In Dark, Dark skies.

Wonderful picture of Northern Lights 

and a myriad of stars

(From Pixabay)

In Dark, Dark skies. 

 

In dark, dark skies

behold five thousand stars:

and planets moving 

in their wandering paths.

 

Five thousand orbs

are all my eyes can see,

of many trillions

in the starry sea.

 

When darkness yields 

this glory to the light,

fresh wonder floods into

our waking sight

 

And from our star

stream light and energy

which bless our planet and us,

most generously.

 

And Saviour when,

our lives come near their end,

if we’re in darkness

light of heaven send 

 

But if earth should

erupt in dark and fear;

Lord, midst such terror 

bid that same light appear.

 

.

Our Stewardship of The Planet: Our Nurturing Earth

It is easy to feel impotent when it comes to questions of our stewardship of Earth and its resources but you will not need to dig very deep into Climate change/ Climate chaos advice to see that many of the advocates for taking action say that one of the most effective ways which everyone engaged with the issue CAN do, is' keep the conversation going’. But that is not always easy.

So here’s an idea. whenever and wherever you are going to eat a Christmas meal, consider whether you are prepared to put this table-mat on every diner’s place.

If you are, you can find a version HERE  which will enable you to print A4 versions: then maybe, just maybe, the conversation will be be such that others will be moved to put pressure on parliamentarians and other national leaders to support ways of mitigating the present climate chaos. If a conversation does have that effect, you will indeed be making ‘A Gift that will last Earth for years'.

The verse on the mat is a CLIMERICK (CLimate Concern LiMERICK), an idea which is being developed on Eco-Verses, a companion blog to this one. You can find the purpose of CLIMERICKs by clicking HERE

Designing Armaments. Abhorrent!

Free image from Pixabay bomb collection

Woman and child - Finis.

Designing Armaments. Abhorrent!

Designing armaments.

Abhorrent!

 

Manufacturing weaponry.

Repugnant!

 

Arms trading.

Despicable!

 

Sending young people to battle-front annihilation.

Sickening!

 

Killing children, parents, the aged indiscriminately,

Reprehensibly Murderous!

 

Desecrating and destroying childhood.

Unforgiveable!

 

Demolishing hospitals homes, and refuges,

Abominable!

 

All Shameful! Shameful! Shameful!

 

And among the most shameful.

those who make blood-money

out of such misery and destruction.

More on the same theme at Heap Shame

Heap Shame on Manufacturers of Arms!

This free Pixabay image could be a child 

in so many theatres of war, 

no doubt terrified, 

grieving family or friends 

and desperate for his own life. 

This sonnet is 

to pour acrimony on the execrable trade

which makes such devastation possible.

Heap shame on manufacturers of arms,

whose shareholders profit from spleen, 

from scarred children, caught in between

mayhem and death wrought by sadist tsars.

Stir up those yearning for peace and calm

to brand this production obscene;

to find ways of curbing their resource streams, 

preventing them from fuelling the harms   

that accrue from the cesspools of foulness and hate,

and swamp the world with the bane

of the terrible trade we label ‘defence’; 

which further disgusts, by promoting vile rape  

in the wake of its products of shame.

Does God weep at such corporate offence?

With My Phone in My Hand

 

Image credit Pixabay free images

Sing or read this, holding your mobile phone - and maybe pray! 

(If you wish to sing - suggested tune: 

Nettleton – American folk song/

'Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing').

With My Phone in My Hand.

In my hand I hold vast knowledge
of God’s awesome universe:
from it I can seek out beauty
or deep darkness, hate and worse.
Focus me, Lord, on the Godly,
help me seek out truth not lies:
give me strength to shun distractions
that cause harm if I'm unwise.

Give me prudence when I’m spending,

help me to resist excess

that results in landfill fodder,

or in debt that brings distress.

Help me never to be spiteful
even when my anger’s raw.

Let me not become beguiled by

evil threads that foment war. 

 

Help me keep in mind the workers

risking life that I might be

well-connected by my touch-screen

to vast networks globally.

Help me question whether justice

flourishes or is suppressed:

see if families of those workers

thrive and grow, or are oppressed.

 

If I’m prone to chase trendsetters

help me, please to recognise,

when I click their lifestyle platforms

they’ll be geared to monetize!

So to deeper sites, Lord, guide me:

sites which help me understand

that great mystery, that great wonder:

You love me - just as I am.

Always remember this last line.

You can listen to this song recorded by the Author by clicking : HERE

(c) Trevor Thorn October 2021.

The piano backing is a YouTube instrumental of ‘Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing posted by Christian Hymns-Music: the link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaKwRu3hIso

You can find a different angle on this same theme on this blog -which can be sung to “Streets of Laredo’. To access this, CLICK HERE “Lord Fill Me With Digital Wisdom'

 

Let The Cosmos Praise Its Maker (A Creationtide Welcome)

For Creationtide, 1st September - 4th October there is, on this blog, a daily posting of material to help reflect on the various themes associated with this period in the Church’s year.

I have chosen one of those daily themes, especially to welcome any reader who alights on this site from the display in St Mary’s Church, Fen Ditton on the Eastern edge of Cambridge UK. But other visitors are, of course, welcome too!

Other Creationtide material (the daily posts) can be accessed from the image in the right hand column. The display is an experiment and I hope you might be caught up in the wonder of our beautiful, but fragile planet and the glories of our amazing Universe. Thank you for coming here.

Starburst: by the author (acrylic)

Let the Cosmos praise its maker,
In its known and unknown tongues, 
Giving thanks for all existence
In its multitude of forms;
From immense to subatomic,
From primaeval to new-born.

All the fundamental forces
Dance before his heavenly throne, 
Giving praise with saints and angels 
For the mighty deeds he’s done; 
Bringing matter out of nothing 
As the universe was formed. 

Let us, as his much loved creatures
Seek how we might understand
All the glory of creation, 
All the beauty that he planned, 
And his cosmic gift, salvation 
Through Christ Jesus, God in man. 

This hymn/ song was written with the meditative tune in mind to which ‘Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence’ is usually sung (Picardy), and with the idea that it provides a short, thought-provoking time for reflection on the immensity of the cosmos and what that says about God.

It could equally well be sung as a celebratory song of the glory of the universe and there are numerous hymn tunes with 87.87.87 metre which could be used for this such as the well known 'Praise My Soul'

There are three lines of the song that warrant brief explanation for those not familiar with current scientific understandings.

 The expression 'known and unknown tongues’ is intended to allow not only for lesser known terrestrial languages but also for ‘ tongues' which may be used on planets or moons far beyond our amazing solar system. Thousands of stars are now known to have ‘exoplanets’ and ‘exomoons’ circling them similarly to our solar system, and many astronomers/cosmologists think it is more, rather than less likely, that some of these support life that thinks and communicates in ways comparable to the way we humans do.

The first line of the second verse, ‘All the fundamental forces’  could  easily refer to storms, winds and floods and it is likely most people will understand it as such. But it also has a more scientific meaning. In this sense it refers to the four fundamental forces. These are the gravitational force, the electromagnetic force, the strong interactive force and the weak interactive force which between them hold matter in its place, from the component parts of atoms and molecules to galaxies.

Finally, the penultimate line of the song specifically points to the cosmic significance of Christ’s coming to us here on earth: this is a proposition which many thoughtful scientist/ Christians have written on persuasively and enthusiastically.

I hope this ‘shorthand’, note will encourage both those who use this language readily and enable those who don’t, to be drawn into the glorious mysteries of our faith, complemented by the scientific explorations and understandings of so many awe inspiring aspects of ‘our’ amazingly benign cosmos in which our planet has its being.

Further songs with similar faith and science themes can be found in the ‘Wonders of Creation’ found in the right hand column of this collection 

You might also like to reflect on the internationality of the potential contribution towards the stewardship of the earth from the Christian church globally by spending ten minutes listening to one of the many versions of ’The Blessing’ which have been published during Lockdown times. Today’s choice comes from Latin America

Flowers At a Meal-time Table

 

Flowers at a Meal-time Table.

(Sheldon April 2023)

 

Flowers at a meal-time table,

beauty beside plate and bowl, 

illustrates an instinctive 

desire to nourish the soul. 

 

Uniqueness of each leaf and petal 

shows the Maker’s blest hallmark of worth,

a feast for the eye. as the body

is fed by the bounty of earth.

 

©Trevor Thorn. 2023

In April, we were on retreat at The Society of Martha and Mary, Sheldon near Exeter. At each meal-time there were small vases of flowers on the table which prompted this short poem which I dedicate to the women who served us so well during our week’s stay. The flowers on the table are always seasonal and the picture above was taken in September when this poem was posted.

Other poems of Beauty, Faith and Science can be found HERE

A Song for The Workplace : When I Feel I’m Just a Number

(Can be sung to the tune Oriel)

When I feel I’m just a number   

Managers don’t know my name,

I can call out to my Saviour, 

He knows me and shares my pain.

I can call out to my Saviour,

He knows me and shares my pain.

 

When the day is fraught with pressure,

Targets changed capriciously,

I can take it to the Saviour,

ask for grace and energy.

I can take it to the Saviour,

ask for grace and energy.

 

When I find my work - life balance

Leaves me feeling I’m beset,

I can take it to the Saviour, 

seek the wisdom to re-set.

I can take it to the Saviour, 

seek the wisdom to re-set.

 

When co-workers use foul language,

Crude and even blasphemy,

I can plead before my Saviour,

‘Help them speak less violently.’

I can plead before my Saviour,

‘Help them speak less violently.’

 

If the company sheds workers

Casually or brutally,

I’ll entreat my loving Saviour,

‘Help me calm the agonies.’

I’ll entreat my loving Saviour

‘Help me calm the agonies.’

 

What are CLIMERICKS (Armchair protest on Climate Concern)

WHAT ARE CLIMERICKS? 

CLIMERICKS (CLImate emergency LIMERICKS) - If you’re not sure what constitutes a Limerick, Wikipedia has an excellent description that will enable you understand what this invitation is about.

 

No-one, in 2023, can deny we are experiencing extreme weather in many, many places.

 

There are at least 70 scientific disciplines and a similar number of respected National scientific institutes (such as the Royal Society and comparable bodies in other countries) that believe, from solid evidence, the pace of climate change is way faster than has ever happened in thousands of years of history. Those very responsible scientists and those institutions are clear that the present temperature rises causing these extremes and the related climate emergency are human induced.

 

Since there is such a consensus among so many respected institutions and scientists of so many faculties, it is near-unbelievable that anyone or any organisation is prepared to deny these trends. That smacks of denialism, blindness, vested interest, greed for the profits which still flow from the fossil-fuel based industries, disinformation and outright lies. This sinister activity is, terrifyingly, funded by huge investment from the right of the political spectrum. Responsible people who have a more visionary understanding cannot muster anything like the funding base for deniers and delayers of the need for urgent action and, in order to wake the population at large to the catastrophe which faces the world, some engage in protest which is sometimes disruptive and unpopular to those inconvenienced by it. Politicians in many countries, hoping to gain favour of the general public, are passing legislation to prevent legitimate peaceful protest. This at a time of unprecedented existential crisis and with the hideous connivance of right-wing media.

 

So is there a method which can massively raise awareness to the impending crisis, (which is a crisis of TODAY and not a future crisis, and by which time today’s power-brokers, deniers and delayers will no longer hold the power they do today)? Long-term targets for ‘Net Zero’ or other CO₂ diminution are all fixed too far in the future, too late to be of serious help.

 

If you are concerned about this impending catastrophe which will make life increasingly difficult for everybody and every creature, you may well wonder what YOU can do. Well, here’s something very simple. Here’s an invitation to join CLIMERICKS.

 

CLIMERICKS have been devised to give voice to anyone concerned about the climate calamity we face. Here’s What to do.

 

1 Call up the Eco-verses site where you will find a growing collection of CLIMERICKS. You will find it at http://Eco-verses.blogspot.com

 

2 call up at your favourite reliable NEWS Site and/or a reliable community website for your own home community

 

3 Look around the news site to see if there are any headlines about CLIMATE CHANGE DENIAL, DELAY or the wilful obstuction of Climate change mitigation targets.

 

4 Look Round the Eco-verses/CLIMERICKS site to see if there is already a CLIMERICK that make that form of delay or denial a nonsense.

 

5 Either post that CLIMERICK as OR EVEN BETTER WRITE YOUR OWN and post it as widely as you can (If writing your own try and make them amusing but telling. Try not to be rude but make your verse as compelling as you possibly can). The CLIMERICK site has a growing collection of examples for you to model your writing on: you may get new ideas from there too! If you can inject hope into your CLIMERICK too, that will be brilliant. 

 

6 Invite those you know who want to show their support for early and wide-ranging climate chaos prevention to share your chosen or written CLIMERICK.

 

7 Send your chosen CLIMERICK to your MP, Local Councillors, Radio Stations and Any Civil Service department having input into Climate Change catastrophe politics. Send hard copies if you can afford it and Emails if you need to keep your costs of joining in, low. If you know how, overprint your CLIMERICK on a pertinent image and post it to whichever CLIMERICKS site you operate on. Let’s engulf all places where power is exercised with CLIMERICKS

 

8 JUST POSSIBLY, CLIMERICKS MIGHT BECOME AN ACTIVITY HUB FOR ALL THOSE WHO DON’T QUITE KNOW HOW THEY SHOULD BE MAKING A CONTRIBUTION TO THE VITAL CLIMATE EMERGENCY DEBATES.

 

THINK ON THIS: CLIMERICKS could become a place to express concern for 

 

ALL THOSE who care about the future of the planet and want urgent action, particularly -

 

·      Young people and especially any school or college Climate Advocates:

·      Mums to be and their partners:

·      All parents who care for their children’s future (and their own):

·      People in places threatened by and experiencing the fallout of wildfires, floods, tornadoes, unseasonal deep snow and other extreme weather:

·      Family members who have care of disabled, old and frail relations:

·      Anyone fearful for the planet’s future:

·      Anyone who cares about the impact of the Climate catastrophe on low income people:

·      Anyone who cares about the impact of the Climate catastrophe on those who inhabit low-lying lands:

·      Anyone frustrated by the inaction of politicians:

·      Anyone who assents to the Pope’s encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ and wants to take action prompted by it:

·      Any members of the hero organisation ‘Extinction Rebellion’ and similar organisations in other countries who want to supplement their existing brave protests:

·      People of faith who feel it is their call to be a steward of our beautiful planet:

 

Anyone who wants to join a life-saving initiative for a healthy planet -SOON.  

To see all CLIMERICKs posted to this blog so far, go to the Home page via your browser’s button. (more to come)

Here’s a sample of using a letter to an MP

SAMPLE LETTER TO MP using a CLIMERICK

Home address

      Date

 

Lucy Fraser MP.

 

As one of your constituents, I wish to register my deep concern that your party leader has blatantly reneged on any sense of being concerned about the present human induced Climate Catastrophe.

 

In order to help me to understand how you stand as my MP, I would like to know your reaction to the following CLIMERICK (CLIMate concern limERICK).

 

Four brave people scaled wall and roof

to remind the PM of this truth:

Selling oil and gas stakes

Irredeemably breaks

His green promise: those stakes - damning proof.

 

Thank you,

Trevor Thorn

 

 

 

  

Portfolio for Life. (When Fossil Fuels Have Been Comprehensively Shunned)

Image Pixabay edited

Portfolio for Life. (When Fossil Fuels Have Been Comprehensively Shunned)

When fossil fuels have been comprehensively shunned -

and they must be;

 

when the production and proliferation of armaments

are killed off -

as they need to be;

 

when the impossible pursuit of perpetual growth

Is accepted to be illusory -

for it clearly is;

 

and when greed is once more perceived to be 

corrosive and deadly;

 

then hope can blossom

and the love that lies at the heart of creation

burst into the Godly glory of global justice and peace.

 

Seals and White Horses

Seals on Lindisfarne Sandbank

Staying once again on the beautiful Holy Island of Lindisfarne and privileged to be able to watch the tides from the lounge and bedroom windows. Sunday 10 days ago we experienced a wild wind which roared up the sound, so I tried to capture the moment and ... consider the future.

Seals and White Horses

(on a Lindisfarne Sandbank)

 

Twice a day,

some twenty score of seals

languidly allow themselves to succumb

to the encroaching sea,

as it steadfastly overwhelms

their sandbank resting-place.

 

But on this tide

a stampede of white horses

chases them

into forced retreat

before a fast-running tide,

driven by ferocious wind.

 

This wind has roared across the Atlantic

having wrought devastation-by-flooding

prior to leaving its last landfall.

 

Yet more extreme weather

resulting from the

undeniable climate chaos,

discerned by the truth-seeking,

broad-based research

of rightly sombre scientists.

 

Too soon, the sandbanks

will be permanently submerged.

 

No respite then for seals.