Service at UUCSS on January 17th, 1999
Anne Blackburn
From "Speak to the Earth" -- a quote from Hal Borland
| Water. Blood of my own blood... source of my whole being.
Flowing water... alive with morning mist in June... sullen with heat and algae in the shallows in August... brilliant with a freight of leaves in October... iced-in in January... gnawing its banks with ice and spate in April. Water... dancing with sunlight... shimmering under the full moon... reaching with a million kisses to meet the summer rain... whitecapped under the storm's lash... blue and glassy under clear sky and calm air. Deny the rivers and you deny the brooks... deny the brooks and you deny the springs. And the springs came from the rain... the rain came from the clouds... and the clouds came from the oceans. An endless cycle-- water to water... life to life. This is no one man's story. It is the story of our race. Down from the trees... out from the caves... down to the brookside for the sweet, clean water. Down the brook to the river, keeping to the lush banks where all life, including man, can thrive... down the river to the sea. As you walk on the beach, you throb with the beat of the waves. And the beat of the past, the ancient beginnings, is like the throb of an echo in a conch shell at your ear. You are a child of the water -- the sweet, the eternal water. |
-- Thich Nhat Hanh
Water flows from high in the mountains.
Water runs deep in the Earth
Miraculously, water comes to us,
And sustains all life.
Prayers for the Earth -- Wendell 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.
Please join Wendell Berry at his or your quiet place of peace for a few moments of meditation.
Chinook Blessing Prayers for the Earth
| We call upon the earth, our planet home, with its beautiful depths and
soaring heights, its vitality and abundance of life, And together we ask
that it: Teach us, and show us the way.
We call upon the mountains, the Cascades and the Olympics... the high green
valleys and meadows filled with wildflowers... the snows that never melt...
the summits of intense silence... and we ask that they:
We call upon the waters that rim the earth... horizon to horizon... that
flow in our rivers and streams ... that fall upon our gardens and fields,
and we ask that they:
We call upon the land which grows our food... the nurturing soil... the fertile
fields ... the abundant gardens and orchards... and we ask that they:
We call upon the forests... the great trees reaching strongly to the sky
with earth in their roots and the heavens in their branches... the fir and
the pine and the cedar... and we ask them to:
We call upon the creatures of the fields and forests and the seas... our
brothers and sisters the wolves and deer, the eagle and dove... the great
whales and the dolphin... the beautiful Orca and salmon... and we ask them
to:
We call upon all those who have lived on this earth .. our ancestors and
our friends... who dreamed the best for future generations... and upon whose
lives our lives are built... and with thanksgiving, we call upon them to:
And lastly, we call upon all that we hold most sacred... the presence and
power of the Great Spirit of love and truth which flows through all the
universe... to be with us to: |
Anne M. Blackburn
| Mysterious... Majestic... Powerful.
It is no wonder that rivers have been held in awe by humankind since the beginning of recorded time. Early people were mystified by the way rivers seemed to spring to life from deep within the Earth, and by the way their rivers majestically held and moved waters that fell from the heavens as rain. They saw the rivers provide many blessings, but also create places of great danger. Myths and stories about the importance and power of rivers and of water have come to us from many cultures: For our American Indians, rivers played a key role in their one inevitable duty-- the duty to greet the Unseen and Eternal each morning. These daily devotions were more necessary to each Indian than daily food. They would wake at daybreak, put on their moccasins and step down to the water's edge... Here they would throw handfuls of clear, cold water into their face, or plunge in boldly. After the bath, they would stand erect before the advancing dawn... facing the Sun as it danced upon the horizon... and offer their unspoken prayer. Their mate might precede or follow them in their devotions, but never accompany them. Each soul was expected to meet the morning sun, the new sweet earth and the Great Silence alone! Ancient Greek myths tell us of a river perceived to have great negative power. The River Styx was the very embodiment of hatred. Circling the underworld in seven or nine circles... depending on the story... the Styx was believed to be poisonous to mortals and animals. But the River Styx was of considerable benefit to at least one mortal... the Greek hero Achilles. His mother rendered him almost invincible by dunking him in its waters. The waters of the Styx also held great powers among the Gods. Whenever an argument arose... Zeus commanded the rainbow goddess Iris to fetch some Stygian water in a golden pot. The contending parties had to state their cases while pouring a libation. If anyone committed perjury... he or she was confined to bed for a year... prevented from breathing and forbidden from partaking of the immortal substances ambrosia and nectar. The perjurer then spent nine years at hard labor and was barred from the gods' dinner parties! Too bad that belief in this myth has not continued into modern times in America! Within the Norse traditions twelve rivers were believed to hold an important role in creation: Of old there was nothing, But the chasm, tremendous as it was, did not extend everywhere. Far to the north was the cold realm of death and far to the south was the land of fire. From the north, twelve rivers poured which flowed into the chasm and, freezing there, slowly filled it up with ice. From the south came fiery clouds that turned the ice to mist. Drops of water falling from the mist formed the frost maidens and the first Giant-- from whom eventually came the earth, the sky, the sea and the heavens while sparks from the land of fire became the sun, the moon, and the stars in the sky. Even today the Nordic tradition continues to inform and advise us. The Nordic Rune for water is considered a Rune of deep knowing, and of the self (small "s") relating rightly to the Self -- signifying what alchemists called the sacred marriage. Reversed, this Rune often indicates a failure to draw upon the wisdom of intuition. And, finally, in Ancient Ireland, we find a river as the symbol of creation itself. Their most important early Goddess, Boand, or Bo, was the personification of the mystical spirituality within Life. She was symbolized in the Sacred River-- that from which everything is derived. She not only represented the Earth, but was its major creator: she was the Creatrix of All. For the early people of Ireland, indeed for Celtic tribes everywhere, the river was believed to be a most powerful life force... and a point of contact between the upper world of humans and the supernatural Otherworld.
But rivers really don't need help from human imagination to illustrate their immense value to the rest of the natural world... and to humankind: We only need to think of the Nile River in Egypt, one of the longest rivers in the world; one which crosses the world's largest desert. Since the remotest antiquity it has been known for its exceptional rhythm. Each year during the Dog Days (around the time of the rising of Sirius, the Dog Star) it starts to enlarge and swell until, overrunning its banks, it floods the entire valley floor. For nearly three months the Nile covers much of Egypt with its waters, causing the river to resemble the Nun-- the Primordial cosmic ocean-- the eternal and infinite source of everything. The flooded waters of the Nile deposit precious silt which again fertilizes the earth. Absolutely nothing grows on the desert cliffs along the river, but the hollow of the valley is a rich, green oasis. And in our own nation, we need only recall the vital role that rivers played in our exploration and settlement. As Stephen Ambrose reminds us in Undaunted Courage: " in 1801 Americans had more gadgets, better weapons, a superior knowledge of geography and other advantages over the ancients, but they could not move goods or themselves or information any faster than had the Greeks and Romans." The many navigable rivers along the coasts of the forming nation allowed explorers, traders and finally settlers to more easily penetrate the immense inland areas, and later to establish routes of trade and commerce and communication among growing settlements. Indeed, then President Jefferson, fully aware of the immense importance of river travel, authorized the Lewis and Clark Expedition hoping to find water routes through the unexplored western two-thirds of the continent. Most of all, Jefferson hoped for a water connection... linked by a low portage across the western mountains... that would lead to the Pacific. Jefferson dreamt of a watery web that would link together this huge emerging nation.
My own story about the importance of rivers in my life began when I was quite young. I grew up in eastern Pennsylvania on an 800 acre farm located on a long j-shaped curve in the Schuylkill River. Of the land that lay next to the river, several hundred acres were lowlands which flooded every time there was high water. These fertile lands produced great spreads of wildflowers, especially in the spring, and large, thick clumps of RICH, dark green meadow grass in the summer. Our cow herds grazed happily there, producing delicious fresh milk for our family. The rest of the farmland which lay directly along the river was a thickly forested high bluff. As a growing child I visited both these areas along the river with my father. In the spring, I trailed clumsily after him as he walked newly ploughed fields in the lowlands... searching intently for arrowheads left by the prehistoric tribes and native Americans who had used these same lands hundreds, if not thousands of years ago. But the woodland that sat high above the river was an even more important part of our walks. It was here that my father showed me each kind of tree and shrub and plant, and pointed out all the birds and small and large mammals who shared the river and the land with us. Sometimes... sliding precariously down the side of the high bluff... I was taken fishing in the river; and later I was even taught to shoot there -- being shown carefully how to aim at the tree limbs, hunks of wood and cans (there were no plastic bottles yet) that floated down the river. Thus it was at my father's side that I first began to grasp and appreciate the miraculous and complex web of life that our rivers make possible. Later, as an adult, I spent nearly 20 years working with other rivers-- seeking to find ways to meet the growing needs and wants of people and still protect the vitality of these tireless servants of the natural and human worlds. During the first four of these years... even more than the Schuylkill River of my childhood... the Potomac became MY river-- the river which truly touched my soul. Each year... each season of each year it showed me new rhythms and beauty. It taught me about holding fast to purpose-- as I saw how it grew from a tiny spring in a remote meadow on the Maryland/West Virginia border to a mighty six mile wide river as it empties into the Chesapeake Bay, 386 miles downstream. It taught me to trust change and embrace diversity as I saw the land which drains into the river and the river itself change-- from the small rippling streams of the forested mountains of its headwaters-- to a wider and stronger... but slower moving river in its agriculturally rich midlands-- through the tumbling chaos of Great Falls-- and into the slow... churning... tidal ebb and flow of the Potomac's 100-mile long estuary. It showed me a tireless willingness to serve-- as it supplied water to our homes... businesses... industries... forestry and farming operations; as it carried off upland flood waters-- supported navigation-- and received wastes-- all the while redistributing life-renewing silt... providing habitat for an immense variety of other living creatures... offering many forms of recreation... and simply soothing our frazzled nerves with its timeless beauty. And the Potomac taught me of the unbelievable power of water as I also witnessed the river in flood stage-- twice even seeing the great gorge at Great Falls totally filled with coffee-colored silt-laden, churning, roiling water, carrying along whole trees and huge boulders-- tossing them about as though they were children's toys.
It may seem odd that I see these immensely powerful earth forces as mirrors of our lives. And yet I do. They have long provided tremendous insights and guidance in my own life. Just as we each emerged from the darkness and safety of our mother's wombs, so the Potomac, like all the major rivers of the earth, rose from deep inside its mother-- the earth. Like we as small children, its first "steps toward fulfilling its destiny" are hesitant-- A small, slow trickle tenuously begins to weave its way to reach and merge with the sea. Like the exuberance and growth of our teen and young adult years, the Potomac begins to ripple more quickly down mountain side and hill... gathering speed and gaining momentum as it absorbs the flows of small feeder streams... and sizeable tributaries like the Shenandoah and the Monocacy. Now flowing strongly... and more surely through its rich agricultural belt... it encounters Great Falls-- which might be for the Potomac like our own trials and tribulations related to college, career, marriage, the arrival of children, moves, etc. And as the river settles into the slow... moon-driven rhythm of the tidal estuary... is it not like our own lengthening years in which for each step forward... we seem to take a half-step back? And, finally... when we each reach the end of our current life journey... aren't we... like the Potomac... the sum of all the experiences and growth that has taken place in our respective lives?
Even more than the similarities of this general pattern, I have often found that when my own life-- personal or professional-- was out of balance, thinking of the river could help. When frustrated that a project or idea was not gaining support or moving forward, I could remind myself of how the river never lets a natural barrier stand in its way. Creatively, persistently it finds a way to go over or around or under any impediment to its life's purpose-- to reach the sea. When sometimes finding myself "spinning my wheels"-- I could see that I had let myself become like a stretch of river water caught in a backwater-- and that I was just sort of sloshing back and forth... letting pollutants and debris build up. When stretched beyond my physical capacities... I could think of how the river holds on and survives the tumult of upstream rapids or of the mighty Great Falls-- and realize that if I could just get through the current demands... that calmer waters were surely not far beyond. And even now... as the pace of my life has had to slow tremendously because of heart problems... I can think of the slow but strong and inevitable movement of the estuary-- and encourage myself to use the quieter pace and the extra time it allows to savor the many blessings of my life. All I have learned from my spirit friend, the Potomac, is echoed in Hermann Hesse's book "Siddhartha": "Is it not true, my friend, that the river has very many voices? Has it not the voice of a king... of a warrior... of a bull...of a night bird... of a pregnant woman... and a sighing man-- and a thousand other voices.'
There is one more very powerful way that rivers serve as mirrors for our lives. Rivers have immense power-- to give life and destroy it to fertilize crops but also to inundate them to quench thirst-- but also to drown the unwary. These powers are... without doubt... awesome. But-- unlike we humans-- rivers have no choice in what they do. We do. Consciously or unconsciously, we choose how we spend the energy and intelligence and spirituality we have. We choose the role we play in this miraculous experiment-- our living planet. I believe it is this aspect of rivers that is the most important mirror of all for our lives. For rivers are constant and silent witnesses over time to the kinds of choices we make: Will the floods in our rivers continue to rise-- as we keep on cutting forests and paving over lands-- increasing the flow levels and sediment loads the rivers must carry? Or can we learn to develop land with more sensitivity? Will the water levels in our rivers continue to drop as we demand more and more water for every whim? Or can we learn to conserve and to live more in concert with nature? Will our rivers contain more and more skeletal remains of species lost because of changed flow patterns... reduced habitat... or pollution? Or can we learn to live more carefully? Will our rivers' fisheries resources continue to diminish? Or can we learn to live more fully even while consuming less? Far, far in the future-- as history looks back upon us at this time-- may it say we finally became wise enough and caring enough to stop being self-centered passengers on Spaceship Earth-- and finally became the stewards of the Earth that I deeply believe we were meant to be. |
United Nations Environmental Sabbath Program
We join with the earth and with each other
To bring new life to the land
To restore the waters
To refresh the air
We join with the earth and with each other
To renew the forests
To care for the plants
To protect the creatures
We join with the earth and with each other
To celebrate the seas
To rejoice in the sunlight
To sing the song of the stars
We join with the earth and with each other
To re-create the human community
To promote justice and peace
To remember our children
We join with the earth and with each other.
We join together as many and diverse expressions
of one loving mystery -- for the healing of the
earth and the renewal of all life.
Order Of Service RIVERS: MIRRORS OF OUR LIVES Service at UUCSS on January 17th, 1999 Music for Gathering Appalachian Springtime Aaron Copeland Welcome and Announcements Introit Shenandoah Traditional Opening Words Speak to the Earth Hal Borland A Hymn We Celebrate the Web of Life 175 Lighting of the Chalice & Uniting Statement Song of Exultation Since what we choose is what we are, and what we love we yet shall be, he goal may ever shine afar -- the will to win it makes us free. Offertory Thich Nhat Hanh Flow Gently Sweet Afton Robert Burns Sharing of Joys & Concerns A Time for Rememberance Meditations with Words, with Silence & with Music Wendell Berry Reading Chinook Blessing Anthem River Bill Staines Sermon "Rivers: Mirrors of Our Lives" Anne Blackburn Multilogue (first service only) A Hymn "Earth Was Given As A Garden" 207 Closing Words United Nations Environmental Sabbath Programme Postlude "Hold Fast to Dreams" Langston Hughes