These notes are for Session Two of the online event ‘Irish Writers Centre Climate Writing Group: Writing for a Change’.
As a child I was blessed by growing up in the countryside. The green fields of my youth were to be a gift which has never ceased to bless how I experience the world. While back then I took being surrounded by nature for granted, I look back now and see that I was being formed in ways that continue to bear fruit.
This evening as we think about climate and writing and our place in all of that, I offer you the title ‘Living for a Change’. The past couple of years have been tough and sometimes, like all of us, I felt that I wasn’t living at all. Then came release and freedom and the realisation that something had to change, I had to change.
Wonder
But going back to the fields of North County Dublin. At the heart of my childhood experience was a sense of wonder which has never really left me. And when I first read a poem by Mary Oliver – the great poet of wonder – it resonated with me deeply. Here it is:
I Wake Close To Morning (Mary Oliver, Felicity)
Why do people keep asking to see
God’s identity papers
when the darkness opening into morning
is more than enough?
Certainly any god might turn away in disgust.
Think of Sheba approaching
the kingdom of Solomon.
Do you think she had to ask,
“Is this the place?”
Creation & Incarnation
That sense of God’s presence and vitality in the world led me to study theology and later to become ordained in the Church of Ireland.
In my studies I learned that biblical doctrines, far from stifling the spiritual life, have the potential to give depth to things we might already know intuitively. The biblical doctrines that come to mind this evening are Creation and Incarnation.
Creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God’s works. In the first words of our Bible we read, ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ It was Saint Augustine who wrote that ‘the world began when God’s word drew it out of nothingness; all existent beings, all of nature, and all human history are rooted in this primordial event, the very genesis by which the world was constituted, and time begun.’ When we look at the order and harmony of the created world, we must remember that this is from the diversity of beings and from the relationships which exist among them.
Incarnation reminds us that God becoming a human being, means that all creation is imbued with a dignity and esteem which is beyond human language and conceptualisation. This sense of mystery is reflected in our sacramental worship when we seek to commune with the Creator. In our liturgy we use water, bread wine, human touch, oil, wood, incense, flowers, human words in order to deepen and broaden our life in the Divine. This sense of mystery engenders respect, a sense of responsibility and then concern for the created order as we face up to what is happening on our planet and all that lives on it.
Five marks of mission
One way in which Anglicans try to make sense of their identity, and understand our place in the world, is through our use of the Five Marks of Mission. These were developed over the period 1984 to 2012 and continue to be reviewed up to the present time. The Fifth mark of mission is: To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.
Climate change, irresponsible use of natural resources, pollution, loss of biodiversity are just some of the challenges facing the natural world. When we face challenges which appear to be overwhelming it can be difficult to know where to begin. However, as we all know the best way to make a difference is to model the change that we want to see. Rather than shirk our responsibility we step up and step out.
The most helpful resource which I came across was the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan. It’s simple, straightforward, and full of ideas for getting started. It can be accessed at: www.pollinators.ie
The other place of course to find encouragement is Eco Congregation Ireland. Their four-strand approach – Practical, Spiritual, Global and Local – reflects the holistic work of being good tenants on the earth. More at: www.ecocongregationireland.com
‘Living for a Change’
Finally, for my own spiritual nourishment I’ve been reading an inspirational book by Robin Wall Kimmerer who describes herself as ‘a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.’ She lives in Syracuse, New York, and has, I think, the mind of a botanist and the heart of a poet. I’ll give her the final word this evening as we think a little about what it means to be ‘Living for a Change’.
‘Let us hold a giveaway from Mother Earth, spread our blankets out for her and pile them high with gifts of her own making. Imagine the books, the paintings, the poems, the clever machines, the compassionate acts, the transcendent ideas, the perfect tools. The fierce defense of all that has been given. Gifts of mind, hands, heart, voice, and vision all offered up on behalf of the earth. Whatever our gift, we are called to give it and to dance for the renewal of the world.
In return for the privilege of breath.’
(Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants (Penguin, 2013) p. 384)
Writing for a Change is a series of information and writing sessions for a disparate group of writers. The overall theme is awareness of the planet and encouraging writers to promote positive climate solutions in their work. Six sessions of 2 hours’ duration will take place throughout 2022 and will be open to writers of every genre, not just those who write about climate change. More information at: irishwriterscentre.ie