we should all show kindness to God's creatures

Joe Bowyer of Logansport, Indiana's Pharos-Tribune wrote a beautiful and compassionate column this past May, titled "We Should All Show Kindness to God's Creatures."  It was prompted by the sad death of one of the orphaned wild bunnies he was caring for, which he discovered while mowing grass at a local factory.  He writes of taking them in:

Don't let anyone tell you a little bunny isn't worth caring about.  All of God's creatures have worth.  We only have to look for it to see it.

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do animals have souls?

As promised in our introduction to the question of whether animals have souls, following is a re-post of Dean Ohlman's thoughtful and balanced reflection from The Wonder of Creation.  "Do Animals Have Souls?" was originally shared following two posts ("Losing a Good, Good Dog" and "A Pet Grief Observed") which in part wrestled with the haunting uncertainty of whether we'll be reunited with the animals we've loved and lost in heaven.  Dean presents a very biblically grounded take on the question, with some perhaps surprising possibilities ...

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faq #9, does not one sparrow advocate for vegetarianism?

The next question in our FAQ series actually follows up on our last one, which asked if we just care about pets or other animals as well?  Hopefully our recent posts have confirmed that we definitely care a great deal for companion animals, but I also wanted to be sure to affirm the latter half of that question:

... We’re very concerned about the welfare of God's other creatures as well (see our causes section).  Each animal life is valuable to God, and all animal suffering is just that, suffering.  Countless animals are largely hidden from society while they're used for human purposes, often with no consideration for some of their most basic needs or dignity.  But we're all the more obligated to care about their suffering when it serves our own interests.

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cat thanksgivings

An absolutely beautiful and affecting poem from our friend Catherine Windsor on her sympathetic relationship with a feral or stray neighborhood tom cat ...

She calls me Tawny Tom
and does not chase me
away
nor do brown-earth eyes
stare balefully ...

She has no tail that
bristles nor does
her back arch
at my coming or going
or staying ...

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what I learned from animals

The following is a brief but poignant reflection from Nancy Janisch of Conversation in Faith on recognizing the profound creatureliness in the eyes of animals, a privilege many of us have encountered through the companions in our own homes ...

What I learned from animals, I learned from looking into their eyes.  Look into the eyes of an animal and someone looks back.  If you grew up with animals you might take this for granted.  It took me quite a while before I realized how astonishing this is.  It’s not just a dog or a cat or a horse looking at you; it’s this dog or this cat or this horse looking at you.

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two cents worth, thank you

thank you...  Your response to our request for help in the last eletter was one of the most encouraging, energizing and humbling moments I've had working on not one sparrow.  Thank you, many times over, for your sensitivity and response to the need.  It means the world to me, and to keeping not one sparrow afloat.  Recent weeks have been more dry, and we very much need your continued support each month.  But I am so grateful for your compassion and generosity to this point - thank you.

what sound does a sparrow make?...  As one of our Facebook friends mentioned, it's appropriate for not one sparrow to be tweeting.  So, I'm (mostly) glad to pass along that we finally have our own Twitter profile.  And if you're connected to us on Facebook, are you getting not one sparrow's feed?

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spring is in the air

If you haven't been by the main site in a while, I wanted to post a quick note that we've updated the look a bit with a new color scheme.  This was prompted by yet another brilliant banner by my brother Joshua DeVries, a gifted graphic artist who has donated his talents to not one sparrow on more than a few occasions.  Thank you, Josh. 

I'm also sincerely grateful to Ben and Clover Aldridge, Ali Beem, Mary Fitzgerald, Patti Monaghen, Jackie Pointer, Amy Sondova and 123rf.com for their beautiful contributions to our new home page slideshow.  Seeing as the hint of Spring has finally found us here in southeastern Wisconsin, and with Easter around the corner, it seemed appropriate to feature a few more baby animals this time.  We'll be posting more on those themes in the next few weeks.

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nos update, may 09

still fledgling, but no longer hatchling ...
(see the development of our unofficial mascot 'Spoggy')

This past Saturday, May 16th, not one sparrow turned one year old.  As alluded to in a recent blog post, anniversaries are often special to me, and this one was especially so.  When I think of all the ups and downs of the past year, I'm grateful not one sparrow survived some difficult circumstances. Launching and maintaining an animal advocacy effort in the Christian community was going to be a stretch in the best of times, and Lord knows this year has been far from that.  Maybe some of you can relate.

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why don't we care?

I was happy to meet Nancy Janisch and her husband Steve during the recent Wake Up Weekend in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  As it turns out, Nancy is both a practicing theologian in the Presbyterian tradition and a former small animal and emergency practice veterinarian of 20 years.  I also discovered she has some excellent posts on animals and faith at her blog Conversation in Faith, and she's graciously allowed me to cross-post some of them here.  The following is from "Why Don't We Care?", an excellent look at the connection between faithful environmentalism, or creation care, and a concern for animals specifically, which we'll be exploring more in the coming weeks: 

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notes and news, 02/02/09

Updated on February 3, 2009 by Ben DeVries

coming attractions ...

We're feauturing a series on companion animal sheltering and rescue this week on the blog, including discussion of the no-kill movement and one of its leading voices, Nathan Winograd; some excellent perspective by a good friend and committed Christian who works in shelter administration, MeLissa Webber; and a happy-tear-brushing post by Tracy Simmons on a pug resuce parade.

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