Earth Sabbath

Today is my sabbath, and I'm giving attention to my leadings as an Earth-Quaker, a marriage of my Quaker spirituality with my nature religion leanings. The Light of Truth is leading me to remember the earth and all of Creation in everything I do. This year I've been trying to discern and define what that means to me: 

• First, I hold that the Earth and every part of Creation is a living, spiritual being, and has "that of God" within it.
• We (humans) are a part of nature, not separate.
• We must give the earth and nature a voice in our circle, and listen as best we can to what they are saying, so that we will be better able to discern God's will. We can do this as individuals and as a community.
• Our testimonies of simplicity, integrity, equality, and stewardship all require us to take action for the earth and for nature - to restore, protect, and heal our connection.

Today:

1. Read "The Earth Path"

2. Set a sacred intention

3. Share an Earth circle and a land acknowledgement

1. Read "The Earth Path":

I'm reading Starhawk's book, The Earth Path (2004), which is all about how to connect to nature. In Chapter 3, The Sacred: Earth-Centered Values, she outlines her framework for her earth-based spirituality.

"As soon as we start making choices, we have entered the realm of values. The criteria we use for choosing one frame over another come from what we ultimately value most, what we consider sacred."

She talks about the word "sacred," which comes from the same root as "sacrifice". "If something is sacred to us, we are willing to sacrifice something to protect it, willing to take a stand or to risk ourselves in its service. ... Aligning ourselves with what is truly sacred means serving the things that also feed and renew us, that give us the greatest joy and pleasure, that evoke our deepest love."

And she talks about using natural systems as a model for decision-making: "If we see the world as a dynamic whole, then the first question we might ask when we face a choice is 'How does this choice or decision impact the whole?' That's not a simple question to answer, because the whole is beyond our complete knowledge, and acts have unexpected consequences. ... To understand whether something is beneficial, we need to understand what constitutes health in a natural system, and to know something about how ecosystems work."

2. Set sacred intentions:

Starhawk has an exercise called Sacred Intention that helps you to discern the particular work you are called to do. I've been using a similar process for years now, and a few weeks ago I wrote down my intentions for the Earth-Quaker pathways I'm called to go down, the skills I will use, and the growth and help I need. I've added a little today:

I intend to facilitate earth care support and growth in my Meeting community, using my leadership, research and writing skills, and my optimism and resilience. I need the encouragement and support of that community also; and I want to introduce ways to ground our community in earth spirituality.

I intend to work as part of the Climate Revolutions by Bike team to grow a city that values and supports bicycling as a radical climate action. I will use my organizational skills to keep us on track. I want to grow my communication and media skills, and my courage to talk truth to power. I also want to find a way to ground this team in earth spirituality.

I intend to share my growth and learning about earth care with the wider world with my blog and my art, using all my writing and art skills. I also want to learn how to use art for earth-connection-healing, and teach this to my community. I need guidance from my inner guide, to discern what projects to work on; I need greater tenacity, and courage to reach out to a larger audience.

3. Share an Earth Circle and a land acknowledgement:

I am clear that I need my community of Friends to walk this Earth-Quaker path with me, and I'm grateful for the ways that is happening. I feel supported, and I feel energy building!

Today a few of us are leading a worship outdoors with a circle of Quakers, for unity with the earth. I wrote a land acknowledgement to read:

Today we worship on this land, and with this land. I acknowledge this area’s first people - the Kalapuya - and their descendants, and recognize that this is the land they have lived, hunted, and fished on for thousands of years. 

 

I recognize and acknowledge that this is the land where bear and deer lived and foraged, and countless other animals, fish, and birds. And before them, the woolly mammoths and saber tooth tigers. I recognize and acknowledge the sun, the rain, the volcanos, and all of the weather effects that have shaped this land.

 

I recognize and acknowledge that even now animals, birds, and insects make this land their home, and the trees and plants we can see, as well as the ones we can't see - all the microbes and fungi that make the soil whole and healthy.

 

This acknowledgement is an expression of gratitude and appreciation to those whose territory we reside on, and also my sorrow for the genocide and removal of the indigenous people, and the ongoing racism and discrimination they have suffered. I express gratitude for the gifts from nature - our food, clothing, homes all come from the bounty that Creation provides. And I also feel grief for the loss of species and ecosystems, and feel remorse for my share of the responsibility for those losses.

 

But today I remember that I am a part of nature, not separate from it. I am here now on this land and claim it as my home. Even as I feel remorse, I also feel satisfaction in my life, and openness to growing ever more deeply connected to the Earth and all of nature. I hold that the Earth and every part of it is a living being, a spiritual being. I seek unity with nature, and so I invite all of Creation to worship here with us today.

 

We gather outdoors so that the passing breeze, the songs of birds, and the dropping leaves can be part of our circle, and we will leave some physical space between us to be inviting. I ask that we open and connect to the energies of the earth and the sky, and that you listen with more than your ears - listen for the Voice that speaks not only in words. Listen for the communication flowing between God and Creation.