Moment of Oneness: Season of Creation 2020 - Week 3 - Wilderness

September 16, 2020  - 7:30pm EST

September 16, 2020

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Opening/Centering Song: Here in this Place

https://youtu.be/sgkWXOSGmOQ

Opening Prayer: Source of all life, we give thanks to you for your wondrous creation made manifest in the environment that surrounds us; strengthen us in the mission of stewardship and care towards nature, the work of your hands, encouraging us to preserve life in all its precious forms. All this we ask in your Holy Name. Amen

Reading: 

The Peace of Wild Things, by Wallace Berry

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.  Wallace Berry

Prayers for Creation:

Blessed One, who has ignited the spark of Divine Life in all created things, awaken us to the deep beauty of wild places.  Kindle in us a love for all creatures and the places where they live out their lives.  

Response:  Let all creation sing with joy!

Blessed One who is beyond time, we see in the very long lives of rocks and water, stars and planets, that our own lifetimes are short indeed.  Enliven in us the courage and desire to do the very important work of preserving the health of our planet in the brief time we have upon it.

Response:  Let all creation sing with joy!

Blessed one, source of all joy, open our eyes in amazement and wonder as we gaze upon each new day, whether in forest or meadow, desert or marshland.  The places where nature sings call us to celebrate the fullness of life that comes from you.   

Response:  Let all creation sing with joy!

With a song of joy we celebrate the abundance of beauty in the wild places of this earth.  We join our voices with the rest of creation and give praise and thanks for them.  Amen.

Closing Prayer: A contemporary rendering of the Lord's Prayer

by Curran Jeffrey on November 4, 2012 

O Divine Power of Creation
Hallowed be thy name

The mystery of thy grace be with us

Give us this day our nourishment
For both body and the soul

And forgive us our shortcomings
As we forgive the shortcomings of those around us

Strengthen us in the ways of wisdom
And strengthen our spirit when confronted with evil

For thine is the glory and the power
Of all that is seen and unseen

For ever and ever

Amen

Song: Deep Peace

https://youtu.be/5dIAcqaUUz4

Action: 

A wise friend once said, “If you want to save the earth take a child into nature.”  With that in mind, think of the children in your life; your own children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, your students, the children of your friends.  They are the next generation of earth’s co-habitants.  They will be the decision-makers who will shape the future of our planet.  If you are able to, plan an outing into the natural world with one or a few of these small ships sailing into the future.  Give them a chance to explore, to get their feet wet, their hands dirty, their minds open and awed by the beauty of wild places.  You don’t have to try to make it a lesson in environmentalism.  You don’t need to talk about issues.  Just let them have fun, form memories that include places and species that they will begin to treasure.  Have no doubt that you will be planting a seed, a seed that may flourish into a love of birds, or a curiosity about how things grow, or a wonder about how butterflies manage to survive with those fragile wings.  Here are a few suggestions of kid-friendly places to explore in our own Capital Region:

Five Rivers Environmental Education Center,  56 Game Farm Road, Delmar, NY

Five Rivers Environmental Education Center - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation

Five Rivers hosts over 10 miles of hiking trails on its 450 acres.  Trails lead the visitor into a wide variety of habitats including ponds, streams, forest, marsh, and field.  A favorite of birders, Five Rivers has a total of 225 species on its bird list.  But you might also find deer, muskrats, beaver, and a very wide variety of interesting and beautiful insects and plants.  Very family friendly, Five Rivers has restroom facilities and a beautiful new visitor center (closed now due to COVID-19).  There are even trails that are accessible to strollers and wheel chairs.

Ann Lee Pond Nature and Historic Preserve (Near Albany Airport), directions on this website:

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/new-york/ann-lee-pond-preserve

Ann Lee Pond is just down the road from the Shaker Heritage Society at 25 Meeting House Road in Colonie.   From the parking lot the pond itself will be to your left.  It  is fun to see the ducks and geese visiting the pond, and the interesting plants at the pond’s edge.  But if you follow the dirt road that heads straight back from the parking lot you will be in for more of a treat.  The road will lead you to a very nice floating bridge which crosses at the back end of the pond.  Here children and adults alike can see pond life up close, a very great experience.  Across the bridge you will discover that the trail continues into a woodland.  This is part of a two-mile forested trail that you can choose to do part or all of.  For the more adventurous among us, here is a secret about the swampy woods you will see to your left just as you set out on that dirt road from the parking lot:  If you visit in late February or early March, you may want to have everyone in boots (tall “wellies” are recommended, it is a swamp, and children do like to stomp around in it!).  Find a break in the vegetation there are no real trails down this hill) and head down to the swamp that edges the pond.  Even if there is snow and ice, look for the odd, purplish pointy plants poking through.  These are the flowers of Skunk Cabbage, the first flower of spring.  Skunk Cabbage has the ability to create its own heat (“thermogenesis,” a cool word to teach children), and will bloom all over the swamp even before spring arrives. Later the flowers give way to tall green leaves that cover the swamp floor.  Here is what you will be looking for:

Albany Pine Bush Preserve, 195 New Karner Road, Albany

https://www.albanypinebush.org/

3350 acres, home of several endangered species including the Karner Blue Butterfly, a geologically rare inland Pine Barrens made of ancient sand dunes, the Pine Bush is a wonderful place to explore.  Trails are well-marked, and during the warm weather months there is a terrific story trail, a short, easy trail near the Discovery Center dotted with pages of a children’s story (usually a story about butterflies!) which kids enjoy reading.  One of the most beautiful sights of late spring is the Blue Lupine blooming in large patches along the trails.  The lupine is the sole food of the Karner Blue Butterfly’s caterpillar, and twice a season (late May and early July) visitors enjoy looking for these tiny wonders along the sandy trails.  But there is something to enjoy at the Pine Bush in all seasons.  The brightly-colored Buck Moths of October, the many birds of spring, and even in winter, the trails are open for snowshoeing.  There is always something fun going on in the Discovery Center as well, so after a hike it’s fun to visit there and enjoy the exhibits.