by the Rev. Cynthia Bronson Sweigert
The goal of life is to have your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with nature. -Joseph Campbell
It’s not easy being green. -Kermit the Frog
Oikumene is a Greek word used frequently in church circles. Over time it came to be understood as “ecumenism”: the movement within Christianity that aims to restore unity among all Christian denominations by encouraging dialogue and collaboration between churches. (The Season of Creation is such a collaboration.) However, the original meaning of oikumene is “the whole, inhabited earth.” Matthew in his gospel (Mt. 24:14) uses the word with the sense of “the place of God’s reconciling mission.”
Habitat. In science, a habitat refers to the natural environment where a plant or animal lives, providing it with the necessary conditions to survive, including food, water, shelter, and space to thrive. When I hear this word I often think first of Habitat for Humanity, a wonderful organization whose mission is to create safe spaces for people in need of housing, places where they can thrive.
What sort of homes/habitats have we ensured for the animals and other beings in this whole, inhabited earth that we share with them? Or is it sadly more accurate to speak of the habitats we’ve “allowed” them to have? What is our Christian, moral responsibility to animals?
Everyone’s seen the heart-wrenching photographs of orangutans desperately hanging on to their trees—their homes—as bulldozers raze them down. Or photographs of polar bears clinging to very small pieces of ice. Many species are increasingly isolated and they cannot access food, water, or shelter as they normally would. There are a range of factors, but usually this isolation is due to human activities such as deforestation, urbanization, or pollution.
I’ve read the words: “Animals should not require our permission to live on earth. Animals were given the right to be here long before we arrived.” We should remember how animals live, and why. We can educate ourselves; understand more about the products we use and what they contain (palm oil, for example); recycle; help conserve water; support organizations who work to save these animals; and volunteer where we can.
We don’t typically connect the idea of an animal’s habitat with something humans built. But, for instance, animals are sold to or born in laboratories where their entire lives could be spent in small, cold cages, except when they are taken out for painful medical experiments. They’re discarded when no longer useful. Even animals such as beagles, golden retrievers, and cats are used in these experiments. Billions of animals worldwide, whose whole “habitat” is a factory farm, suffer for their entire lives in appalling, immoral conditions.
What should be the Christian response?
This time of year we remember St. Francis of Assisi and his love of nature and God’s created beings. Francis believed that nature itself was the mirror of God, and the stories of his love of animals, natural forces, Brother Sun, and Sister Moon reveal his faith that we are connected with all of life. The Celtic saints were also known to share this spiritual kinship with creation; we see this fact especially in the stories of saints as they interact with animals who are often teachers, healers, and guides.
These stories are at least in part legendary, but they underscore the belief in the sacramentality of Creation. In the opening chapter of Genesis, humankind is created on the same day as the animals, not separately from them. When the flood waters recede God makes a covenant with Noah and his descendants, and all animals.
Where do we meet animals? It is rare that we are able to see animals in the wild, and most of us do not live on farms where we could see them on a regular basis. There is all too often great estrangement between humans and other animals, a great othering, which conditions us to disregard their welfare.
In addition to our relationships with dear companion animals, a wonderful place to see and embrace animals is at farm sanctuaries, of which there are a number in Minnesota. I’ve spent a lot of time volunteering at SoulSpace Farm Sanctuary in New Richmond, WI (about 45 minutes from St. Paul).
SoulSpace currently houses about 60 residents – rabbits, chickens, roosters, peacocks, turkeys, ducks, donkeys, goats, sheep, pigs, two horses, and a Highland cow. Oh, and cats and dogs. It is a beautiful thing to see the way so many of this diverse community “hang out” together. They come from various abandonment and cruelty situations but understand they are now safe. Surely, SoulSpace is a piece of God’s reconciling mission, a microcosm of the whole, inhabited earth.
It has been my privilege to feed the residents at SoulSpace, deliver the sanctuary extra produce from St. Vincent DePaul’s in Cedar-Riverside, bless a new barn, bury a pet rat, be on the board, and help with fundraisers. To see the animals in their own habitat where they can thrive—where they’ve been given names, a home, excellent veterinary care, and recognition of their intrinsic dignity and value—feeds my soul.
Know that the same spark of life that is within you is within all of our animal friends…the desire to live is the same within all of us. (Source unknown)
Compassion is the awareness of a deep bond between yourself and all creatures. -Eckhart Tolle
To learn how animal cruelty issues in Minnesota are being addressed through the legislative process and how to volunteer, check out Animal Folks Minnesota.
Additional resources with a Christian perspective:
