What a day.

The sun was shining in a way that we haven’t seen in months.

Some 90 people, from all walks of life and from every age group, got together in the paddock in Little Hampton outside the wooden Uniting Church.

We gathered in a circle; standing, sitting on hay bales, and on the ground, to focus together on this sacred earth.

Here in the silence we acknowledged the grief and the questions provoked by ongoing drought and the recent fires.  Here we shared with others, friends and strangers, what touches us in nature and offered our heartfelt thanks to the Source of all in word and song.  Here we also shared our concerns for the earth and the longings of our hearts for its better care, together we offered these in prayers.

This was sacred time: diverse people relating with respect and dignity, sharing hearts bursts with one another and the Divine.

And all the while, a little toddler played with the bowl of water in the centre of the circle. Oblivious to the notion that this might not be on, she washed river pebbles and drank from the water.  This was beautiful.  For me, this was a fabulous image and reminder of how Jesus calls us to be.  Jesus says in the bible that if we want to ‘get it’ we need to become like a little child.  I don’t think this is a call to be naive, or ‘childish’, but instead to get free from our fears of ‘what others might think of us’.  It is an invitation into trusting and resting in God’s energy, and in the midst of it all letting ourselves dare to play – to enjoy this sacred gift of life.

Mature Christian faith has a great deal to say about this beautiful earth.  Beyond simply accepting or rejecting literalist interpretations of the Bible, there is a profoundness in this ancient text and tradition that points to some essentials.  Here we find the affirmation that the earth is good and blessed, that we are called to radical non-violence, and in this context, humanity has unique responsibility to work for the earth’s care.

And in all of this, like the little toddler in our midst, we are invited to savour this sacred earth with joyful abandon.

Thank you to all who made Prayers in the Paddock such a gift.

Blessings on your journey,
Rev. Sal Douglas