not one sparrow, the blog

God's covenant with Noah and every living creature

2010-07-29T21:55:24Z

Two not one sparrow friends and contributors happened to each post meaningful reflections in recent months on Noah's ark and what the biblical story means for animals, beyond the two-by-two brought on board we tend to think of. I'll preview both, but I hope you can read the rest at their respective blogs.

From Scott Williams of Creation Hope's "Rainbows & Promises":

This idea that the whole ark story was only about God saving mankind pervaded throughout my life. We like to talk about the 2×2’s in Sunday school because it shows God’s power and, frankly, kids think animals are cute. So we put them up on the flannelboard and play up the cuddly and exotic animals. Good thing God had this afterthought to bring them along because I’m just not sure I could be a vegetarian. ...

More recently though I have re-read the story of the ark with an eye for detail. I have to tell you that a lot has changed for me and my view on creation care as a result of this story. If you have the time I encourage you to read Genesis 9:1-17 before going on. This section takes place after they have disembarked from the ark. Here we see God establishing His covenant. ...

Six times here God covenants with the living creatures or the earth. When I first grasped this, it shook me. I had thought the rainbow was only a sign of God not flooding the earth to destroy man. But now I saw that it was so much more. It was the sign of the covenant between God and His creation. That was so much bigger, so much grander than I had thought.

You see, God’s love, care, and even His covenant extend to ALL of His creation. We have developed such an anthropocentric (human-centered) view that we have missed that God loves, cares for, and covenants not just with people but with the woodpecker, the beagle, the snow leopard, the poison dart frog, the honey pot ant, the sloth, the spider monkey, and even the earth itself. What an incredible value He has placed on His creation.

Keep in mind that this was not a short term agreement. There were no “if you ______, then ______” stipulations. No, this was an everlasting covenant (9:16). And if you know anything about God and His covenants, you know that God is faithful to His covenants. The psalms say that His covenant faithfulness endures forever (Psalm 136).

And Dean Ohlman The Wonder of Creation touches on the same theme of God's covenant faithfulness with both humans and animals in "The Great Intensity":

Human adjustment to these natural forces, that have gone on for eons according to God’s plan and promise, are a good reminder that He created the natural world we occupy for His pleasure (Revelation 4:11)—but accruing to the benefit of all things living.

It was not just Noah and his family that disembarked and it was not just Noah’s family that received the covenant of blessing. Our accommodating to and adjusting for the rest of His creation has always been and always will be our duty, for, as the apostle Paul reminded us, God the Son will one day—perhaps soon—be reconciling “all things” to God the Father. The gospel is good news for “every creature under heaven” (Colossians 1:19-23). Therefore we celebrate the great creation, the great preservation, and the coming great restoration along with the natural world: “Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below!”

(thanks to both Scott and Dean for making these posts available, please check out more of their respective work at Creation Hope and The Wonder of Creation; artwork copyright Lorelyn Medina/123rf.com, and by Aegidius of Roya courtesy of Museum Meermanno Westreenianum, The Hague/Wikimedia Commons)

gentle nudges

2010-07-27T02:07:28Z

I'm sorry for the long gap in posts. A week of planned vacation turned into two more unplanned, as I've been working through some issues related to not one sparrow's administrative structure and sustainability. I'll share more soon, but would appreciate your prayer as I continue to try to piece together the way forward. In the meantime, here's some good-natured animal humor which has put a smile on my face in recent days.

The first video, "Tortoise Helps Tortoise," reminds me how I'm grateful for those who have helped nudge me back on my feet, especially my family and one friend in particular these past few weeks (via LOLcats):

"Cat Man Do" by Simon's Cat is an absolutely hilarious short about being woken up in the morning by an attention-needy feline. Our cat Baby used to do something like this to me when she was little (thanks to Lisa Black for sharing):

And lastly, I came across this cute quote from 3-year-old Shea, who hasn't quite figured out how riddles work yet: "I spy with my little eye something red and white with eyes and a red mouth and red wings and do you want a hint? It's that chicken." (from a B. toys booklet)

(photo courtesy Christin S.)

oil spill prayer journey: a shelter for pets

2010-06-30T02:30:48Z

The night before Scott and I set out on the first full day of our prayer trip along the Gulf of Mexico, I happened to catch a couple of blog posts from Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society and Stephanie Feldstein of Change.org about the Plaquemines and St. Bernard parish shelters of the Louisiana Gulf. Having not yet fully recovered from hurricane Katrina, they were already feeling the economic effects of the oil spill, and just beginning to experience a greater number of pet relinquishments as a result.

Scott and I had the privilege of visiting Plaquemines Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) at the end of that first day, a no-kill pet rescue and shelter in Belle Chasse, about 20 minutes southeast of New Orleans. While it's always hard to see healthy animals confined in cages or grouped in small rooms like at any shelter, it was abundantly apparent how much care and love was invested in these animals, and finding them homes. Knowing that the shelter made every effort to place them, under the guidance of their tireless director Jacob Stroman, was tremendously comforting. I've visited another shelter, with equally adoptable animals, and walked out with far less reassurance. As I mentioned to Scott, it's not an easy reality to process.

We got to tour the cat rooms and the small and large dog rooms, and even saw Jacob and some of the other shelter staff and volunteers in action: answering the ever-ringing phone, bottle-feeding a tiny kitten, cleaning floors, and generally displaying at every turn a selfless service on behalf of their animal charges and the humans they came in contact with. Just before the shelter closed for the day to the public, we even got to see one of the moments which makes the work so worthwhile for all of them, when a 5-year-old, great big dog was adopted by a kindhearted soul.

While they still had 90-plus animals to find homes for when we left, Jacob mentioned that they were bracing for even more relinquishments in the coming days and weeks as a result of the spill. As Scott wrote in his recap of the day, "This is certainly one of the effects of the spill that goes unnoticed: God’s creatures abandoned, stranded, and left in cages."

Please read the fuller posts linked above to find out more about the situation, and how the Humane Society has helped respond with food for local fishers. Please pray for Plaquemines Animal Welfare Society and St. Bernard Parish Animal Shelter, and all of the rescue and shelter efforts along the Gulf, and consider helping in some way yourself if you can. And please always remember the great needs of our local animal rescues and shelters, and the precious lives they serve. Please support them, and consider adopting an animal who desperately needs a home. Each of my own cats was adopted, and I can't tell you how much joy and grace each of them have brought to our lives.

I'd like to extend a huge thanks to Jacob and PAWS for allowing us to visit and observe that afternoon, and even taking the time to show us around despite an incredibly busy week made even busier by all the positive media attention. It really is incredibly devoted work they're doing, and I can't commend them highly enough for it. If interested, you can connect with PAWS on Facebook as well.

oil spill prayer journey: dorsal fins & beach gatherings

2010-06-26T04:04:29Z

I wanted to pass along Scott Williams' final posts on our trip to the Gulf of Mexico, and thank him once again for the time and care he put into recounting each stage of our journey ...

Although Friday wore me out, I got up early Saturday morning to go back to Orange Beach before setting out on the next steps of our prayer journey. The picture that I saw was no better than the afternoon before. The rain the night before had failed to wash away either the oil or its stench from the beach. Wave after wave of oil still washed ashore.

Furthermore, there was now dead wildlife to be found on the shore. First, a blue-clawed crab, dead with oil on its body.

Next, hundreds of dead, little minnows. These were scattered across the shoreline.

Third, a hermit crab which lay lifeless on the sand.

Signs of other, potential casualties surrounded me. Sadly, more minnows swam on the shores edge. Perhaps it was just a matter of time before they joined the others on the shore. Other fish could be seen jumping out of the water just offshore. Dolphins swam in these same oiled waters not far out.

Also, I watched as sharks – which must have been at least five feet long – fed on fish who likely had ingested the oil themselves. The unbelievable thing about this was that they hunted these fish literally 15 feet of the shore. We have been reading how another impact of the spill has been to drive sea creatures closer and closer to shore to avoid the oil. Alas, there was nowhere else to run.

After this we headed over to Pensacola Beach, FL to meet with an incredible young lady named Stacy. This encounter was certainly one that had been planned by God. You see, when we set out on the trip we were still waiting to hear back about several possibilities of people to connect with in this area. Stacy was not one of them. On the flight out to New Orleans I started talking with the woman sitting next to me. It turns out that she works right across the street from Westmont college where I did my undergraduate work. Not only that, but her niece is also a Westmont alum. As I was telling her about the trip and where I would be headed, she mentioned offhandedly that her niece lived in Pensacola and that she might be interested in what we were doing. After the flight I gave this woman my card, but did not expect much to come of it from the niece’s end. Well, on Thursday night I got a call from her niece, Stacy, asking what we were doing. I told her about the trip so far and suggested we meet up and pray together.

So, we headed down to Pensacola Beach and met up with Stacy. It was surprising how just a few more miles down the coast the situation was again changed. The water was blue and clear. Apparently some tar balls had come ashore but were already cleaned up. When we were there people were swimming and enjoying the beach, albeit in decreased numbers.

{UPDATE: Apparently Pensacola has now had a new round of oil wash ashore. Let us pray that this too can be cleaned up quickly and completely.}

There on the beach we enjoyed a wonderful time of prayer. It is so amazing how we have this common bond as Christians where we can come together in prayer with someone we did not even know moments earlier. Not only did we spend time praying, but we were able to share stories about caring for God’s creation and humane consumption. Ben and I had a great time and were blessed by this encounter.

After our time with Stacy, we continued on down the Florida coast to the beautiful St George Island. It is a small island surrounded by incredible eco-diversity. Though it has not yet been hit with the oil, fear abounds. Even if the oil does not reach the shore, the island may still be deeply affected economically.

The pastors of the Methodist and Baptist churches on the island had arranged a prayer and praise meeting for Saturday. We set up on the beach just past their spectacular lighthouse. The meeting was late in the evening, so we were blessed by great, cool weather. A variety of leaders took part in the event. Both Ben and myself were able to participate in reading scripture, sharing brief messages, and praying. This was a powerful time with upwards of 70 people (estimates have reached as high as 100) gathered together on this small island to pray for this situation.

A few thoughts rang out during the course of the evening:

God is in control.
God is with us.
We must humble ourselves and pray.

As waves crashed, birds soared overhead and the sun descended, we proclaimed that the God who had created these incredible things was sovereign over this situation. It was so amazing to see these wonderful people stand together and declare their trust in the Lord. Ben and I were blessed to have been able to participate in something so great as this. While the day had begun rough, facing the challenges of the spill up close and personal, it finished as a time of comfort and hope.

Scott has shared two additional posts on Creation Hope's blog, on two wonderful church services we attended on St George Island the following morning and a retrospective of the trip in photo and video. And I'll be sharing one final reflection of my own on a wonderful animal shelter we visited in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, before we return to regularly scheduled programming.

In addition to my gratitude for Scott's thorough recaps of the trip, I'd like to thank him and his wife Lauren, along with Creation Hope, again for their touching generosity in enabling me to accompany the prayer trip. It was a very meaningful time, to say the least.

(Scott's post "Dorsal Fins & Prayer Meetings" originally posted on Creation Hope's blog; many of the photos shared throughout these trip reflections were of course taken by him as well)

sea turtles scrubbed in the Gulf

2010-06-24T03:18:19Z

Even as Scott and I spoke to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service official who mentioned how deadly the oil is for slow-moving sea turtles along the Gulf of Mexico, and other reports have surfaced this week how turtles and other marine life are being caught up in the controlled oil slick burns, it was refreshing to watch the following CNN video on a few lucky rescues:

I watched the video before we left on our trip, but to date over 110 sea turtles have been rescued and brought for cleaning to the Oiled Wildlife Care Network (based out of the University of California, Davis) which is partnering in Louisiana with NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Other rescued turtles are being cared for by the Louisiana Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Rescue Program at Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans.

(thanks to Aida Collazo for sharing the video)

oil spill prayer journey: tears and shock

2010-06-23T00:40:17Z

Scott and I left New Orleans yesterday afternoon, completing our week-long oil spill prayer trip. It was a humid and draining week with much to take in, even discouraging at times, but with many meaningful moments as well. Following is Scott's recap on the middle two days of our trip, the second of which marked our greatest exposure to the oil itself ...

On Thursday, our gulf coast prayer journey began appropriately. We had a chance to pray on the beach of Grand Isle one last time before moving along. We worked our way from Grand Isle, Louisiana all the way to Gulfport, Mississippi. The road included much beautiful scenery. The way was scattered with rivers, marshes, bayous, forests, and some great trees.

Upon arrival at Gulfport, we headed straight to the beach. There we found a pier and walked to the end to see the condition of the water (which was totally clear of oil).

At the end of the pier were a couple of guys on a bench. Ben soon struck up a conversation with one of them, a local fisherman named Michael. It turns out that Michael had been crying and praying about the oil spill when we showed up. He shared much of his story and thoughts about the spill with us, but the following quote is what will stick with me for a long time:

I’ve got tears in my eyes. I don’t want it to get here. I don’t want it to get here! That’s my livelihood!

Somehow looking at it on the computer does not seem to do justice to the sincere passion and pain that he delivered it with. This man truly felt the pain of many of his gulf coast neighbors and deeply feared how it would impact him.

As we spoke, a man sat quietly next to Michael with his head buried in a booklet. At some point along the way, Michael interrupted him. Luis, who only spoke Spanish, was out from Texas for a few days visiting family. Though I didn’t want to interrupt his personal, devotional time, I am glad that we – and by we I mean our new friend Michael – did. It turns out that Luis was going through a Catholic devotional.

Luis had a powerful story. He had lost his wife in 2003 (if I remember the date correctly) and had turned to drinking. But in 2005 he gave up drinking and turned to the Lord instead. It was great to hear his story and share what we were doing as well. He and I had a great time sharing how God is in control, pase lo que pase (“whatever happens”).

After a while the four of us, who were absolute strangers 20 minutes earlier, joined together in prayer on the end of the pier there. What a powerful and unexpected time!

As of Thursday morning, a couple of plans had fallen through, and I was wondering if anything meaningful was going to happen. Certainly the two of us would pray, but I thought that other than that it would mostly be filled with a lot of driving, catching up on work, and planning. What a pleasant surprise to see God move in this way. As we walked away, our two new friends were encouraged as were we. And I have a new friend Luis who wants to give me a call sometime.

God is good!

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The clean beaches we saw in Gulfport, Mississippi on Thursday’s leg of our prayer journey were not to be found on Friday. As we crossed the state line over into Gulf Shores, Alabama, we went from a fear of what could happen to a realized fear.

Upon arrival, we noticed that the yellow flag was flying on the shore. This indicated the danger but allowed people to go in the water. And go in the water they did. The beach was a contrast of beach umbrellas and cleanup tents, people wearing bathing suits and workers wearing special protective boots and gloves, people playing in the sand and workers digging up the oil in the sand, people swimming in the water and people taking pictures of the oil and tars balls in the water.

The reports we had heard of tar balls found on the beaches there were most definitely true. They were scattered across the shore. Solid to the touch, those found in the sand were not as sticky as I might have thought. Perhaps it was the result of having been in the sun and covered in sand. As I crumbled one in my hand, however, it quickly became much more sticky and stuck to my hand. In fact, after washing it off in the ocean water and scraping it through the sand, my hand remained covered with a layer of oil. It was only after wiping it down with several baby wipes that I started to make some progress.

Ben bravely trekked into the ocean to see what he could see. There he found what looked liked little flakes. When he reached out to touch them, they dissolved immediately on his hand, revealing droplets of oil. Even with these moist drops, he was only successful in partially removing the oil from his skin. He, too, was left with an oily layer that was only removed later with more intentional effort and help.

Imagine what it might be like for an animal that happened to come into contact with it.

Meanwhile, contracted workers continued to work just a few yards off the water’s edge. Every couple of hundred yards or so there was another group of workers. The scary thing was that the oil was not just found in chunks on the surface. They had to dig down into the sand where they continued to find the contaminated spots. T hey filled bag after bag after bag with oiled sand. Every short while an excavator/tractor would come by to be filled with the many bags. They were then transported to the nearest collection of dumpsters that had been brought in just for that purpose.

Whereas access to the contaminated areas was extremely restricted in Louisiana, here people were not separated from the workers, oil, or water. It was bizarre to watch as people would step across tar balls to go swimming in the water. Or as people set up their towels, chairs and umbrellas right near the cleanup tents. Or as tourists snapped picture after picture of the work, sometimes posing right next to the workers.

After a while we headed a little further on down the beach to Gulf Shores State Park. There workers in hazmat suits collected countless oil-stained booms. As I walked out on the pier there, a look down into the water revealed massive tar balls on the ocean floor. Even worse, fish were swimming and jumping in the area, surely unable to avoid contamination.

Next, we continued on to Orange Beach, which is the next city to the east of Gulf Shores. Though we only traveled a short distance, the picture drastically worsened. The flags had gone from yellow to red, meaning: “DO NOT GO IN THE WATER.”

This was with good reason. As I walked toward the shore, I couldn’t help but think to myself that this was one of the more beautiful beaches I had seen. This pristine beach contained beautiful white sand, clean of any debris. But as I approached the water, the picture completely changed. The last 10 or 15 feet to the water (at high tide) was completely stained with oil. It went from white to some sort of orange-brown. Walking barefoot, I immediately felt the grease of oil between my toes. An overpowering stench of oil filled my nostrils. I watched as each wave deposited a new line of oil on the sand. As the waves retreated back, they revealed large amounts of oil in the water. Furthermore, both large globs and tiny droplets of oil were visible on the surface of the water. In contrast to our experience in both Louisiana and Gulf Shores, there were no workers, no security: just a few others watching this disaster unfold before them.

I was profoundly impacted at this point. I sat overwhelmed at the tragedy before me. It was like watching the scene of a car accident. Horror stood before me, but I could not bring myself to leave. After a couple of hours locked into the disaster, a heavy storm rolled in. Thunder rumbled in the background, raindrops fell on my head, and I just stood there. I was in shock, unable to even think. The damage we had caused to God’s creation was more than I could handle.

What had we done? How awful that my own consumption had been a factor in causing this! Why weren’t we doing more to fix it? How tragic that I could do nothing more.

Overwhelmed and shocked, all I could do was call upon our Lord.

For more images and videos, please visit Creation Hope's Facebook page, our Flickr page or our YouTube channel (video content coming soon). I apologize for the delay on these latest posts. As you can imagine, this trip has been filled with long, challenging days. Our schedule has had us up early and working very late every day. Now that we have returned, I will be back on track.

("I've Got Tears in My Eyes" and "In Shock" shared by Scott Williams, originally posted on Creation Hope's blog; be sure to visit Oil Spill Prayer as well)

oil spill prayer journey: decontamination, frustration & oration

2010-06-19T04:50:55Z

Scott Williams and I are a day or two behind updating on our prayer trip along the Gulf of Mexico, as full as each day has been, but please know we intend to get caught up. Following is Scott's recap of an eventful day 2, and thank you for following along and praying with us ...

Wednesday our gulf coast prayer journey took us down to Grand Isle, LA. This is located to the southeast of New Orleans and has been a place of much activity these last 59 days.

Once there, we first went to Grand Isle State Park where much oil has been spotted. We walked by a camp where many of the cleanup workers were gathered on our way to the beach. What we saw upon arriving was disheartening. Booms stretched as far as the eye could see in each direction. A look beyond the boom revealed that the shores were blackened by the oil. Looking closer you could see not just the globs of oil but some very large chunks as well. As we walked out along the pier small patches of oil were visible floating across the top of the water.

But what made it worse was watching the sea life that was swimming near and through the oil. A stone’s throw from the water’s edge swam shrimp, schools of fish, and dolphins. Additionally, birds were diving into that same water to catch those fish which may well have been contaminated.

I have been reading about how many of the animals have been forced closer to shore to avoid the oil. However, they do not seem to be safe there either. It seems that for many there is nowhere to run.

We also learned that where there used to be a countless supply of crabs running on the shore (to the point that you had to be careful not to have your toes pinched), they are no longer there. “The crabs are all gone,” said one resident.

Now, unless you have special clearance it is illegal to go beyond the boom. But I watched as two people (without permission) crossed the boom to take samples on the shore. Security quickly showed up to make them leave. Not only did they threaten to have them arrested but they were forced to be decontaminated. Apparently they were fortunate because it only took 5 or 10 minutes to scrub off their shoes. I was later told by a BP spokesman that it could take up to 3 hours.

As we worked our way around the island we later hit another part of the Grand Isle beach. Within 5 minutes of reaching the beach, we were approached by no fewer than 3 or 4 security guards. We were sternly (but kindly) warned not to cross the boom. Again, boom 3 layers thick stretched across the shoreline. As I looked at the tar balls before me and the numerous oil rigs in the background I couldn’t help but wonder, “Was it just a matter of time before this happened?”

Frustrations ran very high across the island. Economic difficulties are rising. The jobs of many have been called into question. It’s not just about the short term. If you are a fisherman, it could possibly be years and years before being able to resume work in the area. Even those who may not be directly affected feel the trickle down effect of it all. These challenges and the apparent lack of progress in the local cleanup have many frustrated and angry. Some described the people who live there as “depressed.” One woman has been so stressed out about the situation that she has lost 16 pounds as a result. Protests are not unknown, though outside of the passive one pictured below, protests seem to have been replaced with less public anger and frustration. Perhaps that reveals something of their mindset as well.

Everywhere you go people are talking about the spill – about amount of oil, locations, frustrations, economics, science, and more. There are now even snow balls and mixed drinks with names like “tar ball” and “oil spill.” There is no escaping it.

Some who went down to spend the summer on the beach are flat out of luck. Even grandparents have turned their grandchildren away because the beaches and water are no longer available. Life on the island is now changed.

I was also able to spend a few minutes with a BP spokesperson at the local community center which has been taken over by people offering assistance, loans, and answers to questions. Instead of expressing anger (which has been well covered by many others – locally and globally), I chose to hear the positive things they are doing to help this community.

Much of what they are doing in Grand Isle focuses on the needs of the youth. They will create a youth jobs program, sponsor a fireworks display, and build a volleyball court (since there is no longer a beach to play on). They have tried to take ideas originating from the community itself. When asked how people might pray for BP, the spokesperson demonstrated his concern for the community by asking for prayer for the residents first, BP second. While these and other efforts in no way make up for the damage, it is good to know that there are at least a few positive things like this taking place. [More about approaches to BP in the future.]

The last thing we did was to join the members of First Baptist Church, Grand Isle for a Bible study and prayer meeting for the oil spill. The Bible study was a meaningful time where residents, missionaries, a member of the Coast Guard just in from Washington state, and ourselves shared testimonies. We also had an opportunity to hear their concerns, frustrations, and needs.

After the study, we were able to lead a prayer meeting. Before we began in prayer, I shared a few thoughts on how God is with us even in these difficult times. Then we – young and old, local and stranger, but all children of God – joined together for a very meaningful time of prayer. This was the most impactful time of the whole day for me. To stand together and express our faith and confidence in the Lord with those who find themselves right in the thick of this tragedy was incredibly powerful.

I cannot put this post up without mentioning the great help of Becca Knight and Katie Newman – two young missionaries who have given their summer to help out First Baptist Church. They gave up their entire day to guide us around the island, make arrangements, and pray with us. We were greatly blessed by the hospitality of these two, their friend Dillon, and the rest of First Baptist Church.

Through the night the following thoughts resounded: God is with us, God is in control, and God is faithful.

("Decontamination, Frustration, & Oration" originally posted on Creation Hope's blog; a recap on day 1 of our trip is also available in case you missed it)

deepwater

2010-06-17T22:31:59Z

An exceptionally poignant lament on the oil spill, both its net effect and its tragic impact on the Gulf pelicans in particular, from Hannah Stephenson and The Storialist, "Deepwater":

Like resurrected pterodactyls rising from tar,
the birds emerge, dragging sludge-sodden wings.

Behind them, a new set of tracks: triangular valleys
flanked by grooves, like the marks left by skis.

Too heavy to be raised, these wingtips rake across
sand. The birds stumble under the mass placed

onto them, a brown-black cloak, a leaden veil.
It was not our intention to suffocate these birds

with their own bodies. We are so very sorry.
We offer what we can, money, soap emblazoned

with the image of a dove, a steady, gloved palm.
Explosion, detonation, flame, death--we understand

these things. Finite. Spill, too, implies a completed
action, finished, accidental. Infuriated, aching

we watch what we made and keep making,
an unnatural disaster in progress. It is undoable,

it is still happening. What trawls the soul about
this spill, that horrible monster down there:

it is an alien we trapped, a dinosaur that we awoke,
a dark beast we tried to harness. We called out to it.

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I'm very grateful to Susan Millard-Schwarz for pointing me to this poem written by her stepdaughter Hannah, and to Hannah for allowing us to share it here. Katelyn Beaty posted a very meaningful reflection on Christianity Today the other day as well, "The Cry of the Oil-Soaked Pelican." I hope you'll read the brief editorial yourself, but here's a preview:

I'm not surprised these birds are revealing sobering spiritual realities; Jesus told us to "consider the birds of the air" (Matt. 6:26) and other small, weak things—lilies, mustard seeds, doves—to learn the ways of the kingdom of God. ...

It seems the gulls and pelicans mired in the oil spill are teaching us that our misuse of oil and other natural resources will eventually bring disaster to the created order. They are schooling us about the wages of carelessness and constant bottom-line thinking.

MotherJones has an excellent report with photos of the pelican cleaning and rehabilitation taking place at Fort Jackson, Louisiana, which Scott and I visited on Tuesday but weren't allowed access to. We did see from a distance a couple of outdoor enclosures where the pelicans placed to dry off after cleaning and get some sun, with an occasional head and wing flapping into view. As of Tuesday noon, just under 600 birds had been taken in.

From MotherJones' "Inside Oil-Spill Pelican Rehab" article by Mac McClelland:

"These are the birds that are all better?" I asked a rehabilitation worker. "These are the birds that are nearly better," he said. "They won't be all better until they're released back into the wild." And then only maybe, since their survival rate at that point is estimated at 50 to 80 percent—and that's if they don't get slicked again. Currently, many cleaned pelicans are being released off the east coast of Florida, so their survival rate may go down if the oil works its way up the Eastern seaboard.

Still, much better news than the dire survival rates reported a couple of days ago, as low as 10% potentially, via The Huffington Post. It is true, sadly, that many pelicans have perished before rescuing, others won't survive the rehabilitation process, and still others won't surivive substantially past release. But I was relieved to talk to both a U.S. Fish and Wildlife official and Humane Society of the United States representative who said the dismal survival rate projections were derived from isolated sources and studies, and definitely overblown.

A video from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, featuring Jay Holcomb of the International Bird Rescue Research Center which is partnering with Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research at Fort Jackson, was shared in the Mother Jones article and is a captivating and encouraging depiction of the cleaning and rehabilitation process:

More powerful photos, tragic in capturing the presence of the oil spill and hopeful with respect to some of the rescues taking place, are available at Boston.com's The Big Picture.

("Deepwater" poem copyright Hannah Stephenson; "Gulf-Oiled-Pelicans-June-3-2010" and "Gulf-Oiled-Pelican-Before-After-Cleaning" photos courtesy International Bird Rescue Research Center/Flickr, via Wikimedia Commons (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license))

oil spill prayer journey: choppers, marinas & shelters

2010-06-16T05:24:26Z

The first full day of my Oil Spill Prayer journey along the Gulf of Mexico with Scott Williams of Creation Hope (and a not one sparrow advisory board member) is just about under our belts. I'm grateful to Scott for writing the following recap at the end of a long but meaningful day ...

Yesterday – day 1 of our oil spill prayer journey through the gulf coast – was just the beginning. With the arrival of day 2 things really kicked into gear.

We worked our way down to the Venice (Louisiana that is) area which is south of New Orleans. There was no big circus, no neon lights, no large signs announcing “Oil Spill Ahead.” In fact, the highway was characterized by calm and verdant scenery. This was broken only by the numerous police cars (to ward off BP protesters?) and round after round of helicopters that were ferrying bags around (presumably sand for the construction of six berms for the barrier island project).

The first stop of the day was at a community prayer center where we took the opportunity to pray. The design (including crosses and a prayer alcove built in the shape of the empty tomb) pointed to the great hope of the gospel. We prayed for the area and the effects of the spill, while holding on to that hope.

From there we headed down to the Ft. Jackson Rehabilitation Center where they are working to clean off the birds (pelicans) that have been oiled by the spill. Unfortunately, they were not letting outside groups in today (though we were able to see some of the cleaned birds from a distance). This article from someone granted media access gives a good description of the work they are doing there. Before we left we were able to pass along some encouragement and spend some time praying for this restorative work.

Our next stop was the Venice Marina. Typically the center of much fishing activity, the marina was lifeless. Very few boats went in or out. We watched as NBC made their hourly update, the pace of their broadcasting contrasted by their news that little was happening.

An interesting conversation with a ship’s mate revealed that many of the boats have been contracted by BP, though he indicated that they are not working too hard. He also pointed out that that they are still waiting on 3 weeks worth of payments. He said that he would really just prefer to be back to fishing. Unfortunately, it sounds like that is a long ways off.

We headed a little ways down the road to Cypress Cove Marina. There we stumbled into a conversation with guy (who asked to remain unnamed) in public affairs from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. This conversation will be fleshed out a lot more in several future posts. Here are a couple interesting quotes from him:

“We are the problem.”

“This is the cost of doing business, but maybe we should re-think how we do business.”

“What is it gonna take?”

He also pointed out that the birds, turtles, and other animals that are dying as a result of the oil is really just a warning sign. He thinks the bigger problem is at the microbial level, where this spill will have even longer term effects. It could be many, many years before fishing is restored, and certain animals could disappear altogether. He also emphasized how much of our food comes primarily from the Gulf, and how much of that may be lost.

My friends, his point was clear: this is bad, very bad! Our consumption and this colossal disaster very well may have changed a culture, a key source of food, an ecosystem, and the species found there.

Lastly, on our way back to New Orleans we stopped by the Plaquemines Parish Animal Welfare Society (PAWS). There we met with the shelter director, Jacob Stroman, who was more than welcoming. The shelter has seen a rise in animals that are relinquished (given to the shelter) recently, most likely due to the economic challenges resulting from the spill (note: “most likely,” because many people do not share why they give them up).

While there, we watched as a woman adopted a 5 year old dog. It was neat to hear as she shared her story with us. And the staff was overjoyed to see this dog find a new home. However, 40+ dogs and 50+ cats remain. This is certainly one of the effects of the spill that goes unnoticed: God’s creatures abandoned, stranded, and left in cages. While the workers at the shelter deeply cared for the animals there and did the best they could, this is certainly a less-than-ideal situation (note: Ben will be sharing this story more fully on the Not One Sparrow site soon).

It has been a long day, but a good one. A day filled with stories, unforgettable sights, and lots of prayer. It is midnight local time as I write this, and we will be up early in the morning to head to Grand Isle, LA where we will spend much of the day around the island with the good people of First Baptist Church, Grand Isle.

Very soon we will conclude this second day of our prayer journey in prayer. Please join us.

("Choppers, Marinas, & Shelters" originally posted on Creation Hope's blog)

his eye is on the sparrow

2010-06-13T03:28:22Z

A beautifully sung and stirring rendition of "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" (a hymn based on the verse behind not one sparrow's name, Luke 12:6, or its close parallel in Matthew 10:29), from Tanya Blount and Lauryn Hill:

His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me ...

You can read the full lyrics and the touching inspiration behind the hymn at Cyber Hymnal. Our friend Susan Millard-Schwarz, a gifted classical singer, has a beautiful rendition of her own, part of her Songs of Spirit collection. And you might also appreciate Ethel Waters' live performace as part of a 1975 Billy Graham crusade in Jackson, Mississippi.

(Blount & Hill version from Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit soundtrack (Hollywood Records '93); photo copyright 123rf.com)

aren't people more important than animals?

2010-06-11T22:30:41Z

Our regular contributor Dean Ohlman of RBC Ministries and The Wonder of Creation posed the following question at SustainLane's Creation Care community as part of his series "Questions Evangelicals Ask About the Environment," with a rousing response:

Isn’t it more important to care for people than to care for creation? (or “Aren’t people more important than animals?”)

For Christians there is no question that people are more valuable to God than animals. Jesus clearly states this in His Sermon on the Mount: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matt. 6:26). This question, however, is often asked in an attempt to make creation care appear to be non-biblical. Proper earth stewardship rarely involves choices between the needs of people and the needs of the remainder of the creation. This is because the health and life of people and animals both depend upon a sound ecosystem. We have learned, for instance, that animal extinctions are often the first signs of a distressed environment—an environment that will ultimately become unhealthy even for people (like dead coal-mine canaries signaled miners about the presence of odorless, but lethal, methane gas).

An element often forgotten in the emotional tension that follows the posing of this question is that mankind has been given the responsibility to care for the needs of animals. People are the responsible species. While we are charged by God to love our neighbors and meet the needs of suffering people, we are not therefore dismissed from our stewardship tasks toward the rest of creation. It’s not an “either/or” situation: We must care for people and for the remainder of the creation. Certainly Christianity would consider it sinful to care more for stranded whales than helpless children in the womb (something some non-Christian environmentalists might dispute). But we need to see that it is also sinful to neglect the pain and strife mankind unnecessarily creates for God’s other creatures. We must not prioritize biblical mandates to the extent that the ones we place lower on our list are never addressed [editor's note: see the end of our post "FAQ #2, But Don't We Have Other Priorities as Christians?" for more on this theme].

A further point could be made on that affirmation: When necessary responsibilities are kept low on the priority list and never addressed, the problems that inattention creates tend to drive the lesser priorities higher up on the list until they are screaming for attention. This, I fear, is what is happening regarding species endangerment and extinction, the depletion of fisheries around the world, and the rapid destruction of our coral reefs. Millions and millions of dollars are rightfully raised and spent on human right-to-life, poverty, and male-female-marriage-only issues. But Christian leaders who claim these to be the only responsibilities we have are biblically, theologically, and practically off base. It is simply past time for the evangelical community to claim and enthusiastically address our responsibility to be good stewards of God's creation, a major part of which is caring about the welfare of the other creatures we share the earth with—creatures the Word of God tells us that God loves and cares for.

"The eyes of all look to you [Lord], and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all His ways and loving toward all He has made." (Psalm 145:15-17).

How can a follower of Jesus believe that behavior that destroys the habitat of these other living things and drives them into extinction is anything less than an affront to the Creator who made both us and them?

(thanks to Dean for sharing "Questions Evangelicals Ask About the Environment" #11 with us, originally posted at SustainLane on 9/23/09; Dean blogs regularly, with great intrigue and devotional insight I might add, at The Wonder of Creation; photos copyright editorialz & Iakov Kalinin/123rf.com)

learning from Romans

2010-06-09T22:43:39Z

Lauren Merritt, via the apostle Paul and his letter to the Christians in Rome, helps us continue to understand why caring for creation and God's creatures is a biblically faithful proposition ...

A good Christian friend of mine once threw a soda can out the window of my moving car. I slammed on the breaks and drove ¼ mile in reverse for him to pick it up. Incredulous, I asked why he would do that. He replied with a laugh (a nervous one I think, being thrown off by my rather abrupt and unexpected reaction to his using the beach as a trash can), “Just speeding up the rapture.”

I see. The logic is simple and appealing: The world is going to end, so why care? Far too many Christians hold this apathetic view. Why engage in a losing battle? Even more, God will purposefully destroy the earth on a last day, so by contributing to the desolation now, we’re actually working to further God’s plan! When we live to bring about ruin, God gets a leg up on his last days of destruction, and we get to live in mindless wastefulness.

Win–win.

Initially, that does make a sort of sense. But a dangerous echo of Romans 6 resonated in my mind.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul describes the Christian faith and salvation. In chapter 5 he explains how we have life and salvation in Christ as a free gift from God. Through the death of Christ, we have been given a free righteousness apart from our own works.

The first thing Paul writes after this glorious declaration, knowing the mind of sinful men, is a rhetorical question: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” (6:1)

Since we know we are justified before God, shall we sin without concern? In fact, Paul anticipated that some might think they could even be providing God more opportunities to show grace! God gets to be graceful, we get to be selfish.

Win–win.

“By no means!” is this the calling on our life, Paul writes. “How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (6:2)

Paul makes clear that we have been united with Christ through faith. Christ died on the cross, bearing all the penalty for the sin of mankind (and you and me in particular), and was raised again, irrevocably conquering the power of sin and death. Likewise, we who are united to Christ have been crucified! The deadly chains which bound us to sin have been broken, our old self has died, and a new self has risen in the power of Christ – and we are free. But, Paul writes, we are free for a purpose: we are dead to sin and alive to God. Not alive to ourselves to pursue our passions, but alive to God to present ourselves for his service.

We cannot go on sinning. God did not save us to let us fall back into our old chains, but to live a full life in His service.

Before becoming Christians, we suffered as slaves of sin. Now, saved, we still bear much of the burden of a sinful world – a world characterized by sin and destruction, and waste and selfishness and sensuality. We wait eagerly for our final adoption as children of God, when our hope will come to fruition (Romans 8:23).

Creation also groans for its salvation and waits on God:

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. (Romans 8:19-22)

Christian and creation are alike in desire for God and in hope for restoration. Christian and creation together are subject to a futile and temporary, pain-filled world because of sin. Christian and creation together will one day be set free from the bondage of sin.

Shall we go on destroying the earth since we know it will be restored? By no means! That makes no more sense than, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” God did not save us to leave us in sin, but to free us for his glory and his purpose. Nor did he give us an earth that displays his glory so that we can tear it down, but rather to magnify himself.

Oh, how arrogant we are to think that the entire world was created simply so that we could live in it! What a pitiful and limited view of God’s creative powers. God created the world primarily for his glory – not our use. It was never destined to be a mere product in our hands to dirty and throw away.

How glorious is creation? Glorious enough to reveal the nature of God to all the world:

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20).

Every mountain, blade of grass, speck of dirt, animal, plant, mineral displays the glory of God, wrought by his own hand in exactly the way he wanted. His very nature is imprinted in the earth, which speaks to us without words.

As we have temporary bodies that are nonetheless temples of God (1 Cor 6:19-20), so is creation temporary, and yet the grandest temple of God, day and night declaring his glory. We do not tear down our bodies for the mere sake of their mortality, nor shall we destroy the earth because one day it will be gone.

How can we who share a fate with the earth – who suffer and groan with it, who eagerly wait for God alongside it, who with it claim our existence in him, by him and for him – how can we continue to live in animosity, apathy, or destruction toward it?

Amen ...

(Many thanks to Lauren for sharing "The Christian and Creation - Learning from Romans," originally posted on her blog The Christian and Creation ~ Glorifying the Creator; Lauren has recently been running an excellent series on eating humanely, and launched a new Facebook page for her blog as well. All Bible passages English Standard Version; photos copyright Karen Keczmerski & Evgeniy Meyke/123rf.com)

Billy Graham on caring for animals

2010-06-09T02:22:43Z

Just as we're answering the question whether Christians are supposed to have other priorities than caring for animals, I was very happy to learn (via Denise LaChance and Our Hen House) that Billy Graham recently answered a similar question at The Christian Post. The legendary evangelist and much-respected Reverend Graham's guest column from May 17th is titled "Is God Interested in Animal Care?"

He is asked by a concerned mother whether her 16-year-old daughter, who has a big heart for animals and volunteers at a local pet shelter, is in God's will for doing so: "She feels this is what God wants her to do with her life, but is God really interested in things like this?"

In reminding that animals were created by God and continue to belong to Him, Rev. Graham writes, "Yes, let me assure you that God is concerned about our care of every part of His creation - including the animals." I hope you'll have a chance to read the rest of his encouraging and wise response, but here's just a bit more: "what your daughter is doing is a good thing in God's eyes, for He is concerned about the way we treat animals (especially those that depend on us)."

Amen, Rev. Graham.

(photo courtesy my father Daryl DeVries, from a 1993 Billy Graham evangelistic crusade in Essen, Germany which he helped put on; I'd also like to mention my brother Joshua DeVries, creator of our site banners, has a role as one of Graham's closest friends and confidants in the movie Billy: The Early Years of Billy Graham)

oil spill prayer journey

2010-06-08T02:53:19Z

Maybe you caught our posts on the catastrophic Gulf of Mexico oil spill, "The Oil Spill and Animals, Kyrie Eleison" and "Prayer for the Oil Spill." The latter mentioned Oil Spill Prayer, an effort to rally Christians around the country in prayer for the spill, launched by our board member Scott Williams who heads up Creation Hope. Scott is embarking on a prayer journey along the Gulf as part of this ministry, and graciously invited me along on behalf of not one sparrow. Here's Scott's introduction to our trip, with a few more comments from me:

I want to thank you all for your support and prayers. We are so excited that over 3,000 people have formally committed to pray for the effects of the oil spill through our Oil Spill Prayer initiative in addition to the countless others who are praying as well. These last 45 days have been filled with much tragedy and devastation, but the way that you have stood together to pray and entrust the situation to our Lord has been a bright spot and a great source of encouragement. We believe that our prayers do make a difference because our God is sovereign and listens to our prayers. So, thank you for standing up and making a difference in an impossible situation.

Unfortunately, I have to report that the flow of oil has yet to be stopped. Each effort that has been tried to stop or even slow the leak to date has failed. Furthermore, the estimates of how much oil shoots out every day has more than doubled. The gulf is filled with major plumes of oil. Beaches and marshes have now been infected with oil. Seagulls and sanderlings, Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles and dolphins have been injured and killed as a result. Families are struggling to put food on the table as a result of lost wages. Words can hardly describe the destruction.

The situation is dire, but our God, who is the Redeemer, has revealed Himself in difficult circumstances time and time again. Let us continue to call upon the Lord in this difficult time.

I want to announce to you that we will soon be embarking on a prayer journey across the Gulf Coast. I will be traveling with Ben DeVries, a Creation Hope board member and the director of Not One Sparrow, throughout the affected areas. There we will gather in prayer with those on the ground to pray for this tragic situation. While our primary purpose is to be in prayer, we hope that this will also be a source of encouragement for those who live in the affected areas and that it will create a new level of awareness for those of you around the country and the world. Finally, we pray that it will be an opportunity to share the hope we have as Christians. We must not trivialize this situation, but neither can we ignore that our faith is placed in the Creator and Redeemer. The prayer journey will take place from June 14^th – 21^st. We will frequently be sharing our adventures with you via the Oil Spill Prayer updates page and the Creation Hope blog. We are really looking forward to how God will use this.

We are excited to know that we are backed by your support and prayers. I hope that in addition to praying for the spill, you will be praying for us during this time. If you happen to be in the area we would love to get together with you for prayer and possibly a meal. If you are not, please pray with us and encourage us from wherever you may be at. Finally, if you would like to further invest in what we are doing, we ask that you consider supporting our trip financially (even if that is simply through a Starbucks gift card). Please contact us if you would like to find out more about how you can be part of this exciting work.

Scott has also previously posted some compelling reflections on the spill in "A Prayer for the Gulf Coast Oil Spill," "Wrestling with Oil," and "Praying Confidently in the Midst of Disaster." As Scott alluded to, we're leaving one week from today, and I hope to share some updates on our trip from not one sparrow's blog as well. I'm not exactly sure yet what sites we'll visit or the access we'll have, but I hope to report back in some way on the impact of the spill on wildlife, and some of the rescue efforts underway.

Please feel free to contact me if you would like to connect or help with the trip in any way. I'm very grateful to Scott and to Creation Hope for the opportunity, and for making it possible for me to go. As Scott mentioned, we'd both be very grateful for your prayers accompanying our travels and the different stops along the way, as well as for our families at home.

(Scott's "Oil Spill Prayer - Update & Prayer Journey" was originally posted on Creation Hope's blog; "Gulf-Oiled-Pelicans-June-3-2010" photo courtesy International Bird Rescue Research Center/Flickr, via Wikimedia Commons (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license); video courtesy NASA)

NOS featured in Chicago Tribune

2010-06-07T01:10:47Z

We owe a big debt of thanks to reporter Lisa Black and the Chicago Tribune for featuring not one sparrow in today's Sunday edition article, "Churches are Paying Closer Attention to Bond Between People and Animals." Both the main article and its sidebar, "What World Religions Say About Animals," are available to read online as well.

I'm very grateful to Lisa and photographer Heather Charles for the time they spent with me, as well as my family and our cats (especially Bitsy, who made herself at home and even showed off some of her fetch-playing for them). Our conversation extended beyond what was able to be included in the article, which describes how various Christian and other religious traditions are increasingly engaging animal concerns. But I really appreciate how carefully Lisa listened and conveyed what she did include, and must say she provided an excellent overview of a relatively young but incredibly diverse movement. I'd also like to thank my friend Trish Compton for putting us in touch.

I grew up and continue to live in the Chicago area, and have been reading the Tribune for years, so it was a real (and unexpected) thrill to see the article come about.