Friday
12Mar2010

wobbly grace

The Burnside Writers Collective is "an online magazine for Christians looking for a connection with the world outside of franchise Christianity," originally founded in part by Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz.  Last Fall they published a touching reflection by Matt Cannon about an elderly and somewhat ornery three-legged, visually impaired hound dog his wife brought home from a shelter shortly before she was due to be put down.

In "Wobbly Grace," Cannon writes about his relationship with 'Wobbles,' affectionately named for being not quite so steady on her feet as their other dogs:

In dealing with Wobbles, I showed a greater degree of compassion.  I was gentle, patient, and kind.  I showed her grace on a daily basis.

I guess I did this because I was fairly certain that she had suffered her share of hardships throughout the years.  Of course, I had no idea how she lost her leg or exactly how she had been treated throughout her life.  All I knew was what I saw and what I saw was a three-legged, half-blind dog who didn’t have much life left in her.  I was determined not to make it any worse by treating her poorly.

I hope you can read "Wobbly Grace" for yourself.  In addition to the commendable account of Wobble's adoption, Cannon also draws a meaningful analogy between the grace we can demonstrate to animals who show effects of emotional and physical abuse in their past, and the grace we can make an effort to show to disagreeable people who may well be showing us their own underlying wounds. 

Wobbles' story also made me think of the incredibly inspirational story of Faith, a two-legged dog who was saved from an early death and learned to walk on her own as a biped:

(photo (not Wobbles) courtesy user Hundehalter, Wikipedia Commons (license); video posted by St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

{could you help not one sparrow and our blog?}

Thursday
11Mar2010

Psalm 23 in song

With out last couple of posts inspired by shepherd W. Phillip Keller's reflections on Psalm 23, it seemed appropriate to pass along some beautiful musical renditions of the passage as well.  Psalms mean "sacred song(s) after all (Dictionary.com), and were originally set to music and meant to be sung by David and the other authors.

My favorite rendition, simply called "Psalm 23," is arranged by Howard Goodall and sung by Choir of Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford, from the album Goodall: Choral Works and perhaps most well known as the theme song to the BBC series The Vicar of Dibley:

Click to read more ...

Wednesday
10Mar2010

tending sheep as David did

The second part of our reflection on W. Phillip Keller's A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 ...

We looked at the juxtaposition of Keller's compassionate and biblical animal husbandry to modern industrial animal farming in our last post.  This time, I'd like to point to another contrast Keller raises between his own model of tending sheep and other far more careless methods he came in contact with personally. 

Click to read more ...

Monday
08Mar2010

a shepherd looks at Psalm 23

When I was about 13 and with my parents on the mission field in Holland, a youth-led service was organized for the American Air Force chapel service we attended Sunday evenings, which my father assisted and later chaplained.  I volunteered to give the 'sermon,' which though it was from the heart, essentially ended up being a book review of W. Philip Keller's A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 (Zondervan, org. published in '70). 

But I could hardly have picked a better book to sermonize from, and was reminded of this fact when I read through the book again in recent months.  Not only is the book based on one of the most meaningful and beloved passages in Scripture, but Keller's insight into the unique and nuanced dynamics of tending sheep as a longtime shepherd himself, unfamiliar to most of us today but certainly not lost on  David, is unfathomably deep.  I can't emphasize enough how much more meaning the psalm takes on through reading it alongside Keller's personal experience and faithful commentary.

Click to read more ...

Saturday
06Mar2010

pain-free animals?

I'm grateful to Nancy Janisch, our resident voice of prudence on matters of science and animals, for looking into the following, very dubious, developing prospect in animal agriculture:

Over the past few months there has been some discussion about genetically engineered pain-free farm animals.  Adam Shriver, author of an article on the same subject in the journal Neuroethics, recently discussed his proposal in a New York Times op-ed piece.

Click to read more ...

Thursday
04Mar2010

hey, that's personal?

The following reflection comes courtesy of LaVonne Neff, who blogs at Lively Dust and God's Politics (Sojourners' blog).  I think you'll appreciate the dilemma she raises ...

I’m a cradle vegetarian.  Didn’t have even a bite of meat—red or white, fish or fowl—until I was maybe eleven years old, and then I lost my dietary virginity to a hot dog.  Go ahead and snicker.

Click to read more ...

Wednesday
03Mar2010

a farm boy reflects

Nicholas Kristof is a much respected journalist and op-ed columnist for The New York Times, who has made a media splash of late with his praising of evangelical and other conservative Christian humanitarian efforts around the world.  I was reminded of a piece he wrote a couple of summers ago called "A Farm Boy Reflects," at the time in support of the Prop 2 ballot measure in California to introduce some very basic welfare standards to the state's industrial animal farms (which thankfully passed).

Click to read more ...

Monday
01Mar2010

finding humanely raised products

In addition to the encouragement and resources shared in our recent posts by Matt and Sarah, "Compassionate Eating as Care of Creation" and "Eating Humanely: Why and How?", I wanted to pass along a few extra resources which I hope will help in your shopping and decision making.  I'd like to thank Patti Monaghen, Jessica Stackhouse and Nenad Uzelac for passing them along:

- National Geographic's Green Guide Beef Label Decoder is very helpful for understanding better what different grocery labels like "Certified Humane," "Animal Welfare Approved" and "USDA Organic" actually mean. 

What are the animals fed, and what degree of antiobiotics and hormones are they administered?  What access to pasture and other standards of animal welfare are expected?  You might be surprised, or disappointed, in some cases.  It's always a good idea to do some further googling regarding any specific label you come across, including "Certified Humane." 

Click to read more ...

Saturday
27Feb2010

eating humanely: why and how?

Some final thoughts from Sarah Cunningham on Matthew Scully's Dominion, including some helpful motivation and practical advice for seeking out more humanely raised animal products:

Scully suggests humans have an instinctive connection with animals.  From a young age, we wince at the sight of animal suffering (hurt dogs, deer hit by cars, abandoned baby birds ...).  We may even feel a natural inclination to intervene to help creatures in need.

Click to read more ...

Friday
26Feb2010

not one sparrow falls

I was grateful to bump into a meaningful reflection "Not One Sparrow" by pastor Robin McMillan of MorningStar Fellowship in Fort Mill, South Carolina.  He mentions on his blog Waking Up coming across a small bird alongside the road one morning, and wondering how he had died.  He was reminded of the passage close to not one sparrow's heart, Luke 12:6-7, and it's close parallel in Matthew 10:29-31:

Click to read more ...