2022 Lent Calendar, Week 2

My theme for Lent this year is Rooted in awareness of Creation and Creator. I need to fuel my climate justice work with a strong and intimate connection to this land: I want to better understand my relationship to the natural world and the cycles of the seasons, the history, culture, and ecosystem of my valley, the indigenous peoples and how I connect to them, and the responsibility I feel for the animal and plant people.

At Lent I allow myself to be slow, simple, and thoughtful. I spend time each day in focused study and prayer. And I choose something to temporarily reduce or cut out of my life, as a reminder that what I truly need is the nurturing of Spirit (I try to choose something to fast from that is a good symbol of how I am trying to grow). And I also observe Lent as a time of creative action, acting on what I learn.

March 6, Forgiveness Sunday-  

1. Read: I'm reading the book Becoming Rooted: One Hundred Days of Reconnecting with Sacred Earth, by Randy Woodley. It's a deeply inspiring devotional with thoughtful daily prompts for action.

Today I read #21: We are Still Here, about the hope that sustains America's First Nations people; hope "built on a spirituality of relationship with the land ... This very real hope recognizes that Earth endures and that we can still do enough to reverse the damage done."

2. Awareness: 

My theme for the whole year is awareness - of my body and my environment; my thoughts and feelings; of how my behaviors and actions impact those around me; and of that-of-God inside and outside myself. 

Today 

I'll open to awareness of how my judgements and prejudices affect my effectiveness as a climate activist; also, to my deep feelings of remorse for those people and beings I've hurt. Today I offer this prayer:

I ask for forgiveness from those I've hurt, and I offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me - and to those who hurt the earth. In asking and offering forgiveness, I hope to be able to release this burden of shame, indignation, and fear, and move on with resilience.

 

3. Action: During Lent 

I'm acting on my leading to become more rooted in Creation, with small and large actions at home and in my community, and with writing and artwork.

Today I'm going to work in my garden with attention on the enduring quality of the earth, and ask forgiveness as I work.

4. Plastic fast: 

This year (as much as possible) I'm going to fast from all new plastic - I won't buy anything that comes in a plastic container unless I'm sure it's recyclable, and I'll continue to experiment with plastic alternatives.

Last week I researched compostable plastic bags, and other ways to reduce bringing new plastic bags into our house. This week I'm going to focus on cleaning products, and ways to stop bringing new plastic bottles home.

March 7, Clean Monday-

1. Read: Today I read #26: Intentional Relationship. "The fact that all creation is connected implies the possibility not just of familiarity but of deliberate relationship. We should make room for the notion that all creation, in some way, expresses the image of Creator. In other words, there is something of God in all of God's creation. ... When we understand the level of sacredness this implies, we live out these relationships intentionally."

2. Action: Tonight I'm hosting our 

monthly Quaker Earthcare Support group, and I want to read the above section from Becoming Rooted to them, because it is such a Quaker statement, and yet we are not quite at the point of living it out.

3. Awareness -

 

Prayer of Cleansing:

I Cleanse My Soul- Author Unknown 

I cleanse my soul in the dews of spring,

Light of mind's refreshing dew

Love of heart's renewing dew,

Life being's restoring dew,

Cleanse and recreate my soul this night.

May the souls of all beings be

Peacefully preserved

From fall of night

Till day's dear light.

4. Plastic fast: My challenge this week is to find alternatives to all those cleaners I use that come in plastic bottles. First up - Woodwork cleaners:

#1: Magic black mold remover (for woodwork): Mix one part baking soda (comes in a box) with one part water. Stir the mixture until it becomes a thick paste. Spread liberally onto the moldy surface and let it dry. Scrub away the black mold and stains with a scrub brush or toothbrush, and wipe down with water. Follow this up with the all-purpose borax cleaner (below) to help prevent mold from returning.

#2: All-purpose borax cleaner (for baseboards, window frames, and cabinets): Mix 2-Tbsp. of Borax (also comes in a box) with a quart of water in a re-usable spray bottle. Spray onto a cloth to wipe surfaces - no rinsing needed.

March 8, International Women's Day - 

1. Read: Today I read #31: Lived Experience, about the way Native American elders teach. "They taught me to observe closely when they are doing a task. Even more importantly, the elders taught me to not ask too many questions. Later, if I was patient in each process, I would have the opportunity to demonstrate what I had learned. And I would be corrected when needed."

2. Awareness: 

The United Nations theme is:

Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.

"Advancing gender equality in the context of the climate crisis and disaster risk reduction is one of the greatest global challenges of the 21st century. Women are increasingly being recognized as more vulnerable to climate change impacts than men, as they constitute the majority of the world’s poor and are more dependent on the natural resources which climate change threatens the most.

At the same time, women and girls are effective and powerful leaders and change-makers for climate adaptation and mitigation. They are involved in sustainability initiatives around the world, and their participation and leadership results in more effective climate action.

Continuing to examine the opportunities, as well as the constraints, to empower women and girls to have a voice and be equal players in decision-making related to climate change and sustainability is essential for sustainable development and greater gender equality. Without gender equality today, a sustainable future, and an equal future, remains beyond our reach."

March 9-

1. Read: Today I read #32: Married to the Land. "When a people are married to the land, both land and people become part of a healing process. Intimacy is required to know one's land. There is a courtship prior to a marriage, usually with much time passing. We would not treat something so sacred with superficiality and casualness."

2. Awareness: Today as I plant lettuce, peas, and sweet peas I will envision my relationship with the land as a courtship.

3. Action: Today I'm attending the monthly meeting of the Interfaith Earthkeepers. I want to figure out my role in this group, and how I can represent Quakers better.

Their call to action is "

The health of human communities is dependent upon the health of every interlocking piece of creation: the forests, plains and oceans and all the creatures that inhabit them. Let us go forward to live in right relationship with the whole of creation."

4. Plastic fast: I've got a couple of bags of plastic containers saved up that I hope can be recycled. Today I'm going to sort, clean, and deliver them to my friendly plastics recycler.

March 10 -  First Quarter Moon

1. Read: Today I read #41: Living with Nature, about the way the settlers (white people) viewed the land. "The very land itself meant something quite different to the newcomer than it did to the host people. Something was missing. The difficulty, as the Natives saw it, was with the settlers themselves and their failure to tread lightly, with humility and respect, on the land. The settlers wanted to live on the land but the host people lived with the land."

2. Awareness: 

I wrote a cinquain to describe my 

Lent theme - Rooted in Awareness of Creation and Creator, because a poem has a unique ability of getting to the core of a Truth.

Rooted

in Creation;

Nurturing and nurtured;

Defending our sanctuary;

Growing. 

3. Action: Writing this poem has helped me to brainstorm a list of the types of actions I want to take in the next 5 wks of Lent:

• Tending my garden (and letting it tend me);
• Building habitat for plant and animal people (and sanctuary for ourselves);
• Supporting and working directly on campaigns to defend the environment;
• Educating myself (growing in knowledge);
• Witnessing to others with writing, talking, and artwork.

March 11 -  

1. Read: Today I read #42: The Myths That Tell our Story. "America tells a story about itself. It's a story based on freedom, equality, opportunity, and fairness. ... We could call it the myth of American exceptionalism. ... American exceptionalism - and its progeny, the American dream - contains an ethic of extreme competition, to the point where Americans believe we must fight (read "kill others") to be free and retain our divinely bestowed values. The native Americans were killed by the millions to create this myth."

2. Awareness: 

I have time and a sunny day so I will tend our garden all morning, and let it tend me. We've been re-designing our entire yard and garden this year, and this week we got a thick layer of wood chips spread on our paths! 

Today I will tend the small patch of lawn we have, and prepare to re-seed it.

3. Action: I'm going to witness (as in "share and educate") about the 

Electrify Eugene Campaign. Our local 350 group is encouraging the city to adopt changes in city code that require electrification in all new residential, commercial and industrial buildings. We will meet for street banners & sign-waving, and some of us will bike up and down the street with signs on our bikes. 

March 12, Farvardegan-

1. Read: Today I read #47: Toward Respect, about the American history of exploitation and war. "Ultimately, a utilitarian view of creation results in wanton destruction of the Earth for material gain. This attitude often crosses the realm of nature to people. In fact, the way the Western world had treated the Earth and how it has treated Black, Indigenous, and people of Color (BIPOC) populations - especially women - show remarkable parallels. ... There is a definite connection to how society views the Earth, including the whole community of creation, and how it values human life." 

2. Awareness: During the 10 days of Farvardegan, Zoroastrians show love and gratitude to the Fravashis, or Guardian Angels, for all the help they give during the year. They give thanks to two types of Fravashis - those helping Nature and those helping people. Every creation has a Fravashi: They help waters to flow, plants to grow, clouds to go where needed, and the sun, moon and planets to go around in their orbits. They uphold the sky and earth.

Today as I work quietly in my garden, I thank the earth for caring for me, and the angels for caring for the earth.

3. Action: I'm making buttons today for my group 

Climate Revolutions by Bike. We are having our quarterly meet up and ride tomorrow, and these will be a fun thing to share.