A Covenant with Every Living Thing (for June 27 and July 1)

Mountain bluebird nesting box, Patit Road

"The Biblical narrative affirms the interconnectedness and interdependence between creatures within God's creation. Nowhere is this more evident that in the story of Noah and the flood. After a protracted period of wickedness, God was 'sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart'. So God warned Noah that God was sending a terrible flood to destroy the earth, and that he should prepare for it by building an ark.
"But as every Sunday school child knows, God did not instruct Noah to save only himself and his family on the ark. Rather, God said: 'Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its mate; and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and its mate; and seven pairs of the birds of the air also, male and female, to keep their kind alive on the face of all the earth.'
"We are all, quite literally, in the same boat--each creature playing its own unique, essential role in the future of the earth. We might not understand the role of each creature, why the unclean animals as well as the clean animals serve a purpose. But God asks Noah, and us, to protect them on the ark anyway, because God has intertwined our futures.
"After the terrible flood was over, God made God's first covenant with humanity, well before the covenant with Abraham or with Moses. ...Biblical covenants are not just unilateral promises on God's part. They always invite a response. As Noah's heirs, we inherit this covenant with God and the other earth creatures.

John Muir wrote, "The man of science, the naturalist, too often loses sight of the essential oneness of all living beings in seeking to classify them in kingdoms, orders ... species ... etc... while the eye of the poet, the seer, never closes on the kinship of all God's creatures, and his heart ever beats in sympathy with great and small alike as 'earth-born companions and fellow mortals' equally dependent on Heaven's eternal love."

• How do we as individuals respond to God's covenant?
• How do we as a faith community respond to God's covenant?
• What's the difference between a food chain and a food web?
• How do you experience yourself in the food web?

Made In the Image of God (for June 20 and 24)

"Often framing his arguments with biblical imagery, John Muir became a zealous advocate for the preservation of natural places and an opponent of the forces that threatened them...

John Muir, Yosemite, naturalist and founder of Sierra Club

 "The Bible is full of John Muirs--called by something deep within themselves to act in behalf of God's purposes. We recall the young David, the smallest of his brothers, bravely confronting the massive Goliath with only a slingshot; Moses, the stutterer, answering God's call to lead God's people to freedom from oppression; the wild and untamed John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus; the woman at the well running to tell the people about the living water.




"So, too, are we called to reach within ourselves and to become advocates for God's purposes for the earth. In the creation stories, we get our first idea of what God had in mind for our relationship with the rest of creation ... long before God created humans, God created the rest of creation, declared it good and blessed it.

"When God created humans, God did give us a special place within creation. However, this special role was not necessarily a place of honor or privilege but a place of special responsibility. God created us to bear God's image in creation. In the ancient tradition in which the creation stories were written, the concept of image was used when a person stood in as a representative of a ruler or a god. To be in one's image meant to represent the ruler's or god's interest, to act in accordance with its will. Similarly, we were created to 'image' God's purposes in creation. And what are those purposes? Genesis tells us God's purposes for creation are harmony and wholeness and goodness. To image God, we bestow on every creature the blessing that God bestowed upon it."

• What does it mean to bear God's image in the world?
• What is God's desire for creation that we are to image?
• How does our being made from the earth itself intersect with our being created in God's image?
• What does it mean to have dominion over other creation?
• Are you living a life now that images God's desires for creation?

"Think about John Muir in terms of the early Hebrew prophets who were able to take the long view instead of getting caught up in day-to-day squabbles. They promoted a vision for the future that was oriented towards God's desires, not ours.

• What role did Muir's religious upbringing have on his view of God?
• How did his view on God change when he immersed himself in nature?
• What compelled him to be such an activist for the earth?
• Does Muir offer any clues to how we might relate to creation or how we might advocate for creation?
• Did Muir go too far in worshiping creation rather than the Creator? Is there a difference?

Consider these words from the Psalms (104:10-13, CEB):

You put gushing springs into dry riverbeds.
    They flow between the mountains,

        providing water for every wild animal—
        the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

Overhead, the birds in the sky make their home,
    chirping loudly in the trees.

From your lofty house, you water the mountains.
    The earth is filled full by the fruit of what you’ve done.

(The above materials are taken from a study compiled by Earth Ministry for use with the "National Parks: America's Best Idea" series produced by Ken Burns on PBS.)

God in Nature (for June 13 and 17)

"While the idea of setting aside lands as park preserves was just getting started in the 19th century, religion was going outdoors as well. Responding tot he 18th century impersonal 'Clockmaker' concept of God, 19th century America saw a religious reawakening. Prominent preachers traveled around the country leading large, passion-filled outdoor revivals. Thousands of families would travel long distances and then camp out in order to attend these gatherings....

"Many of us have found equally rich spiritual experiences while camping or hiking in the national parks or simply by taking in a sunset or sitting by a stream. What is it about the natural world that allows us to experience the Divine so directly? What is it about the towering mountains that evoke the transcendent God while the smallest wildflower pulls us into an intimate relationship with God?

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

"The Scriptures might offer some clues to answering these questions. [See Psalm 18:2, Deuteronomy 32:11-12, and John 7:37-38, for starters.] This is not to say that the Scripture writers thought God was the rock or the water, but rather God makes God's self known, God reveals God's self, through God's creation. God came to Moses in a burning bush. When Elijah did battle with the prophets of Baal, God appeared through fire. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a dove.

"The Scripture writers used natural images to describe God because that is how they experienced God. Their first understanding of a God who cared for and nurtured them came from God's provision through the earth of the most basic elements--food and water--without which there would be no life.

"The Medieval mystics had a deep connection with the earth as well, and they too, found God in nature.

Apprehend God in all things,
for God is in all things.
Every single creature is full of God
and is a book about God.
Every creature is a word of God.
If I spent enough time with the tiniest creature--
even a caterpillar--
I would never have to prepare a sermon.
So full of God is every creature. --Meister Eckhart

"Deep within each of us too is a memory of our own creation, when God reached into the soil and created us from the earth itself. We also carry the collective experiences of our forebears who lived in intimate relationship with the earth and the earth creatures. And so the natural world is a coming home, a returning to a place that is familiar and known, deep within us.

"What [John Muir] means is that wildness is an essential part of ourselves that our ordinary lives tempt us to forget. And by losing touch with that essential part of ourselves, we risk losing our souls. And so for him, going out into nature, to these parks, is how we recover ourselves, remember who we truly are, and reconnect with the core roots of our own identity, our own spirituality, that which is sacred in our experience. --William Cronon

• What are some of the ways natural images have been used to describe God in the Bible? Why do you think there are so many?
• What are some ways Jesus used natural or agricultural images? Why do you think he used so many?

More verses of Scripture that offer thoughts:
     Psalm 18:12-14       Psalm 36:8-9     Psalm 42:7     Isaiah 44:3
     Luke 4:14     Acts 2:4  

Consider why there are so many natural ways of talking about God and Jesus in the Bible, particularly using water.

"Discuss the concept of a "thin place" where the veil between God and us is so thin that we can feel God's presence. Describe how the early mystics and the Celts lived closely engaged with the natural world. Explain how they found glimpses of God in the natural world. 

• Have you ever had a sense of this thin place in the natural world?
• What is it about the natural world that gives you the space and quiet to experience God?
• When you are in the natural world, do you feel a sense of union with creation? Do you feel yourself as a part of something bigger than yourself? Do you have a sense of coming home?
• Are there more ways that we can more intentionally put ourselves in this thin place more regularly? 

(The above materials are taken from a study compiled by Earth Ministry for use with the "National Parks: America's Best Idea" series produced by Ken Burns on PBS.)

The Creator and Creation (for June 6 and 10)

Grand Canyon National Park

There is of course no sense at all in trying to describe the Grand Canyon. Those who have not seen it will not believe any possible description. Those who have seen it know that it cannot be described...  It is not a show place, a beauty spot, but a revelation. The Colorado River made it; but you feel when you are there that God gave the Colorado River its instructions. The thing is Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in stone and magic light.  J.B. Priestly




If you have a moment, take five minutes and sketch an experience you have had in a national park where you sensed God was present. If not a national park, maybe a state or county park, or simply an experience in a natural spot.  (No judgment on the drawing abilities!)

How did you know God was present?

This week, think of a place that is sacred to you -- even in our cities there are parks and such where people gather. How well do you know that place? What lives there? What creatures visit regularly? Give it a name. Go there if possible. Is there anything different since the last time you visited this place? Notice textures, smells, sounds, movements ...  Ask yourself: Is God here?

Consider the story of creation as found in Genesis 1:1-25.  If you have a chance to watch the PBS Series The National Parks: America's Best Idea, consider the following questions in relation to what you saw and to your experiences of nature.

• What did you notice about the film?
• Were there parts that you found moving or provocative?
• Were there parts that bothered you?
• Did you see aspects of the creation stories in the film?
• Does God love and value all aspects of creation? What about those that cause harm or bring disease?
• Did God create the non-human creation solely for our human benefit or does it have a purpose beyond us?
• Why did God create beauty? What purpose does it serve?
• Why is it important that the national parks are accessible to all, regardless of class, ethnicity, and religion?

Consider this statement by writer Dayton Duncan:  I think that deep in our DNA is this embedded memory of when we were not separated from the rest of the natural world, that we were part of it. The Bible talks about the Garden of Eden as that experience that we had at the beginnings of our dimmest memories as a species. And so when we enter a park, we're entering a place that has been ... like it once was. And we cross the boundary and suddenly we're no longer masters of the natural world. We're part of it.... We've come back to a place that is where we came from.
Do you agree that we have within us an "embedded memory" of the Garden of Eden and that in the national parks "we've come back to a place that is where we came from?" What does this say about our relationship to the rest of creation?


Consider the psalmist's words (104:1-5):  Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty, wrapped in light as with a garment. You stretch out the heavens like a tent, you set the beams of your chambers on the waters, you make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind, you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers. You set the earth on its foundations,m so that is shall never be shaken.

(The above materials are from session 1 in resources produced by Earth Ministry.)

New 4-Week Study Launches!

A new study is being undertaken at Dayton First Congregational Church-UCC!  Beginning Wednesday, June 6, and running concurrently with Sundays, friends and neighbors are invited to join in And God Saw That It Was Good.  This is a four-week study that was designed by Earth Ministry to accompany Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan's production of the PBS series The National Parks: America's Best Idea.

Earth Ministry is a Seattle-based effort "rooted in Christian tradition" and strives to further conversations and practices around environmental stewardship. They do engage with all religious communities through Washington Interfaith Power & Light, and have a myriad of resources and tools available through their website.