Rev. Melinda Giese, Min. of Discipleship & Pastoral Care
When I arrived at Puyallup UMC last Saturday morning to record the sermon video, I noticed that we had visitors. I’m not sure where these two ducks were headed as they wandered around our parking lot and onto the grass along Pioneer Avenue, but I enjoyed watching them. I wondered if they were nesting somewhere on our property or looking for a place to build a nest. They didn’t stay long, but maybe we’ll be lucky enough to see them again in the next few months, with a line of ducklings following along behind them.
During the pandemic, many of us have been spending more time outside both for safety reasons and for entertainment. When the four walls around us start to feel confining, nature provides a welcome change of scenery, whether we’re getting outside for a bike ride, working in a garden, or noticing the seasons as we look out the window. We often feel a deeper sense of connection to God though nature whether we’re taking the time to notice Mr. Rainier on a clear day or simply sitting outside enjoying the sunshine. Over the past year, it feels like more of us are paying attention to the natural world that surrounds us and appreciating the many gifts it offers.
We celebrated Earth Day last week on April 22, and I hope that our increased attention to nature will be one of the lasting results of this pandemic. If nothing else, the pandemic has reminded us that ignoring our interconnectedness with nature carries immense risk. While we do not know the exact source of the COVID-10 virus, the World Health Organization reported in March that the pandemic most likely began when the virus moved from bats to another animal and then to humans. And just as climate change forces humans to move to escape rising temperatures, flooding and fires, animals move as well. As animal habitats change, animals are more likely to encounter different species as well as humans, creating new opportunities for viruses to spread and the potential for future pandemics.
At the same time, I pray that our actions to address climate change and protect our earth will not be driven primarily by fear, but by love for creation. Hopefully, we will look back at this pandemic time and remember how our connections with the natural world helped sustain us through grief and loss. Perhaps we will see the ways our faith deepened as we gardened and walked or simply looked out the window to see the beauty of God’s creation. And as we remember the gifts we have received through nature, may our own commitment to care for the earth grow and deepen.
In honor of Earth Day, I leave you with this prayer written by St. Basil the Great (c. 330-379 BCE):
O God, enlarge within us the sense of fellowship with all living things, our brothers the animals [and all creatures] to whom you gave the earth as their home in common with us. We remember with shame that in the past we have exercised the high dominion of humans with ruthless cruelty so that the voice of the earth, which should have gone up to you in song, has been a groan of travail. May we realize that all creatures live not for us alone but for themselves and for you, and that they love the sweetness of life. Amen.