support of Pride month and LGBTQ2S+ people. The church decided to keep it up for a few more months to honour and recognize the community.

Upon arrival at the church in early August, parishioners noted the flag’s absence. When they learned that their flag had been vandalized, they were saddened and upset, says Mr. Williams. “The mandate of our church is to accept all. We are a loving, caring, Christian community aiming to live the gospel.”

After speaking with the police, the mayor and the local councillor, he wrote the letter to the newspaper on behalf of the congregation. “We wanted to be careful how we did it,” he explains. “We didn’t want to be seen as angry about it, but we couldn’t remain silent, either.”

He hoped the letter would foster understanding in the community. A recent report by Statistics Canada noted a 64 per cent increase in hate crimes in Canada targeting individuals over their sexual orientation. In June, a number of church leaders, including Bishop Andrew Asbil, signed a statement denouncing the hate crimes and affirming their support for LGBTQ2S+ people.

“This flag stood as a symbol of the church’s commitment to inclusivity, diversity, welcome and love for all members of our community,” Mr. Williams wrote in his letter. “Its cutting down was not merely a material loss but a blow to the principles that we hold dear – acceptance, understanding, appreciation and respect – all those characteristics that God encourages us to live.”

The loss of the flag “left a void in the heart of our congregation,” he wrote. “It is particularly disheartening that such an act of hate occurred within our local community. However, we choose to respond with resilience and the determination to foster unity. Uxbridge is a community known for its kindness and compassion, and this incident does not define who we are. Instead, let it serve as a reminder of the work that remains to be done in promoting understanding and acceptance for all individuals, regardless of their background, identity or sexuality.”

The letter concluded, “In times like these, it is our shared values of empathy, compassion, faith in a God who loves us all unconditionally, and unity that will see us through. We believe that by addressing these challenges head-on, we can create a community that truly reflects the love and respect we hold for one another. Our Pride flag(s) are and will fly again.”

Mr. Williams says the response to the letter has been positive. “People who have read the letter have stopped by the church and, along with our neighbours, said that they are standing with us. I was at the foodbank last week and people came up to me and said, we read your letter, thank you for saying that.”

He says it was important that the letter didn’t demonize the person who cut down the flag. The person’s identity remains unknown. “We don’t know the person’s story. It could be somebody who is triggered by the flag, it could be someone who has their own struggles, it could have been anybody. We pray for them.”

He encourages other parishes that have experienced similar incidents to speak out. “Don’t be silent about it, because silence means we’re supportive of what has happened, even though we’re not. We may think it’s happening to just us, but often it’s not – it’s happening to other churches and places of worship as well. By speaking out, we’re building external, caring communities; we’re building support. To reiterate a question: what would Jesus do?”

And the church is flying the Pride flag again – several of them, in fact. The parish has purchased several small flags that are out on the lawn. Mr. Williams used to take them in every evening, but not anymore; they remain outside, flying in the breeze. “They’re out there for all to see that we are seriously a safe and accepting place for whomsoever will,” he says.

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The creation narratives give no hint that humanity should plunder or endlessly aim to consume as much as possible. The achievement of creation is celebrated by God’s desire to share its abundance. After giving over the birds of the air, fish of the sea, creatures of the earth and livestock, God blesses humanity and gives them care of all that is good. In the New Testament, we read in 1 Peter that there is great responsibility in having dominion, as it does not give license to domineer, but rather to be “examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:3).

For most of my time as the director of Stewardship Development, the focus of my effort has been on assisting parishes to create an atmosphere of generosity among their membership to enable the resourcing of ministry. This means helping people understand their own giftedness and how those gifts can be shared among the church community and beyond. Unfortunately, this has been interpreted by some to mean fundraising for the Church. Or, more inaccurately, to make people feel uncomfortable that they are not giving enough. This is an unfortunate interpretation of what I try to impart. After all, what is a steward? They are the managers of the household, tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that adequate provision is made for the various routines necessary to run day-to-day operations.

The Church is not interested just in your time, talent and treasure – the oft repeated chorus of stewardship educators. These common elements are important in helping members of the Church understand their own giftedness and how that relates to supporting ministry. There is a fourth, however, that I have only just begun thinking about in earnest: terrain. Perhaps it’s because of the climate crisis or the relentless clutter in my own house, but the care of God’s creation needs to be at the top of our stewardship list for the others to matter.

I am reminded of the Marks of Mission as adopted by the Anglican Communion, in which the fifth states: “to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the Earth.” There needs to be some acknowledgement that human beings, including Christians, have not been particularly good at living up to this standard. We were given care of the Earth’s bounty, and we have done a remarkable job of mucking things up.

This lack of regard for creation is symptomatic of our fallen nature. There is a reason we confess our shortcomings at church. We have indeed failed, and there is too much that we have done and left undone. But there is hope.

Climate scientists tell us that there is still time to reverse the centuries of neglect we have imposed on creation and avoid the worst that climate change might mean for humanity. Next month I will review some of the ways the Church can step up and demonstrate our stewardship of terrain.

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Acclaimed science journalist, author and playwright Alanna Mitchell pulled no punches as she spelled out the impact of rising carbon emissions at a Church of the Redeemer, Bloor St. “EarthSong” celebration of the natural world, held on Oct. 1. The event was the first in a month-long Season of Creation series held at the Toronto parish and was organized by its Creation Matters team. It attracted 75 people in person as well as others who watched it on YouTube.

The event wove together a creative blend of scripture readings, poetry and music ranging from traditional hymns to songs by musicians such as Marvin Gaye and the band Tears for Fears, all of it focused around the Earth and its elements.

Ms. Mitchell is a Christian and veteran journalist who has written for The New York Times and The Globe and Mail. Her book about the alarming state of the world’s oceans, Sea Sick: The Global Ocean in Crisis, became an international bestseller, then was transformed into a play performed by Ms. Mitchell to audiences around the world.

“We are at an unusual moment in our history,” she warned. “We’re putting carbon into the atmosphere faster than at any known time in the planet’s history. That carbon is throwing things out of sync. It’s not just that it’s gotten hotter. Or that the seasons have slid into forgetfulness about what they’re supposed to do. It’s not just the floods and the wildfires and the weird rains that flow down from the heavens like rivers. The real story is that all these disruptions are just the start of what’s to come if we don’t rein in our carbon emissions. I hear people talk about this ‘new normal’ that we’re in. This is not the new normal. Earth is just giving us a little taste of what’s to come. This is one little step on the way to a much more anarchic future whose rules we can’t even imagine, except that it will be unlikely to support life as we know it. I wish I were exaggerating. I am not.”

Ms. Mitchell’s talk was sobering at times, as she laid out basic facts about what she called the greatest challenge in human history. Yet she firmly rejected the idea that that it’s too late for us to heal our ailing planet. She noted that Canada has pledged to reduce its carbon emissions by 40 to 45 per cent, from the 2005 levels, by 2030. So far, a 6.4 per cent reduction has been reached, showing that some progress has been made, albeit not nearly enough. Emissions from producing electricity have dropped by more than half since 2005. However, oil and gas emissions are up more than 15 per cent.

We can listen to the voice of creation around four key elements, she noted, reflecting an ancient script familiar to people of faith: delighting in what the Earth offers us; lamenting what has gone wrong; moving beyond grief to heed the Earth’s call for healing; and finally, dedicating ourselves to act for the creation.

She recalled that at a recent gathering she attended of leading artists and activists from around the world, acclaimed Indian novelist Amitav Ghosh was asked if there was a shortcut to bring humanity back from the brink of climate chaos. His answer shocked the audience: “Plug into the communities of faith all around the world. They are already organized. They communicate with others. They tend to be interested in thinking about things bigger than their own lives.”

Ms. Mitchell told the Redeemer gathering, “He was talking about people like you. He was urging you not to give up, to believe in your own power. We people of faith know the power of story. We can write a new ending to this story. We can write a new narrative – a parable – to tell us what’s going on, based on love, joy, hope, possibility, success. It’s the one Moses’ people must have written thousands of years ago to let them follow him out of Egypt and out of the desert and into the promised land.”

In response to a question she’s often asked after performing her play – what should I do? – Ms. Mitchell says she flips the question around, challenging people to think about the gifts they have that can be put into action in response to the climate crisis.

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These concerns are very real. Many people are understandably worried about the challenges they face in their lives now and about what the future may hold.

Yet are we seeing the full picture when our minds slip into a mood of resentment and discontent?

Refugee advocate, writer and theologian Mary Jo Leddy unpacks the roots of much of our modern malaise in her powerful faith-filled book, Radical Gratitude. She identifies our society as one in which a sense of perpetual dissatisfaction is created, as we continually long for that which we don’t have. There can never be enough. “In gratitude, the vicious cycle of dissatisfaction with life is broken and we begin anew in the recognition of what we have rather than what we don’t, in the acknowledgement of who we are rather than who we aren’t,” says Ms. Leddy. “Gratitude is the foundation of faith in God as the Creator of all beings, great and small. It awakens the imagination to another way of being.”

Gratitude refers to the ability to show thanks for the things you have and the things you’re grateful for. It helps us get closer to God by recognizing the blessings in our lives and makes it easier to focus on the positive. “Always be rejoicing. Give thanks for everything.” (1Thessalonians 5:16,18)

Our faith can energize us to live differently, inspired by Jesus, who lived a life of radical gratitude, who freely gave of himself even up until his death, and whose actions inspired others to follow his example. Following Jesus enables us to be grateful for the unexpected gifts of God and the gifts that we take for granted all too often.

Gratitude can thus serve as the bedrock of our new life in Christ. Paul says, “Whatever you do… do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks.” (Colossians 3:17)

Many of us, of course, often give thanks for our blessings. The grace we say before meals serves as an example. Yet as with our faith overall, we can always do more to be thankful, to develop a mindset of gratitude, and to realize its transformative power.

We can start by being thankful for where we live. A recent analysis of 87 nations rated Canada as the second-best country in which to live, based on a range of factors including quality of life and cultural diversity. I’ve been lucky enough to visit 25 countries, in many cases with PWRDF, and as I’d get on the plane to go home, I’d say to myself, “I’ve had a terrific experience but am so thankful to be going home to Canada.” Yes, our country faces severe challenges, especially in terms of needing to improve the lives of millions of Canadians impacted by hunger, poor housing conditions and poverty. Gratitude is a powerful thing; it can help counter the sense of powerlessness that many of us feel in terms of changing our society — and of changing ourselves.

Indigenous writer Robin Wall Kimmerer stretches the boundary of gratitude in her book Braiding Sweetgrass. She outlines how her First Nation gives thanks for the elements of creation that sustain life: the water, the fish, the animals, the plants, the trees. Like Ms. Leddy, she reminds us that in our consumer society, a sense of contentment and gratitude is a radical proposition. “Gratitude doesn’t send you out shopping to find satisfaction; it comes as a gift rather than a commodity, subverting the foundation of the whole economy,” she notes. “That’s good medicine for land and people alike.”

Gratitude can become the foundation for both renewing ourselves and using its creative power to fashion something new in the world. It can start with something as simple as being grateful for all that has been given to us by God. As a new year approaches, why not make living out an attitude of gratitude one of your resolutions for 2024?

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There is a deepening awareness that there is more to the Incarnation than a focus on the historical Jesus. There are a plethora of theologians and clerics from across Christian denominations (Niels Gregersen, Elizabeth A. Johnson, Sallie McFague and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, to name just a few) who invite us to ponder how creation itself is enfolded into the Incarnation.

In the Word made flesh, we see the embodied expression of creation. Elizabeth A. Johnson puts it this way: “the Word of God’s embodied self became a creature of Earth, a complex unit of minerals and fluids, an item in the carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen cycles, a moment in the biological evolution of this planet. Jesus carried within himself ‘the signature of the supernovas and the geology and life history of the Earth.’”

In the Incarnation, science and faith intersect. The Gospel of John invites us into the deep mystery of the Incarnation in which creation is embedded into Christ’s nature. Creation emerges through him, “all things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being” (John 1:3). In addition, Christ is made of the material of creation, “and the Word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14a).

Can this understanding of the Incarnation can help us to see and experience the Earth as sacred? Can it help us to respond differently to the challenges facing the planet? Can it foster the emergence of an ecological ethic that transforms us into a voice of the planet and into good stewards of the Earth?

Advent is the perfect season to ponder these questions as we prepare to celebrate the inbreaking of God into the world over 2,000 years ago, and as we wait for Christ to break into our lives and the world in new ways.

One of our travelling companions during Advent is the prophet Isaiah. Speaking to the Israelites who have lost their way and are on the brink of catastrophe, he reminds them that idolatry is a path that leads only to self-destruction. Isaiah attempts to redirect them to the alternative path of hope and justice promised by God. For him, God is a God of hope, compassion, justice, peace, mercy, consolation and comfort.

During the second Sunday of Advent, we hear Isaiah say, “Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins” (Isaiah 40:1-2).

Isaiah calls out to us to turn to God and all will be well, because God who comforts us is with us.

Does God’s comfort include the Earth and its burning forests, its drying lakes, its endangered species, its flooded communities, its arid soil, its rising sea levels, its warming climate, its marginalized and vulnerable people?

What if the mystery unfolding for us in Advent is a new awareness that creation is enfolded into the Incarnation? What if this Advent we prepared our hearts to enter into the mystery of a deepening incarnation in which God’s breaking into the world extends into material existence?

What if in the Incarnation we see God’s love imprinted in nature? Might we begin to see that we are called to be a consoling and comforting presence to the Earth as Jesus is to us?

This Advent, may we awaken to a new awareness of the sacredness of the Earth.

Creation Matters is a new column in The Anglican.

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