two cents worth, september 09
tell us how you really feel... I'd love to know how you connect, or don't connect, with not one sparrow's website, blog and social networking. I put together a brief, 10-question survey and would be honored to have your feedback. The survey, courtesy of SurveyMonkey, is completely secure, anonymous and you can fill it out to whatever extent you care to: click here to take survey. Many thanks if you do, and of course, you're always welcome to send me feedback personally if you'd prefer!
where the bloggers and cockatoos roam... We're working on having a few voices you may have bumped into join us in a more consistent, collaborative blogging effort. But also a reminder to anyone who identifies with our mission and community, we're always grateful for guest posts on just about anything you might be passionate about, even book or film reviews, or your own story related to animals. It doesn't have to be a masterpiece. Just let me know what you're interested in writing about, and I'll definitely follow up!
As for recent blog highlights, we just finished a week's discussion with Nancy Janisch at UK's Deep Church including "A Deeply Christian Concern for Animals" and "Humans, Animals and Imago Dei." Nancy also crossposted a poignant series on "Flu, Farms and Faith" at not one sparrow, and we had a beautiful reflection from Debby Porter on "How I Came upon My Corvids." Some incredible artwork was featured from Raggedy Bird, Nicole Pifer and Kathleen Krucoff, and there were some very funny moments in "Turtles on the Town," "Kids at Play" and "Snowball the Dancing Cockatoo." I also just posted video of a presentation I gave on not one sparrow at Wake Up Weekend.
mustard seeds... To be honest, it's hard to pass along some of the meaningful things which happen with not one sparrow behind the scenes, or the work that goes into making them possible. Aside from not wanting to betray the privacy of friends and connections made, I've always been uncomfortable passing along what might come across as a report card or success sheet. As alluded to in the past, I've had about as many ups as downs the past couple of years, and I try to hold on to the truth that God's definition of success, even meaning and faithfulness, can be different than our own much of the time.
Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches.” (Luke 13:18-19, NIV)
But a couple of friends have helped me realize that sometimes supporting an effort like not one sparrow, it might not always be clear what all goes into maintaining it or helping it grow. And it's not necessarily apparent when encouraging developments happen, like connecting with other Christians in animal care and creation care ministries, or being a friend and a valuable resource to mainstream animal advocacy friends and organizations. Each of these connections is an opportunity for outreach (sometimes quite a bit) on behalf of God's creatures, and simply being a witness to the larger mustard tree mentioned above. I need your help to keep doing this, and I need financial support much like a missionary would raise, quite urgently in fact. If I can communicate more personally the reason for this, the accountability I'm putting in place, and what your investment is helping achieve, please don't hesitate to contact me. Thank you.
roll credits... Many thanks for recent not one sparrow mentions from Christianarchie, Karen Allanach and HSUS Animals & Religion, Paul Berry and Our Humane Nation, Michelle Buckalew and Wisconsin Week for the Animals, Jason Clark and Deep Church, Tracey Clarke and Brainworks, Lidija Ivanek and SiLa Art, Kathleen Krucoff and Reflections of a Glass Artist, Lauren Merritt and The Christian and Creation, Jeane Nevarez and DogEar Diary and Debby Porter and Corvidae: Crows and Ravens.
Thank you, always, for reading and for your friendship, Ben DeVries
(to receive not one sparrow's eletter, please see our two cents page (no pennies needed); header & mustard seed photo copyright 123rf.com, Deep Church image courtesy Jason Clark)
September 3, 2009
Reader Comments (4)
Ben,
Trust your child is doing well. I continue to hope that you will take the time to respond to my publications that pose serious questions to your mission here. My articles are freely available for people to read without cost. One deals with the inadequate exegesis of Andrew Linzey and the other with the inadequate use of science by animal protectionists in their opposition to the fur trade. They alone provide more than enough material for you to work with. Of course, my book provides even more, Dominion over Wildlife? An Environmental-Theology of Human-Wildlife Relations (Wipf and Stock, 2009). I am sure you could get a copy from the publisher for a review if you found a publication to submit it to. I know Evangelical Quarterly wanted someone to review it. If you don't have my journal articles, drop me a note. I will send them along to you and anyone else who cares to read the other side.
I look forward to your ultimately taking up these important questions. Till He Comes,
Stephen, thanks for your comment. I’ve been doing all I can to keep my head above water timewise, with the baby, starting up subbing, and maintaining the basic responsibilities of not one sparrow. I do hope we can have something of a dialogue at some point, but please know timewise it will likely be more of a response to one of your recent articles posted online. That’s more along the lines of the information we can take on here, in terms of investment of time and intellectual leanings. I myself have quite a bit other reading to catch up on, and several blog posts to catch up on.
Steve, I value you as a brother in Christ and our relationship, but please know I speak with a clean conscience when I say I feel no sense of responsibility to thoroughly engage the scope or content of your writing. While you no doubt raise some important pragmatic considerations, the core beliefs which underlie your work are very distant from my own beliefs regarding our responsibility to animals, and to be honest, very far from just about every other Christian I’ve dialogued with. Even those who are in general agnostic towards or distant from animal concerns seem to have a vague sense that how animals are treated in our society is wrong. We may dialogue further, but we will likely not cross this divide in doing so. best wishes - Ben
Ben,
Your most recent posts deal with painful matters that I want to turn away from. But turning away in shock or horror doesn't help abused factory farm animals. Yours and other sites have played an essental role in convincing me that I willl no longer eat fod that comes at the price of horrific suffering. Will I miss dairy? Sure. But now I know it feeds the market for veal. Do I like chicken? Yes, but I will no longer eat it unless I buy from a local, organic farm where I know the chickens are free range - which means I won't be eating it very often. This is not a perfect solution, and some day I hope to be a complete vegan, but it is something, and it is thanks to people like you.
Francine
Francine, what you're doing is very significant, and I commend you for it. I so much appreciate your personal validation of the recent posts, it means a great deal to hear it played a small part in encouraging you along these lines. Your own poem "Her Heaven" meant a great deal in a similar vein to a friend on Facebook. Thank you for your own very valuable contribution to the series, and for taking the time to post this comment. And again, much respect to you - Ben