Thursday, April 8th

What Is Creation Saying to Us? Watershed discipleship

“…creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves….” Romans 8: 19-23, NRSV

April is Earth Month. I will be reflecting on the ways we are collectively separating ourselves from the rest of God’s creation and how we might work toward reconciling these relationships. We humans are connected not only to each other but to the whole of God’s created order. This is the key to understanding ecological justice. One way to explore these connections is through the framework of “watershed discipleship,” or as it is coming to be known in Canada, “reconciliation in the watershed.” The apostle Paul speaks of the “groaning of all creation”…In the 21st  century we clearly hear his call to the “children of God” to take a stand of passionate solidarity with a Creation that is enslaved to our dysfunctional and toxic lifeways and commit ourselves to the liberation to the earth and all its inhabitants (Rom 8:20f).

Water and life are inseparable. The sacredness of water is conveyed in the Scriptures and our worship life. Creation of the universe is the first grace, the first revelation of God’s love and goodness. Human beings, created in the image and likeness of God, are part of this love-imbued creation. This is evident at the dawn of creation, as described in Genesis: “God said, ‘Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear’... God called the dry land ‘the earth’ and the basin of the water God called ‘the sea.’ God saw how good it was.” (Genesis: 1:9-10) In the baptism of Jesus, water is the element used to symbolize spiritual cleansing and a sign of God’s grace conferred upon God’s anointed One. “After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him.” (Matthew 3:16) The Bible, the sacraments and our faith clearly communicate the sacred nature and benefits of water; how water nourishes our bodies and souls and is both literally and symbolically the giver of life.
And yet, we know that because of us the whole creation is groaning….

The ecological endgame that stalks our history puts humanity in a watershed moment that demands serious, sustained engagement from Christians; we must choose between denial and discipleship. Both our love for the Creator and the interlocking crises of global warming, peak “everything,” and widening ecological degradation should compel us to make environmental justice and sustainability integral to everything we do as disciples—and as citizen inhabitants of specific places. This requires us to embrace deep paradigm shifts and broad practical changes of habit in our homes, churches, and denominations, civilizational lifeways, and commit ourselves to the liberation to the earth and all its inhabitants. It is our time to embrace the vocation of reconciliation with all of God’s creation.

These are our local watersheds that need our witness to God’s power of love and reconciliation through our words and our actions:

The Englishman River - flows in an easterly direction from Mount Arrowsmith at 1819 m above sea level and discharges into the Strait of Georgia, north of Craig Bay. The main Englishman and South Englishman rivers originate in Arrowsmith, Hidden and Fishtail lakes. The total drainage area is approximately 324 sq. km.

The Little Qualicum Water Region - flows north east from the highest point in the watershed at Labour Day Lake on Mt. Arrowsmith towards Cameron Lake and down the Little Qualicum River into the Strait of Georgia just NW of the Town of Qualicum Beach.
The total drainage area is approximately 251 sq. km.

On April 24th, St. Stephen’s will be bearing witness of reconciliation through action. Creation Care Team is inviting you to participate with Qualicum Beach Steamkeepers to help clean up our shores. Come if you can and pray with your hearts.

We pray for God’s water
We are grateful, Creator, for sacred water that flows in our bodies and through the Earth.
Water is a powerful force that both creates and destroys, sustains and erodes,
deposits and washes away.
Forgive us for all the ways that we have wasted, polluted, and ignored precious water….
And help us restore good relations, remembering that Water is Life.
Amen

Photo by Jérôme Prax on Unsplash