Post-Post week 15--What's next?

What have I learned and where do I go from here?

Ecological facts—

I learned I live in the Peace River watershed.

I learned how to measure water quality, and I’ve got a kit to practice with.

I learned species are disappearing at an alarming rate.

I learned global warming is not only completely true and horribly damaging, it is still being disputed.

I learned the names of few more birds—snowy egret, limpkin, grebes.

Theological facts—

Robby’s expression of inaugurated eschatology—kingdom of God is already present and not yet consummated—is the most helpful new way of thinking for me. The Lord’s Prayer is the description that best illustrates “already/not yet”: “thy kingdom come”—praying for the future and “thy will be done”—praying for the present.

I learned to listen with a new perspective to biblical texts—people are only a small part of God’s creation, God cares deeply about all his creation, and if I love God, I’ll love what he loves.

I learned I can join with God in working to complete the future.

Poetic facts—

I learned Mary Oliver is one amazing poet who cares deeply about creation and expresses her love for it in heart rending language that touches my soul.

I learned Aldo Leopold, who was a pioneer conservationist, left me a valuable book that I can return to for its inspiring beauty and prophetic edge.

I learned that fiction writer Ursula LeGuin has a long history of writing compelling stories that engage my mind and my emotions in making earth care connections.

How I am going to use what I’ve learned going forward?

1)  Pray with more purpose about the earth I love

2)  Live more purposely—reduce, reuse, recycle

use less water—shorter showers and less laundry

use less fuel—fewer car trips

buy less—actively ignore advertising for consumer goods

conserve more—rain barrel in my yard, compost food scraps

plant more—garden for herbs (veggies next)

3)  Advocate for change—letter writing and …I’ll see what’s next.

What do I plan on doing to continue learning about the earth, art, and spirituality?

Basically, I’ll listen, read, write, dig, and pray. Specifically, I’m excited about continuing to work on my ecotheopoetic project—(collecting facts, photos, and stories about the nature of my neighborhood). I also plan to walk and hike more, and I plan to learn how to garden. I have a personal proverb that seems to fit here: I pray because I care, and my caring grows because of my prayers. I want to keep growing!

Post-Post week 14--one more response to The BP Gulf Oil Catastrophe

If I were an artist, I'd paint The Gulf Oil Spill as a wound on the body of Christ as he hung on the cross. Gushing oil would pour from that wound. I'm not an artist, but that is an image I have--the body of Christ is broken and bleeding. And I'm hurting and crying—and God, I think, is hurting, too.

What arrogance and greed! In retrospect we know that BP had a long history of cutting corners for profit--760 safety violations where other companies had only a dozen combined. And on top of that they had no containment material ready for an accident because an accident was unimaginable. And then they used a dispersant to drown the oil--a dispersant that lacks testing and is in fact banned in Britain.

The mantra of the BP executives in responding to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill was their promise to “make it right.” And in obvious and significant ways that hasn’t happened, including litigation that continues to be an ugly tangled mess with lawyers fighting over fees and financial settlements still pending. Articles concerning the environmental damage are still running in our local paper. Even today, The Ledger (Dec. 5, 2011) ran such an article, “Feds: Bluefin Tuna Probably OK After BP Oil Spill in Gulf.” As much as I want to believe that headline, I really believe Sylvia Earle, a renowned ocean explorer, who says, “I think it’s too early to celebrate a possible greater survival than had been predicted.” She goes on to explain that the revised prediction is only based on contrived models. “The truth is,” she says, “we don’t have enough information to be able to clearly say one way or another what happened to the 2010 class of baby tuna.”

Lawsuits and missing fish are only two examples of how the BP catastrophe has hurt the earth and its people. These difficulties point to many shortcomings—particularly arrogance and greed, but perhaps the biggest ones are disconnection and lack of valuing what is vitally important: relationships. Real relationships with people (who God loves) and with our good earth (that God loves) have been replaced with products and profits.

Perhaps because I’m not an artist I deeply appreciate artistic expression that catches what I feel. Right now I’m thinking of Michelangelo’s marble carving of Christ’s broken body lying in his mother’s arms. Because we know the story doesn’t end there (resurrection is coming), we are able to engage the moment of pain and suffering. We also know our own part of the story doesn’t end here and now—Revelation tells us God wins. It seems in these difficult times we are being given many opportunities to sit with the pain of brokenness. We shouldn’t try to rush through the difficult part. But there is hope, and my prayer is for us to be active, creative participants with God in redeeming and blessing all of his creation—earth and its people, who are yearn for real relationships, for wholeness.