Creation Connection

October 22, 2023

The Seventh Generation Principle is based on an ancient Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) philosophy that the decisions made today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future. The first recorded idea of the Seventh Generation Principle dates back to the writing of The Great Law of Haudenosaunee Confederacy, written somewhere between 1142 – 1500 AD. The Great Law formed the political, ceremonial, and social basis of a Five (later Six) Nation Confederacy (the Mohawks, Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida, Seneca, and Tuscarora), and is thought to have influenced the American Constitution, due to Benjamin Franklin’s great respect for the Haudenosaunee system of government.

It’s a great tool to think about the long-term impact and consequences – intended and unintended – of the decisions we make about our environment.

Prayer – Creator God, as we continue to understand and come to accept our role in diminishing your creation, help us to move forward mindful of the effect that our decisions today will have on the creation for generations in the future.  Help us to think about our decisions as ones we make, not just for our short-term “this is the way I like it” comfort, but on behalf of God’s plan. As Christians, help us to make our decisions as if we wanted the Words of Jesus – to love one another – to thrive and live at least until seven generations into the future.  Amen.

October 15, 2023

Creation Connection – Today, it is World Food Sunday. World Food Day began in 1945 to mark the founding of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. World Food Day aims to increase awareness of global food issues and to advocate year-round action to alleviate hunger.

One of the most enduring misconceptions about hunger is that it is primarily the result of a shortfall in global food production. If this were so, we might expect the food to disappear at times and for there to be no food in places where people die of hunger. Yet in the majority of cases, food has been available within the famine-affected area. People have died not for want of food, but because of a system of entitlement to eat it. Questions need to be asked about social and political configurations around power over food, rather than about the mere presence or absence of food in the vicinity of a hungry individual. Today we will consider the local impacts of food insecurity in Manitoba.

Prayer:
Creator, conspire with us to create a world where all have access to nutritious and sustainable food sources, and none live with scarcity or food insecurity.
Redeemer, save us from oppressive and unjust systems. Mobilize us to be a part of a world response that works in partnership with those of good will to foster equitable resource sharing.
Sustainer, cultivate our resilience and expand our imaginations, so that we might continually find new ways to answer the call to end hunger— until all may flourish. Amen. —Alydia Smith 

October 8, 2023

One:  Today is the fifth Sunday in the season of Creation, a period of the church year when we take the time to think about what it means to be Church against the real, urgent and increasing threat of climate and other environmental crises.

Today, on Thanksgiving Sunday we are asked to acknowledge, in humility and gratitude, all that creations provides us.

Today’s video is called “A Prayer for Our Earth.” In 2015, Pope Francis wrote an “encyclical letter” – a short book that popes write – called Laudato Si’ (laow-dah-toe see). It encourages us to see how everything is connected.  The way we treat the Earth, our common home, is a reflection of how we treat each other.  Caring for each other means caring for the home we share.

The text of the video is as follows:

All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.

O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.

Touch the hearts
of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united
with every creature as we journey towards your infinite light.

We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle
for justice, love and peace.

One:  Let us pray:
All: God, as we enter uncharted territory around global climate change, help us to follow the words of Jesus, to love one another.  Through our actions, help us to show our love for the whole of Creation, not just our tiny piece of it.  On this Thanksgiving Sunday, let us look upon the gifts of Creation with humble gratitude.  Help us to learn and work together in your name.  Amen.

October 1, 2023

This week is the fourth Sunday in the Season of Creation. Today we are asked to consider where we get our water.  Many of us have heard that Winnipeg’s water supply comes from Shoal Lake. We have heard about how the people of Shoal Lake 40 were isolated on a man-made island so that the people of Winnipeg would have clean drinking water, while they were under a boil-water advisory for over 25 years.  Today we are asked to think about how we distribute the earth’s resources.  Do we share them in the spirit of justice, or do we consume more than our share?  Today’s video is “Nature is Speaking – Penelope Cruz is Water,” from Conservation International.

Let us pray:

Creator God, as we enter uncharted territory around global climate change and its effects on people throughout the world, help us to follow the words of Jesus, to love one another.  Through our actions, help us to show our love for the whole of Creation, not just our tiny piece of it.  Help us to learn about the systems around us and around the world and let us work toward a sharing of the earth’s resources based on a spirit of justice. Help us to learn and work together in your name.  Amen.

Week One

Today is the first Sunday in the season of Creation, a period of the church year when we take the time to think about what it means to be Church against the real, urgent and increasing threat of climate and other environmental crises.

Today we are asked to consider what song creation might be singing to God and to humanity at this time –  What would the melody and harmony sound like?  What words or sounds would be used?

Sometimes, a tune can say so much more than an image or words. We are going to watch a video from The Guardian where the creators turn almost 150 years of global temperatures into music. The higher the temperature, the higher the pitch of the note. And the louder the note, the more carbon there is in the atmosphere.  Please note that this video was created in 2016 and that 2023 is now the warmest year on record.

Symphony for Global Warming –

One:  Let us pray:
All: God, as we enter uncharted territory around global climate change, help us to follow the words of Jesus, to love one another.  Through our actions, help us to show our love for the whole of Creation, not just our tiny piece of it.  When we do not know what to do, help us to learn and work together in your name.  Amen.

Week Two 

One: It is our second Sunday in the season of Creation.  Last week, we considered what song creation might be singing to God and to humanity at this time.

This week, we are asked to consider the questions:  How many times must the earth forgive us?

And… what would the earth’s forgiveness be like?

Today’s video is called “Nature is Speaking,” and features Julia Roberts as Mother Nature.  It is from Conservation International, a group that is working to improve the lives of people everywhere by protecting oceans, forests and other living ecosystems.

Let us pray:

All: God, as we enter uncharted territory around global climate change, help us to follow the words of Jesus, to love one another.  Through our actions, help us to show our love for the whole of Creation, not just our tiny piece of it.  Let us humble ourselves and acknowledge our place as just one of many creatures within the Creation. When we do not know what to do, help us to learn and work together in your name.  Amen.

Week Three

This week is the third Sunday in the Season of Creation.  It is also the Sunday before National Truth and Reconciliation Day, or Orange Shirt Day.  Today, we are asked to consider how creation feeds us – physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally.  Do we take more than we need to sustain us each day?  Are our physical, mental, spiritual and emotional lives in balance?  Today we will be watching a video called, World Out of Balance.

 One:  Let us pray:

All: Creator God, as we enter uncharted territory around global climate change and its effects on people throughout the world, help us to follow the words of Jesus, to love one another.  Through our actions, help us to show our love for the whole of Creation, not just our tiny piece of it.   On this Sunday before Truth and Reconciliation Day, help us to be open to ancient ways of connecting with Creation.  When we do not know what to do, help us to learn and work together in your name.  Amen.