CREATION’S CORNER #26 God’s Provision: The Atmosphere, not to be taken for granted!
Morning Prayer Creator God, who set the stars in their places and directs the course of the planets; who robed this earth with a thin garment of air, making it a haven of beauty and life; who breathed into each of us the breath of life: We thank you for the gift of...
CREATION’S CORNER #25: Sacred Grounds, Holy Grounds, or both?
When you drive onto the Trinity Lutheran Church property, you enter Sacred Grounds – officially certified by the National Wildlife Federation. Earlier in 2023, TLC received Wildlife Habitat certification. Why is this significant? It recognizes that Trinity Lutheran...
CREATION’S CORNER # 24: MYSTERY – HOW BIG IS YOUR GOD?
PILLARS OF CREATION from James Webb Space Telescope “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” -- Genesis 1:1. We also read the beautiful words of Psalm 19:1-2: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after...
CREATION’S CORNER # 23 FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND
There is no question that these are human footprints. If you happened to find them, however, what questions might you ask? Who? When? Why? What would you like to know about the individual(s) who made the tracks? These tracks were recently discovered in White Sands...
CREATION’S CORNER: #21 ARE YOU DEALING WITH ‘SOLASTALGIA’?
New words are cropping up daily. Solastalgia is one of them. It is defined as “…a form of emotional or existential distress caused by environmental change”. When you hear the all-to-frequent references to the global emergency of climate change, loss of biodiversity,...
CREATION’S CORNER #20: A FRIEND RETURNED TODAY
As the first rays of the sun broke through the lingering darkness of night, morning did not find me on the beach today. Salmon season ended on September 30th. My freezer is adequately filled for the year and my early mornings now have other pursuits. This October...
CREATION’S CORNER # 20 THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT AND MY ORAL TESTIMONY IN CONGRESS
Perhaps you recall as a child gazing on the scene of Noah’s Ark decorating the walls of your Sunday school classroom. Have you recently thought much about that Biblical event? Is it relevant today, or just a childhood story? What message does that Biblical story tell?...
CREATION’S CORNER #19 REWILDING
This Creation’s Corner is a bit longer than previous ones. It is important. Bear with me…. What an awesome opportunity awaits humanity including you and me! Rewilding? What is it, and why is it necessary? Rewilding is defined by Webster as “an effort to increase...
CREATION’S CORNER #18: WHAT IS DE-EXTINCTION?
Sometimes, it seems like science fiction becomes reality. That appears to be close at hand with de-extinction. The previous edition of Creation’s Corner considered the triad of extinction. De-extinction aims to bring species back to life that no longer exist. How in...
CREATION’S CORNER #17 FRUITFULNESS VS. THE TRIAD OF EXTINCTION
A previous issue of Creation’s Corner addressed the recent loss of much of Creation’s megafauna at the end of the last ice age. What has happened to the mastodon, mammoth, dire wolf, short-faced bear, and hundreds of other large species of mammals that occupied Earth...
CREATION’S CORNER #16: THE WALLS TELL THE STORY!
THE WALLS TELL THE STORY! Have you recently walked the hallway in the youth wing of Trinity Lutheran? If not, you should take a stroll into a different world! The walls of the hallway have been transformed into a jungle scene created by Marcie Bovetz for the Vacation...
CREATION’S CORNER #15: CAN YOU IMAGINE?
We often assume that Creation was about the same when humans arrived in North America sometime between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago. During the last ice age (driven by the Milankovitch Cycle), when sea levels were as much as 400 feet lower than present, humans migrated...
CREATION’S CORNER #14: WILDERNESS IN SCRIPTURE AND TODAY
I am signed up for the 2024 Israel trip led by Pastor Jim. It is high on my bucket list! At the planning meeting on Sept 7, Pastor Jim showed pictures of the biblical wilderness – places that Jesus frequently visited for prayer and renewal. But why wilderness? What is...
CREATION’S CORNER #13: HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?
My bumper sticker says, “If you love the Creator, take care of Creation”. How is it going for Earth’s non-human creatures? A central message in Genesis one is the fruitfulness of Creation. Is Creation’s fruitfulness being compromised and degraded? Remember pastor...
TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES, YOU STAND ON HOLY LAND
Have you ever experienced a place where the sense of holiness was so overwhelming that you felt compelled to follow the Biblical injunction to “take off your sandals; you stand on Holy ground”? Those places are called “thin places” – where heaven is so close that it...
CREATION’S CORNER #11 BEYOND STEWARDSHIP?
What is the best term to describe our human relationship to the non-human Creation? This is the question raised in the recent book Beyond Stewardship: New Approaches to Creation Care edited by D. P Warners and M. K. Heun. A steward cares for something that belongs to...
CREATION’S CORNER #10: TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS – THE GOOD NEWS AND THE BAD NEWS
We have made great strides as a country since I was a child in St. Helens, Oregon, where raw sewage flowed directly into the Columbia River at the local Marina. Twenty-five miles upstream, the Willamette River flowing through Portland received sewage from Portland....
CREATION’S CORNER #9: SHOW NO FEAR
Have you ever imagined what Eden was like? The word “Edenic” has been coined to describe a place that seems to share the beauty, serenity, and peace of that original setting. Have you experienced such a place? As Adam and Eve strolled through the garden,...
CREATION’S CORNER #8: REFUGIA FAITH
REFUGIA FAITHTrinity Lutheran Church is a refugium that demonstrates Refugia faith. What are Refugia? The kinds vary, but we will primarily concern ourselves with spiritual refugia and ecological refugia. Both are essential and both are discussed in Debra...
CREATION’S CORNER #7: TAKING TIME TO LOOK
My ecology class was often scheduled at 8 a.m. As students wandered into the room and I looked into their eyes, I often had the impression that “nobody was home”. Indeed, one of my former students from 30 years ago, now living in Maine, growled at me when I greeted...
CREATION’S CORNER #6: Climate Mismatch
The climate is changing. In the Pacific Northwest, bird migration time is shifting as well as the flowering time of many of our native plants. For many of us living in our maritime climate, a little more warmth in the winter would be welcome – but the downside is...
CREATION’S CORNER #5: Nature Deficit Disorder
Many of us live in an artificial world of our own making. We have shaped our lives in ways that intentionally or otherwise isolate us from natural Creation that God has called us to “know” and to serve. Our homes are warm and well insulated. The sounds of the spring...
CREATION’S CORNER #4: Adam Naming the Animals
Have you ever considered the significance of Genesis 2:19? “He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.” Significant? Yes! In the Bible, names matter. A name is not just a convenience...
CREATION’S CORNER #3: A Walk in a Living Cathedral
I invite you to come for a walk with me along an old-growth forest tail as we savor the musty humus smell and the sounds that surround us.It is spring and the resurrection of life from winter’s dormancy is bursting forth!As we round a corner, a figure is...
CREATION’S CORNER #2: The Fruitfulness Principle
Let’s begin by considering the Biblical Concept of Fruitfulness. On the fifth day of creation, we read in Genesis chapter 1 that God blessed all the living creatures of the waters and the birds who fly and said: “be fruitful and increase in...
CREATION’S CORNER #1
WHAT IS CREATION’S CORNER?Lord, listen to your children praying….As we seek your will, we ask how to better serve you.How can/should we better take care of your precious creation? Creation’s brokenness is heavy on our hearts today.Brokenness surrounds us...