This past week I spent time visiting family in Southwestern Saskatchewan where I grew up, visiting family. I also had the privilege of participating in a 20 km trail race in the hills of the Saskatchewan River Landing Provincial Park. My sister joined as well for a different race and we both did well. There are a lot of jokes about the prairies being flat but if you’ve explored the prairies there is more elevation change than you might expect. The hills around the South Saskatchewan River are between 100-200m, for a combined 600m elevation gain on my trail race. It didn’t feel flat climbing up deer tracks up the face of steep hills.
On the prairies with little cover from trees you are exposed to the elements. The day before the race my sister and I did a shake out run to get used to the course and prepare mentally for the race. The weather was miserable: cold, driving rain, 50 km/hr gusts of wind on the hilltops, and mud. There was so much mud that our trail shoes became useless, caked with 2 inches of mud. This would make descents down steep hills dangerous with the risk of our feet sliding out from under us. The trails are also surrounded by cactus with long spikes, increasing the chance of injury. However the following morning we woke up to sunshine. The wind had died down too, a rarity in those hills. We were treated to a cool start with the temperature only heating up as we finished our races. The views from atop the hills were spectacular with views stretching for kilometres.
The long vista on the prairies adds to the mental challenge of a race. Being able to see a few kilometres ahead of you can mislead you into thinking you’re almost there. I could see a hundred runners ahead snaking around and over big hills. Parts of the trails I wouldn’t reach for another 20 minutes or more. It was important to stay grounded in the moment and not over-anticipate parts of the trail yet to come. Not all the runners had the benefit of having hills in their backyard for training. Toward the end of the race some runners were slowing down on the last hill, holding their quads and hamstrings sore from the climbing. Some stopped, trying to find their breath and resolve to finish the race. To be sure there are harder races in terms of elevation in the mountains, but mentally its hard to top the endless expanse of the prairies. Creation just stretching out in every direction. The prairies offer a starkness that is also beautiful.
During this Season of Creation we think about the beauty, awe, and joy of creation. For some of us the prairies are part of that thanksgiving. I know many people’s experience of the prairies is driving through them on the Number 1 Highway, which doesn’t necessarily offer views of some of the more interesting parts. It also gives me joy to share the beauty of Southern Saskatchewan with my kids. While they didn’t join for this trip, they’ve joined on previous trips and I look forward to them spending more time there in the future. It is important so share places where we’ve grown up and the beauty of creation with our kids.
In today’s gospel reading Jesus tells the disciples to stop arguing and consider the children. How children have as much value as adults. How their interests, and opinions are just as important as the disciples’ interests and opinions. Thinking of the Season of Creation, we are reminded to care for the natural world God has given us is wrapped up in our care for children. We know that climate health is necessary for kids and grandkids to inherit a world which is safe for them. We know we’ve often taken shortcuts when it comes to care for the earth. Letting governments and corporations exploit resources without giving back enough. We also have Christian theology we can draw on building a better world, protecting creation, for kids. Jesus reminds us that standing up for kids is the right thing to do. Sometimes talking about care of kids is more effective than getting drawn into the weeds about carbon emissions and carbon taxes. The sad thing about these political debates is that they’re no longer about working together, caring for creation.
The same is true reciting scientific data about a changing climate because there is also a lot of propaganda casting this into doubt. We don’t want to get drawn into an abstract debate. By contrast we know kids. We care for kids. They have names and faces. We can stand up for the kids and grandkids who we love. We can make public claims, making a better world for kids.
A story. Yesterday on Saturday afternoon I was at the BC legislature lawn where some of us were standing up for trans kids. It was the one year anniversary of the so-called 1 Million March for Kids, which isn’t a march for kids at all. It was an organized hate rally that took place across across the country. They came out in larger numbers last year. Yesterday in Victoria and Vancouver and some other cities across Canada they got cold feet and didn’t show up, perhaps overwhelmed by counter protests again this year. They continue showing up in safer strongholds. Yesterday’s counter protest in Victoria ended up being a celebration for trans kids on the legislature lawn. Many of the speakers were trans or non-binary youth. The atmosphere was jubilant. However we know the fight isn’t over. I talked to one colleague whose child is trans. The child took the day off work not wanting to be confronted by a potential hate spectacle. I also saw a small group of queer folks clad in black, wearing masks, modelling themselves after anti groups who travel in groups for mutual protection. Kudos to them for showing up. But I could also tell they were scared and looked nervous. They summoned every ounce of courage just to be there. No one should have to summon up every ounce of strength just to walk through downtown Victoria, including queer youth.
The legislature lawn had also been booked by a climate group, wanting to pressure the government to take climate concerns seriously. The MC from the trans kids group welcomed a speaker to the microphone, saying that protecting trans youth and protecting the environment go hand in hand. It was a great segueway. But the first speaker started droning on about all the dire numbers about the climate emergency. They were right of course, but these are realities we’ve known about for decades and that approach on its own doesn’t seem to be working, at least not on a large scale. We need to share stories that impact everyday people’s lives. Stories such as farmers in Saskatchewan experiencing several years of drought. How that leads to crop failure, economic collapse, and endangers us all. Stories like the dramatic mudslides into the Chilcotin River that affected the Fraser River valley, endangering ecosystems and people’s homes and livelihoods. One of the reasons our insurance costs are rising exponentially as payouts for climate catastrophes increasingly grow. We think about the Heat Dome that hit Vancouver Island a few summers back in which water temperatures rose to dangerous levels for tidal sea creatures. These are vivid stories that are not “would have/could have/maybe might happen” events. These are real events becoming increasingly frequent that scientists are telling is tied to human caused climate change. And we want to take a different direction for the sake of children and grandchildren. For Indigenous people whose Land Back cries we continue to ignore, who we are lifting up next Sunday on Orange Shirt Day. For the sake of all God’s creation we need a different path.
We also know that as much as we want to agree with Jesus in the gospel reading, at times we are like the disciples. We get drawn into debates about who is better, about who is the better disciple, about who has the better idea. It is human to get drawn into arguing and splintering into different groups and factions. By contrast Jesus is pointing towards a different way. In the gospel reading he tells the disciples “Whoever welcome a child, welcomes me.” He wants them to stop arguing about who is better, who is the more important disciple, who should be getting credit for their recent success. He tells the disciples simply to welcome children. Some concrete ways we are welcoming children at Church of the Cross are through supporting children, youth, and campus ministry. We have been supporting Sunday School teachers in a new way for a year now. And the evidence is clear with more kids and families knowing they can count on Sunday School being offered almost every Sunday. This fall and spring we are trying a new experiment with creating part-time positions for a youth group coordinator to help with Confirmation and a youth group for older youth. We are creating a campus connector position for a UVic student to students, a bridge between campus and the congregation. Praying Friends is launching with a new approach as we heard two Sundays ago, with a description in Crossroads newsletter. We are also supporting a visiting coordinator position supporting elders and homebound people needing visiting, the other end of people needing support in the congregation. It is great to see these concrete responses to needs in our community.
Jesus continues encouraging and challenging us in our daily lives. What would it look like to communicate our love for kids to the wider community? We are surrounded by kids sending kids to preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school, college, and university. Imagine the mission opportunities we have right here.
At the trail race in Saskatchewan I had an opportunity to cheer on a high school friend’s 18 year old son. He became the only runner under 19 to finish the 50k ultra marathon, the Beaver Flat 50, this past week. It was a truly incredible feat. We met him as he approached the aid station at the 33 km mark. His mental game was low, but he sat down in a camping chair, refuelled with food and drink, changed socks and shoes, and the encouragement of adults around him gave him the spark needed to continue. He wasn’t expecting random cheerleaders to be there, people he had never met. Afterwards my friend said that together we made an impact motivating him to continue and finish the race. Imagine the ways we can support kids continuing to continue and finish the things they love here in the congregation and in our lives.
May Jesus build us all up as children of God, sustained by God’s unconditional love. Amen.
