When I committed to write this article, Paul Sherwood, the Editor of the Diocesan Times, asked me to send an illustration to complement the text. Deciding what was the ‘perfect’ picture proved to be extremely difficult. Upon reflection I realized that I do not know what the world will look like at the end of 2021. We start 2021 in a time of Covid, climate change and political and economic strife. We start 2021 in a liminal state – an ‘in between’ time. Some of us are waiting to see what will happen; some of us are working towards what we call a ‘better normal’. So instead of an illustration, I offer each of us empty space which each of us will fill, one way or another.
The empty space, consider it a frame, is a picture of what exists now and what will exist in the future.
Think of a favourite place in nature; let yourself see this place in your mind – see it, smell it, hear it, feel it. Then, allow yourself to think of it gone. How do you feel?. Finally, allow yourself to visualize this place you love in ten years time, as beautiful as it is now, or maybe even better.
In these few moments, you have had a personal experience of love (of place), possibly of ecological grief (over the loss of a special place) and finally a concrete illustration of what action can do.
2021 is a time of change. Do we wait to see what will happen or do we take action to create a ‘better normal’? That is a choice each of us will make.
This reflection gives you a starting understanding of the motivation, our feelings of love and grief, and the motivation for action that brings people to the Network of the Diocesan Environment Network (The DEN).
At the beginning of our Covid shut-down, we started holding DEN Thursday Gatherings. These weekly gatherings are time for prayer and education on local environmental issues. Equally important is the opportunity to grow as a community.
We began in March 2020 sharing our love of God’s creation. One book that we referred to on several occasions was the Centre for Public Justice (CPJ’s) publication ‘Living Ecological Justice’.
CPJ is one of many organizations and groups that emphasize our need, as humans, to understand our love of creation. For how will we save all of creation if we do not comprehend and act on our love of nature?
Respecting the range of interests among the members of the network, we invited guests who are involved in working to save God’s Creation in various ways:
Kelly from the Watermark Project, Nina and Helga from the Healthy Forest Coalition, Elder Dorene from The Grassroots Grandmothers, Ben from the Ecology Action Center. On several occasions – because many of us are gardeners – we talked about gardening – community gardens, chinch gardens, home gardens – to feed our bodies and minds and souls. And we spoke about ecological grief.
More and more groups are taking the time to look at ecological grief. Simply put, ecological grief is the grief that we feel because of what is happening to our planet, or what has happened. And when we feel grief and are afraid of what will happen (like in Covid times), we experience anticipatory grief.
Ecological grief is sometimes accompanied by angry or fury – now named Terrafurie. Sometimes ecological grief develops into despair and a state of being frozen and unable to take any action. And sometimes this grief is complicated by guilt – for what we have not done in the past and/or what we are not doing now. As a wise man recently said to me, “never underestimate grief”.
Stay turned for upcoming reflections in this series.
The Environment Network (DEN) was established in the spring of 2012 and has grown this past eight years to include approximately 480 Anglicans and others, mostly Anglican, mostly in Nova Scotia but from a number of other dioceses in Canada and some from other parts of the world.
Please check out DEN:
Website: https://www.nspeidiocese.ca/ministries/diocesan-environment-network
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/101542159983749
You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXlyyJAFvPg-hj4H0-XvYiQ?view_as=subscriber
Email: [email protected]
