Page 45 - Presbyterian Connection

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SUMMER 2022
Connection
REFLECTIONS
PRESBYTERIAN
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the love I have for God’s creation, its beauty, wonder, and life—all of which is being threatened and destroyed. I am against the con- tinuing fossil fuel dependency and greed we are expected to buy into. We are far too invested in the fossil fuel industry. We need to pause, to rethink and creatively redesign our direction. We need to imagine and to help realize a just and sustainable world. I truly believe we can transition our en- ergies, literally, to renewables. Solutions exist to take action now. We can be more responsible in how we live, consume and waste, and live within our means, ensur- ing a brighter, better, sustainable future for many generations to come. We must!
God as creator made all things “good.” In our PCC’s own Living Faith (2.4.1–2), we are named to be stewards to tend and care for the earth and for all creatures great and small. And as (8.4.6) says: “Justice opposes prejudice in every form. It rejects discrimi- nation on such grounds as race, sex, age, status, or disability. Justice stands with our neigh- bours in their struggle for dignity and respect and demands the exercise of power for the com-
mon good”—this includes all be- ings living in our common home, Mother Earth, as part of our eco- system, our relations past, pre- sent and future.
I am a daughter, sister, spouse, mother, aunt and friend, who has given much love and dedication over the years to my family, both immediate and extended, close and close at heart. My relations
include those gone before us and those yet to come, those in hu- man and non-human form. And my prayers, hopes and actions remain with one goal, for all life to flourish.
Last, one of my inspirations is the story of The Little Hum- mingbird by Michael Nicoll Yah- gulanaas, with Wangari Maathai (Afterword). Perhaps you’ll read
it, too. It keeps me going, “doing what I can.” Thank you for your continuing prayers.
To read more from Janette, go to the op-ed published in the Vancouver Sun, “Why we face jail time for safeguarding a livable climate”: vancouversun.com/ opinion/ruth-walmsley-why-we- face-jail-time-for-safeguarding-a- livable-climate.
Cracker Crumbs and Christ’s Sacrifice
By Devon Wilkins, St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church in Peterborough, Ont.
At the beginning of Lent,
Just prior to a virtual communion service,
I reached for crackers
To serve as the body of Christ, And found only crumbs.
I thought then of Isaiah’s chapter 52, verse 5:
“But he was wounded for our transgressions,
“he was bruised for our iniquities: ...
“and with his stripes we are healed.”
The crumbs became a vivid reminder of the blows to the Lord’s own face,
As surely as if I had struck him myself ...
Of the crown of thorns, woven together by my own sins ... The sounds of the floggings and the whippings
In the movie, The Passion of the Christ, ...
And indeed, the crucifixion itself As surely as if I had been the one to pierce that Godly flesh.
At once, I was both repulsed by, And drawn to
the crumbs in the package. ... Repulsed because they represented the sins I have committed,
And drawn because in spite of everything I’ve said and done To the least of these,
And therefore to Christ himself, I know that I have been redeemed.
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