What do Truth and Reconciliation have to do with Creation?

At Tuesday's All Nations Canoe Journey, in one of the smaller canoes in our flotilla, the last of seven, I saw a familiar face. David Suzuki, scientist, broadcaster and environmental activist, sat in a canoe and waited along with the rest of our group to be welcomed ashore.

When our group was given a chance to speak, he was asked to say a few words. He spoke of the sacrifices that First Nations people have made to protect the land and their struggles to be included in conversations around development and resource extraction. He called us to learn from their example and join them in their work to protect the environment that sustains us.

He was not alone in this call as many of those who spoke called for more open and inclusive conversations to take place when it comes to development and resource extraction. These calls reflect the 5th Mark of Mission: To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and renew and sustain the life of the earth. The work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, while it is focused on the impact of Indian Residential Schools includes moving forward together towards right relationships of justice and respect between Nations, communities, individuals, but also with creation.

At this National Event, we listen to the stories of those who have been silenced as a first step of moving towards healing. Likewise, we must take the time to stop and listen to the voice of creation - through which our Creator speaks to us.

As a part of our apology for our complicity in the harm that was done through Residential Schools, the Anglican Church of Canada has made a commitment to listen to the stories of as many survivors of residential schools as possible. The truth of their experiences, which before was hidden, must be acknowledged. There are many ways that we can be part of this process of listening and education - whether it is in person, through written accounts or through other media that bring these stories into the light. First of all, we need to open our hearts to hear and be moved and even be broken so that out of all this suffering may come healing and this life that we share may be renewed.

Strong Emotions Come in Waves

This week's Truth and Reconciliation Commission National Event is now underway here in Vancouver. The All Nations Canoe Journey, from Vanier Park to False Creek, took place on Tuesday. Seven flotillas of boats made the trip down false creek, all in all hundreds of paddlers took part in the journey. The first flotilla included dignitaries from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as well as elders and chiefs of the Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh Nations on whose traditional, ancestral and unceded territory sits the City of Vancouver.

Each flotilla in turn asked the permission of these Nations to come ashore in order to meet and do the work of reconciliation. The flotillas were grouped by geographic area and began with those coming from the furthest away. Amongst those traveling the farthest were international indigenous guests from the United States, Mexico and Australia. Then followed other First Nations from across Canada and British Colombia. Along the shore were groups of people - many of them school children - cheering and showing their support for those making the journey.

Speakers from the canoes shared greetings, songs, hopes, fears, experiences and what they were looking for from this week's events. Many survivors spoke of the impact of Indian Residential Schools on their lives and the widespread harm it has caused individuals, families and communities. Many also spoke of the courage, determination and strength that enabled them to survive and to preserve and rebuild families and cultures in spite of these harmful policies. People of all ages, children, youth, adults and elders were all represented amongst the voices from the water and many raised passionate and eloquent calls for justice and healing for First Nations, Métis and Inuit people in Canada. In particular, strong calls were made to protect the land from irresponsible resource extraction and to find justice for the hundreds of missing and murdered aboriginal women from across Canada.

It was a haunting and stirring moment to be a part of. My heart was filled with many emotions as I listened to the songs and words of the speakers. Someone once told me that strong emotions come in waves, and the metaphor seemed especially appropriate for yesterday's events. I sat with these waves of emotion in a borrowed dragonboat under the flag of the Anglican Church of Canada and while listening many thoughts came to me. I thought about the Gospel which inspires me to work for justice and healing. I thought about my family going back generations who have been settlers and immigrants searching for a home. I thought about my own search for a home that has brought me to this place, but through which I am still connected to the land where I grew up. I thought about the many different people who have found a home here and those who are still without one. I thought about those who have lost their homes and the children who were taken from theirs to residential schools by institutions of which I am a part and from which I have benefited. I thought about what it means to give and to receive hospitality. Then in the midst of all my thoughts and preoccupations, we were welcomed ashore in this place by the peoples who have called this place home for generations to do the work of reconciliation.

For more pictures from this event, check out the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster's facebook page.

Creation in Christian Religious Language and Metaphor

Over the next few weeks as we approach our parish celebration of creation with the Blessing of Pets on October 6th, we are exploring the relationship between creation and our faith. This week, we will take a look at how metaphors and images from creation pervade our religious language and imagination and the consequences for our relationship with God and creation.



One of the main sources of this creation based religious language is the Bible which often describes God and our relationship with God in terms of creation. Whether God is described as a pillar of fire and cloud or a mother hen who gathers her chicks under her wings, these metaphors create a connection between the divine and the natural world.

This connection to the world of nature has long enabled us to understand God in terms that were more familiar to our daily experience. In many cases, the human experience is very closely tied to the rhythms of nature. Those who wrote the Bible, used these experiences to explain the relationship between God and God's people so that people could understand them.

When our relationship with nature stops being central to our daily lives, how does this affect our understanding of this religious language and metaphor? How does it affect our relationship with God? Certainly, God (and God's creation) continue to be present in the midst of even concrete jungles. In this setting, new ways of describing God emerge. God's presence can also be described in the language of technology, engineering and human community.



But what about the Biblical creation based religious imagination, which has flourished throughout Christian history - and continues to be close to the daily experience of many people of faith? What significance does it have for those of us who don't have the opportunity to encounter God's creation with the same regularity? Is it possible that these metaphors for our relationship with God can also help us to understand and appreciate God's creation? Perhaps our relationship with God through creation is given new importance by our continued use of this language. It allows us to reach beyond our own daily lives and connect with creation because it is important to our connection with God.

As nations, communities and individuals continue to discern how to live sustainably and in right relationship with nature, these metaphors remind us of what this relationship might look like and why it is worth preserving. Many scientific disciplines endeavor to explore the universe and the life it contains - life which we believe has God at its source. Theology then, sometimes defined as faith seeking understanding, is closely connected with these sciences which seek to understand the created universe - a universe in which God was incarnate and through which human beings have experienced this same God as Creator, Redeemer and Spirit.

What nature based metaphors or language help you understand or come closer to God? How does your relationship with God bring you closer to God's creation?

Alice Lake Camping Trip

There is nothing like the first week of school to catapult us straight from summer relaxation back to our busy routines. This year, youth from St Philip's resisted this abrupt end to summer by joining members of 3 other local youth groups for a last gasp of summer camping trip to Alice Lake Provincial Park near Squamish, a trip that has happened every fall for the past 7 years.

Despite the challenges of trying to light a campfire in a temperate rain forest, the youth and their leaders were able to get a fire going in order to roast marshmallows and make s'mores both Friday and Saturday evenings.

Saturday we set off to hike the Four Lakes Trail, an outing that included many mini adventures. At our first stop, we took a group photo on a fallen tree - another camping trip tradition. We took a break from hiking at the river and some group members decided to try and damn the small section that flowed between the dry part of the river bed and the bank. This decision to manipulate the flow of the river may have been ill-conceived as we discovered when some members of the group (including Caitlin) were nearly trapped on the small island in the middle by a sudden increase in the flow of the river, now widened by the makeshift damn. Luckily, everyone was able to get to the bank by scrambling over a fallen tree. The rest of the hike was somewhat less eventful with stops at some of the four lakes, photo opportunities at throne like trees and a game of Lady Gaga Paparazzi at a bridge along the way. After a delicious lunch, the afternoon was a time for rest and relaxation. Some napped, some explored the forest and some went to the beach to swim or be serenaded by Cameron and his ukelele.

One of the highlights of the trip for me was seeing St Philip's own Naomi Martell in what I can only assume is her natural environment - the boughs of a tree. With squirrel-like skill she climbed and literally hung out in trees nearby the campsite for a good part of the weekend. She was also able to defend her prime location from invasion by Cameron's more bear-like climbing skills. The only disconcerting moment for me came when I first heard Naomi's laugh coming from the darkness overhead - there is nothing quite as ghostly as a mysterious child's laugh coming from above your head at night...in the forest. It was quite reassuring when she turned on her flashlight to reveal her hiding place.

The trip was also a great opportunity to meet youth from other local parishes including those from St Mary's with whom St Philip's will be partnering for youth group and Constellation Ministry events again this year. I am grateful for another successful combined youth group event and I hope that we can enjoy this last bit of summer again next year with these other youth.

For more pictures from our adventure, check out the Constellation Ministry facebook page.

Where is God's Creation in the City?

Living in a big city and spending much of our time indoors at school and work can create barriers between us and God's creation. Many of the things with which we interact are the invention of the human mind. Buildings, cars, computers, etc. all of these are conceived of and made by many people working together.

So where is God's creation in all this? What relationship do we have with that creation?

Well of course we as human beings are part of God's creation and our ability to invent and build and create is a wonderful reflection of the image of God the Creator that is within each of us. But our lives touch creation in many other ways.

God's creation is impacted by those things we make as humans: buildings and cars and computers. We can make choices about how or whether we use these things that are based on our commitment to the Fifth Mark of Mission: "To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and renew and sustain the life of the earth." Becoming more informed about the effects of our decisions and making choices that safeguard God's creation is well within our power as communities, families and individuals.

But beyond the distant impact of our decisions, the natural splendor of God's creation still confronts us and finds its way into our world of human inventions: a thunder and lightning storm, the weather in far off places affecting the kind of food that is available to us, our relationships with pets and other animals, the many plants that grow within our city in gardens, parks, along streets and even through the concrete.



Where does God's creation break into your city life? How can you safeguard these parts of creation?