 Good afternoon, I'm grateful to be here on the land covered by the dish with one spoon Wampum Belt Covenant and grateful to be gathered here with you if in this virtual way. This last week, one of my elders died. He was a leader in the ecumenical justice movement, a persistent force behind the former inter-church coalition on Africa, the United Church staff person and long after his retirement an ever-present witness in demonstrations on every issue from climate justice to indigenous rights to peace in Palestine. His name was Jim Presente. The notion of elder is something I've tried to learn from indigenous peoples and communities. It wasn't always obvious to me, particularly in my time of youthful hubris, but as the pandemic has so poignantly demonstrated, western culture is ambivalent, dismissive or worse regarding the wisdom and value of elders among us. But I've learned that it's absolutely critical to listen and to learn from the elders who through their experience, faithfulness and persistence help define who we are as families, churches, communities and movements. If not only because who we are and our path to the future is shaped and formed by where we've been, elders teach us and show us the way. There is a description of history compelling in symbolic if not precise mathematical terms and it goes like this. If the earth was formed at midnight and the present moment is the next midnight 24 hours later, humans have been around since 11 59 59 p.m. Or to say it another way in a 24 hour period, humans have been around for the last one second. That humanity is newcomer, infants in the scope of our history is an understatement. And I wonder, do we honor our elder, the earth and all her species? Do we pre apprentice and disciple ourselves to her wisdom? Our precious earth, our elder, teach us and show us the way. Dominant Christianity has had a contested relationship with the natural world, christened dumb in a particular collusion with colonization and industrialization. And the root of this is often attributed to biblical texts which put humanity at the pinnacle of creation and that lean into the instrumentalization of the earth. Dominion over a natural world created for our use or abuse. In the binaries of enlightenment, we now understand that natural world body emotions woman has been perceived as subordinate to the products of humanity, mind, reason, man. Wild needed to be tamed, indigeneity, women, pagans and Christianity was a means in that taming. That christened dumb became a part of the moral architecture of earth's exploitation is a real part of our heritage. But the good news is that it's not the only part. One of the wonders of our sacred texts is their diversity. The bible is not one book, not even a series of books, but a diverse set of stories and thoughts and visions and struggles about people's grappling with what it meant to know God, creator and Jesus, God's beloved child. And so when we look more carefully, we find we have beautiful texts about the wisdom of creation, how it in fact is the first text of God's revelation, text that can test the domination narratives of Christendom. Let's listen again to those wonderful words from the book of Job. There is no dominion over here, but ask the animals and they will teach you you, the birds of the air and they will tell you as the plants of the earth and they will teach you and the fish of the sea will declare to you. This is also our text and so many others that point to the goodness of creation, that point to creation as our teacher, teach us and show us the way and what profound things we have to learn. The waterways as creators bloodlines as critical to our survival as the blood pumping through our veins, watery itself, water is life and on its health all of creation is dependent and connected. What a critical teaching on interdependence and relationship. The seasons that change before our eyes are a powerful assertion that change is always possible. In fact, it may be the only constant. And what an essential teaching in an indeterminable protracted pandemic. What a comfort spring is in times of sustained grief and loss. The seeds that hold a prism of promise. What a brilliant confirmation of hidden potential that nourished and tended can flourish in beauty and sustenance. The monarch butterflies who in their fragility migrate from Canada south to Mexico for the winter a wonderful manifestation of persistence calling into question of human made borders. Oh, yes, also that caterpillar to butterfly metanoia resurrection teach us and show us the way. The diversity of creation rehydration as regeneration rhythms of rest and restoration so much wisdom in evidence elder creation grandmother moon grandfather son mother nature teach us and show us the way. Now I want you to remember for a moment back to that one second of human life that last second in 24 hours. And let's think about that second for a moment. I'm holding in my hands a rope. A rope that in its length is a symbol of humanity in this place. This Turtle Island, this place we now call North America. A rope of that one second in time of human presence here. And this rope depicts 10,000 years or more of settlement along the shores of Lake Ontario. This rope represents the time of three successive indigenous peoples when dad Haudenosaunee Anishinaabe times of inter travel gathering time in this the place that mattered safe harbor hunting and fishing a route to the Atlantic a passage up river in this time in these thousands of years indigenous people learned about this place with and from their elders relatives in creation bear raven deer strawberry sage and from the human elders who pointed the way back to those first teachers teach us and show us the way this blue part this in proportion is European settlement in this land to say that European settlers are newcomers children in the scope of history in this place is an understatement do we honor our elder the earth and all her species do we honor the indigenous nations who learned these lands and their wisdom do we ask indigenous elders with respect please teach us and show us the way in anguish and in repentance we know what has been the dominant answer to this question if there was an early moment of learning a time when my ancestors European settlers depended on indigenous wisdom to survive in these lands things dramatically changed and not only did we fail to learn we actively collaborated in the suppression of what could have been taught the banning of indigenous ceremonies centered on the wisdom of the earth were the subject of missionary and residential school repression this oppressive action was ultimately self-destructive contributing to the exploitation of the earth that we now experience at our peril indigenous resurgence a reassertion of indigenous wisdom a gracious willingness to continue to share teachings teachings that had to go underground to be protected well that resurgence may be the salvation of us all we know that indigenous peoples belong at the front of any movement for ecological justice that we do well to center their wisdom wisdom that should not be commodified but rather profoundly respected as a path to reconciliation with the natural world reconciliation with all our relations for the survival of this planet teach us and show us the way my european christian ancestors have but to account for in the suppression of indigenous wisdom and the exploitation of the natural world our domination texts and our domination doctrines of discovery have much to account for and i'm going to leave witch burning for another day but i believe strongly that there's always been a holy remnant a fragment of our scriptures the trees that clap their hands the stones that cry out wisdom who plays with god in creation the story of jesus who begins his ministry by immersing himself in the watershed and then going into the wild fragments of our scriptures that know that speak up that illuminate the creator's original blessing in creation and i believe there's always been a holy remnant subversive among our peoples caltech christianity francis of ascisi bridged particular examples of religious life and into our time window berry feminist eco spirituality and the new cosmology that assert or recover a deep reverence for creation and heart of christian practice and perhaps you recall in your own families of blood or faith ones who are known for holding the relatives of the natural world close perhaps in defiance of more dominion ways to those eco spiritual ones teach us and show us the way it's important for christians to trace those lifelines back into our tradition for those of european descent to trace lifelines back into ancestry so we might not appropriate but come alongside indigenous resurgence with commitments to the preservation of the natural world for our sake and for the generations of all kinds of relatives still to come today there are so many struggles for ecological justice that need our attention and kairos is part of a growing national initiative entitled for the love of creation that brings together canadian faith communities and faith based organizations to educate reflect act and advocate for climate justice as we face up to climate catastrophe in this next decade and that title for the love of creation comes from a deep belief that we protect with action persistence and commitment that which we love and for so many of us that love may need to be nourished because we just don't know well enough or even have become alienated from the lands and the waters trees and the birds of our place learning knowing invites a falling in love with creation that is both healing and sustaining for the long-term action of ecological justice to which we are called I'd invite you this season of creation to consider a simple practice we call sacred and this practices follows the words essence a appreciate c connect our respect e express delight it helps guide us in remembering or discovering how to be in relationship with creation of relationship of love and respect and it's a spiritual practice that can be incorporated into a hike or a swim a sunrise or a rainstorm I'll find ways for folks to have access to the link for this resource which includes a teaching from one of the kairos elders from the wabanaki confederacy gets a tanamuk or if you're enthusiastic just google take a sacred pause and kairos and you'll get there it has been my experience recently that some of the youngest among us are the most wise that some of the youngest among us can be our teachers today my elders are the creative world yes salmon and whale moose and mouse blue jay and eagle lavender and moss my elders are indigenous knowledge keepers and women land defenders and my elders are venessa nakati ugandan climate defender and gerta thunberg swedish climate activist and autumn pelche anishinaabe quay water protector and so many more young powerful voices from which we are learning what it means to defend the planet as if your life depended on it because of course it does these youths who are elders among us teach us and show us the way and they do so from the streets all over the world with persistence and heart and solutions in whatever way possible we belong by their side the last photo i have of ecumenical elder jim kerkwood was at the march for the global day of action on climate that was one year ago then i think he was at the young age of 86 my staff colleague beth was also there with her baby miles he wasn't yet one and i took a picture of them both younger and older together two of the faces from the climate movement walking with the kairos crew with a stroller and a walker and i was honored by their presence ecumenical social justice ecumenical ecological justice is about showing up and coming alongside and jim knew how to do that he knew how to do that as a true ally by paying attention particularly and most importantly to events with indigenous peoples or with those young folks in the lead and i hope for myself to continue to do the same kind of showing up my whole life long my friends creator loved this world into being with all its exquisite diverse and wondrous beauty creator loved this world into being with all its inherent wisdom and complexity and we return goodness to the creator when we repent and reconcile with the land and the peoples of the land we return gratitude to the creator when we love protect and repair this wounded earth and we return love to the creator when we disciple ourselves as lifelong learners to the wisdom of the creator's precious work all our relations please teach us and show us the way may it be so