Accept The Gifts We Offer
Dear Friends,
As you read this, we are halfway through the York Environment Weeks 2024 (Saturday 14th September – Saturday 12th October 2024). Across the City of York events are held to draw attention to nature, biodiversity and our worsening climate crisis. Churches are involved in the York Environment Weeks too. In my role as Green Ambassador for the Diocese of York, I have been invited to give various talks, about 'how to act with hope for the future of the planet' and about 'the importance of wild places for our spirituality'.
There is something about the natural world which puts us in our place. In urban areas we may feel like we are invincible as the dominant ruling species, but in the vast solitude of countryside we soon realise we are deeply dependent on the natural world around us.
We could not live without trees to provide oxygen. We could not live without seas and rivers to provide water. We could not live without stable weather systems to provide regular periods of rain and sunshine. We could not live without insects pollinating our crops. We could not even live without those tiny critters and creepy crawlies that break down organic material into life-giving soil.
On Sunday 6th October we will celebrate our Harvest Festival. As we do so, we don't just thank the agricultural community for their hard work, but we also reflect on our responsibility to respect and protect the natural world, so that trees will grow strong, waterways are not polluted, insects thrive in numbers, and the fragile balance of our ecosystem is preserved. Remember, we are not 'above' nature – we are a part of it: fellow members of the community of creation.
"We thank you, then, Creator, for all things bright and good: the seed-time, and the harvest, our life, our health, our food. Accept the gifts we offer for all your love imparts, and what you most would welcome: our humble, thankful hearts."
Love and prayers,
