Stain Glass Lens of the 21st Century

Tag: environmental

  • Silent Beauty

    Silent Beauty

    Dr. Maria Montessori, an Italian physician and educator best known for her philosophy of education, taught the value of silence to her young students.

    In her book, The Secret of Childhood, she explains that one day she carried a sleeping infant into a busy classroom and all the students quieted down to observe the peacefulness of the infant.   This silence became a game in her classroom and it wasn’t long until the children grew to appreciate all that silence brought, “Silence is refreshing, giving our overloaded senses a break. When it is silent it is easier to notice how smooth the geometric solid is in our hands. It is easier to hear the gentle sound of a zipper, or notice the scent of fresh cut flowers. Silence brings us back into ourselves, yet is also a profound connection to everyone else in the room at the same time.”

    It isn’t unusual to find plants and flowers in a Montessori classroom, each used as a lesson in how beautiful things happen in silence, “Watch as the flower blooms in complete silence or how that green plant grows up the side of the window in utter silence.” The same is true when appreciating a sunrise or a sunset, each taking our breath away without making one bit of sound.

    Autumn is a wonderful example of God’s beauty in silence.  The silent trees fill the landscape with a brilliant celebration; bright yellows, jubilant oranges, and rapturous reds, awing us into a silent reverence.

    May we take this lesson and like Dr. Montessori and her students, savor all that silence can teach us.

    Blessings,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    Photo by Courtney Read/Unsplash

  • Autumn Aroma

    Autumn Aroma

    Once autumn arrives it is pumpkin spice everything.  I even saw an advertisement last week selling pumpkin spice brake pads!  Of course the service station was just having some fun with this pumpkin spice madness.

    For me the perfect aroma for autumn is not pumpkin spice but a bouquet of sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley, basil and oregano.

    With the threat of the first frost upon us the time had arrived to harvest my herb garden.  I cut each plant leaving the roots in place with hopes that next spring they may sprout again. Each herb released an intoxicating scent when cut, a means of departing the garden with one final farewell.

    Some of the herbs were delicately tied and hung upside down on a wooden rack in our mudroom, welcoming all who enter with a savory fragrance.  Others were prepared for a faster drying process in the oven.  With the oven warmed to 170 degrees and the necessary supplies gathered: reclaimed glass jars, parchment covered cookie sheets, and a mortar and pestle, I was ready to start.

    Soon the house filled with the best aroma autumn can offer. Not only does this process fill my home with a warm and delectable perfume it also adds a touch of summer to each winter dish. 

    Sure, pumpkin spice is nice but the signature smells of my own home grown herbs is a reminder of warmer days that help carry me through another cold Grey-Bruce winter.

    May we all find simple ways to honour this most rewarding season!

    Happy autumn everyone,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel  

  • Labour Day Weekend: It’s Not Too Late!

    Labour Day Weekend: It’s Not Too Late!

    Photo by Kyle Glenn/Unsplash

    We in Canada have been celebrating Labour Day since 1894; it has become a national statutory holiday.  Traditionally this day, the first Monday of September, was set aside for honouring laborers of the middle class. On this day there were picnics, parades and activities planned to bring together the laborers in a day of solidarity.

    Things are different now.  Today Labour Day is more about getting the children back into routine for another school year and for catching up on all the summer chores at home.  This has become the weekend when we begin to turn over the garden, pull up the bedding plants and air out the sweaters.  It has become known as the last weekend of the summer.

    But, truth is, the official last day of summer is 2 weeks after Labour Day weekend on September 21st.  That leaves almost 14 more days of warm afternoons at the beach or hiking our favorite trails or reading a good book in the shade of a tree.  The sun does set earlier by September which only creates more time for star gazing or enjoying a late summer campfire.

    The playful butterflies seem to linger in September inviting us all to enjoy the marigolds, Chrysanthemums and late summer roses.  May we accept this invitation and pause long enough to make a few more memories before this summer’s chapter closes.  As William Shakespeare writes, “Summer’s lease hath all too short a date”!

    Happy September,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

  • Flowers of the Hours

    Flowers of the Hours

    Photo by Chulpan Gallyamova/Unsplash

    Have you ever noticed how the twelve months of the year line up with the first twelve hours on a clock? 

    Midnight to one a.m. is January with its quiet darkness followed by two a.m. the equally dark month of February; these are the restful months of deepening as roots do into the soil. 

    New life begins to appear in March, the 3rd month of the year; the quiet hour of three a.m.   This is the time of sprouting and breaking free from the soil.  The slight rays of the sun begin to lighten the sky around 4 a.m. just as April, the 4th month of the year, carries us into the dawning of spring bringing with it Snow Drops, shy little Crocuses and tiny new leaves on each tree. 

    By May we arrive to the celebration of Tulips, Daffodils, and the highly perfumed Hyacinths followed by the brilliance of June which explodes with colour from the top of each tree down to the tiniest wild flower among the grasses.   

    The monthly pace of each hour occurred to me this past week as the Tiger Lilies filled the gardens and waved from alongside the roadways.  The Lilacs, Bleeding Hearts and Peonies have come and gone signally the early summer’s passing and now we are in the time of Daisies, Delphiniums, and Columbines; which means we are at half past July already!

    Before we know it the hour of the Poppies, Black-Eyed Susans and Foxgloves will arrive filling the garden with whimsy while quietly drawing us closer to “a quarter to autumn” and, without much fanfare the Chrysanthemums, Sunflowers and Purple Fountain Grass will usher in the tenth hour and we will find ourselves in the roar of autumn colours.

    Each month is part of a whole; a bouquet of beauty.  May we all pause long enough and often enough to capture the beauty of each hour.

    Blessings,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

  • Soaking In The Green

    Soaking In The Green

    Photo by Heather McCarrel, Harrison Park in Owen Sound

    In his book, The Little Book of Lykke, Meik Wiking explains Shinrin-yoku as a means of refreshing our souls and resetting our psychological health by getting a good dose of forest bathing! 

    During these late spring days I highly recommend you try some forest bathing.  All one needs is a good set of walking shoes, perhaps a walking stick and some comfortable clothing (just in case you got the wrong idea!).  Then find a patch of forest to “bathe” in. 

    This kind of bathing involves taking in everything around you with all your senses. Breathing in the fresh clean air, pausing to touch and focus your sights on every detail of the green foliage and at times closing your eyes to listen deeply to the birds, babbling brook or the wind through the leaves.   It is a mindful hike that may take your soul to great heights but you may physically not travel far.  In fact, even if one took a chair out to a group of trees and sat under them breathing in the entire experience, one would be forest bathing. 

    Wiking writes, “There is existing evidence of a positive relationship between happiness and exposure to green or natural environments in our lives.”  

    The forest, one of God’s earliest creations is full of divine mystery and undiscovered healing.  Many have said that they do not need church so long as they can walk in nature; that it is in nature where they meet God.  For me the mystical beauty of the forest is enhanced by my deep reverence for God’s church.  Without one or the other it would be a lopsided life.

    Even Job, despite all his hardships knew where to find comfort, he spoke of the wisdom of nature, “…ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In God’s hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of every human being.”(Job 12:8-10)

     So, why not make time this week to go forest bathing either by a mindful walk in the forest or simply by sitting near a garden or a tree and rest long enough to hear God’s small whispers?

    Blessings,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    The Photo with today’s Blog I took while forest bathing exactly this time last year at Harrison Park in Owen Sound 

  • Gems of Promise

    Gems of Promise

    It was later than usual when we headed out for our Sunday evening stroll.   Certainly there was some grumbling as we zipped up our warmer jackets and pulled our collars close against the chilly breeze. 

    Despite the calendar reading May 1st it felt more like early October and the joyful calls of the Canadian Geese overhead only added to the autumn feel.

    Perhaps it was due to the lessening day light or just the tiredness we each carried after a long day but without discussion we turned toward the “short cut” through the woods.  The melody of the Sydenham River carried us over tree roots and around the bare bushes.

    Looking upward I scoured the bare trees begging for any sign of spring be it a bud, a nest or better yet, a tiny new leaf. I was disappointed.  That is until we came around a small bend and beside the trail, among the decaying leaves and small sprouts of grass we discovered them.

    They were congregated in a graceful silence as though praying the very promise they represented.  I gasped and my husband turned back, he too bent down and together we were held in awe by their delicate beauty.

    Each tiny new trillium proudly held out three leaves in a curtsy and they stretched tall displaying their curled up petals with pride, as if to say, “Look here, look here! We are about to do something magical!”

    It was a sight to behold.  The promise of new life can be held back by cool breezes and stubborn snowfall but it cannot be stopped entirely.  As Martin Luther wrote, “Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.”

    We snapped photos wanting to capture this moment. Of course nothing can truly capture the wonder we each felt deep within; a reverence of God’s finer things.  These moments are fleeting, filling us with an awe that spurs us onward while also filling us with an undeniable awareness of God’s divine presence.

    Held by their charm we lingered until the day light was almost a whisper on the horizon.   We returned home trusting in their magic, knowing at just the right moment their beauty would carpet the forest.

    May God’s beauty also take you by surprise,   

    Rev. Heather McCarrel 

  • Why Do Birds Sing at Dawn?

    Why Do Birds Sing at Dawn?

    Photo by Andy Holms/Unsplash

    Some scientists have concluded that it is male birds who sing in the morning as a way of marking their territory and to announce their mating call.  Other scientists argue that both female and male birds fill the sunrise with song because they are simply announcing the good news that they have woke to another day; they are sharing this news with their mates.  And, there are those who claim that in the midst of the hot and humid summer months, when morning birdsong is at its loudest, it is because of the coolness of the morning and birds take advantage of these cooler temperatures to make their presence known.

    The poets have claimed that birdsong is nature’s poetry that is ruined once we try to capture and dissect it.  As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “You must hear the birdsong without attempting to render it into nouns and verbs.”

    The birds may never give up their secret for why they fill dawn with song and poetry but that is okay.  As I grow older I am becoming increasingly comfortable with the not knowing.  I do not need to know why they sing, I am just grateful they do.

    Since day light savings time has begun, when we turned our clocks ahead one hour, Abby (my canine sidekick) and I routinely go out to the back deck just before dawn.   Some days, with a jacket pulled over my bathrobe, we take in the slowly growing chorus.  It begins each morning with the same bird and soon following his deep melody others join in.  At this time of year the choir isn’t big but we know it will grow steadily over the next few weeks.

    I am grateful for their trusted call each morning. Whether it be rain, snow or fog they raise their tiny voices in song and inspire me to do the same.  Despite waking to horrible news from Ukraine, or a discouraging snow fall through the night their song calls me to rise up and celebrate yet another day.

    As Maya Angelou wrote, “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.”  May this song inspire us towards brighter and warmer days that lie ahead.

    Blessings,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

  • One Tuesday Afternoon…

    One Tuesday Afternoon…

    Photo by Forrest Moreland/Unsplash

    The Season of Creation has arrived! Do you know what the Season of Creation is?  Just as there is the Lenten Season and the Season of Advent there is within many denominations a Season of Creation.  For some denominations this Season runs from September 1st to October 4th while for others, such as the United Church of Canada it is called “Creation Time” and runs from September 12th to Thanksgiving Sunday, October 10th, 2021. 

    Although we may differ in the exact dates of this liturgical season we all agree on its focus; our God-given role as care takers of God’s wondrous and amazing creation.  We are called to awareness, prayer and action to strengthen our response to God’s presence and glory in all creation.

    And what an introduction to Creation Time we have had this past week in Grey-Bruce! Late on Tuesday afternoon darkness overtook the usual commute home which was followed by large hail stones, wicked winds and a torrential rainfall.  Trees were toppled, roofs torn off, fences and sheds scattered about as if they were simply children’s toys, and hydro wires downed that would take days to repair. And, just as the Creation Story begins in the Bible, there seemed to be chaos everywhere.

    This sense of chaos can leave us bewildered, exhausted and lost but that is not the end of the story; it is only the beginning!  Some have asked, “Where was God in this storm?” 

    God was right where God always can be found, with us in healing and helpful ways.

    Before this storm hit we were warned.  My cell phone sounded an alarm at 4:50 p.m and again several minutes later telling me to take cover and stay still until the storm had passed.  God has gifted us with those who have the knowledge of such meteorological events and the means to communicate warnings to us all.  With thanks to God for such gifts no one died during this storm.

    God’s presence was witnessed in those who jumped into action and began to ensure everyone’s safety.  The first responders such as the police, emergency crews and the hydro workers who immediately began to fix the downed wires; the following two days the sounds of chain saws and tree shredders echoed throughout Saugeen Shores.   

    One way God brings order out of chaos is by using us.  God created us to be the care takers of creation which includes each other.  We are called to aid others, those with the knowledge provide warnings, those with means provides the funds, those who can swing a hammer help to rebuild, each of us gifted in one way or another to aid our brothers and sisters through their chaotic times.

    May we all look around and see clearly the presence of our Great Creator even in the storms and seeming chaos.

    Blessings,  Rev. Heather McCarrel

  • Is It The End or The Beginning of Something Exciting?

    Is It The End or The Beginning of Something Exciting?

    Photo by Sapan Patel/Unsplash

    Labour Day weekend is a hinge weekend; it starts in a summer frame of mind with thoughts of evening camp fires, afternoons spent at the beach and BBQ suppers.  By the time Sunday evening arrives our thoughts have turned towards autumn. Over this long weekend we move from the space of bright and sunny summer days into the space of cozy yet busy days of autumn, hence why it is called a hinge weekend.

    Change is in the air.   As the days shorten and the evenings grow longer the Canadian Geese practice their flight formations overhead, fields of soybeans are turning into their rich autumn colours and migrating birds are gathering on the hydro wires.  Teachers, school bus drivers and parents alike are strategizing the best ways possible to enter another COVID -19 school year.  Meanwhile, others are plotting changes to their home décor gladly planning for cooler evenings spent by the fireplace and the donning of favorite autumn sweaters.  For many it is time to turn over the vegetable garden and spend time pickling or freezing its produce.

    This change cannot be stopped so it may as well be enjoyed.  As Socrates wisely wrote, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”  This new season guarantees to be full of God’s glory, beauty and joy if we decide to seek out all the newness and goodness being offered.

    May this new season be full of hidden joys waiting for your discovery,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel   

  • Luminous Moments

    Luminous Moments

    “Do you have time to go for a drive?”  He added, “There is something really cool I want to show you.”

    Within minutes we were driving out of town, up winding country roads and down narrow one-lane goat trails until we arrived at our destination.  As we closed the car doors, he explained that what stood before me was most likely one of the oldest tree I will ever see.  It was remarkable!  A tall, wide and stately Elm, which in itself is a rarity in these parts. Did you know Elm trees can grow upwards to 120 feet tall?

    Reverently we walked toward this ancient tree and as I laid my palm upon the bark my son explained how, by chance, he came upon this old tree tucked in the edge of an untouched ancient forest along the curve of an old country lane-way.

    My son had spent a summer working for the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority, and it was the wee creek that ran beside that tree that had brought him out to this forgotten place.  He was tasked with the job of gathering water samples from all the little, out-of-the-way waterways.

    The tall grass and over grown vines told me that not many had traveled by this marvelous tree, which made me admire it even more; a hidden gem!   Perhaps its hidden place had protected it from the dreaded Dutch Elm Disease.

    This old tree has grown so old it is now starting to part in two. Down the middle of its trunk was a large dark cervix measuring somewhere between 4 feet high to 2 feet wide.  With a tone of wonder I said, “Look, it is a doorway to another dimension.  Perhaps we would find Narnia if we dared to enter!”

    My son’s days of such fantastic play are well behind him; I hope only for a time.  He turned and got back into the car but I didn’t want to leave quite yet- the tree and I had just met.  I tried to walk the width of the tree but could not due to the bushes and vines that have grown up around it. I stood in silence trying to imagine all the history this tree had lived through and then, as a final gesture, I ran my hand through its large rippled leaves.

    As we drove away I thanked my son for introducing me to this fine old tree and he shared that the day he discovered it he too stood in awe of its beauty and size, “isn’t nature full of amazing surprises?”

    John O Donohue, Catholic Priest and poet, was wide awake to God’s beauty in nature.  In his book,  “The Invisible Embrace: Beauty” he writes, “Every life is braided with luminous moments.” 

    As we move back into the busyness of life may we remember to pause long enough to look around for God’s beauty and to be moved by God’s luminous moments!

    Blessings,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel