Earth Day April 22

I admit that I haven't been one to do much on Earth Day over the years.  This time, however, the church we've started to attend canceled their regular service to take part in a special one supported by various congregations throughout the city.  Gathered first at nearby Vimy Ridge park, people went in a walking/bicycle procession to a park in front of the Legislative Building for a mock big-tent revival service to remind us to have a "Consumption Sabbath."  To:

• take a break from overconsumption
• rest from overwork 
• find rejuvenation 
• learn to live in smaller circles
• restore balance to community and all the earth

The goals sounded good, if the use of an old-style itinerant revival service seemed a little bizarre.  Perhaps because I had a strange two-year time in Scotland back in my 20s, where I participated in tent services for real.  I still can't believe I did, but those are stories that will never make it to the blog.  Though I did find these old pictures today to prove it, but these ones are minus the tent . . .

So with that history, I wasn't sure what to expect.  But after dropping Susan off at the airport, we quickly packed up and walked 2 kilometres to check it out.  I'm glad we did.

Ai looked so sweet as he pushed his stroller all the way from home, which was really cute since it
matched the bike trailer buggy I was pushing the girls in.  Wasn't so cute on the way home,
though, when he wouldn't let A have a turn and cried the last five minutes of the trip

The kids loved the 'tree man' and followed him before the service began, asking him lots of questions.  My pictures don't do him justice, as the birch mask and hands were so creative.

They also loved the gowned-choir singing Southern style and have been singing "Amen, amen . . . " off and on since.  And it was a bonus to run into our friend Sandy and her family:

The Huffington Post had a write-up on the event, which you can read here or watch a YouTube video of it here.  

The write-up and clips do a much better job of conveying what the event was like.  I was happily surprised that despite its use of a potentially in-your-face style of preaching, it wasn't at all preachy.  And while it was a mockery of sorts, it was a spoof that made me really want to be serious, to change.  Having 300 people around agreeing that, as a matter of faith, we HAVE to stop ignoring the huge crisis facing our world and personally take steps to reduce our environmental impact was inspiring.  I want to stick to my resolutions and make some new ones, which could lead to a slow 'conversion' of sorts for me.  Hopefully not because of the fear of fire and brimstone or out of guilt, but more for love of God's creation, love of my kids and out of the feeling that it's really the good, right thing to do.  We'll see.  I've at least started using the van far less and am enjoying the bike and trailer - though the weather has been co-operating with that immensely.  And for this, I love that Winnipeg is flat!

The other bonus was that once we made it home, the kids were all pooped and had naps (even A!).  Then they enjoyed some dress-up in the afternoon and it was only one more night until S returned from his trip to Mississippi and his overnights in New Orleans.  What he saw there was pretty wild - you should ask him about it when you see him next . . .