Kindred in Christ,

Happy Feast Day of Saint Francis of Assisi! In honor of the-nature-loving saint many faith communities bless and celebrate pets, animals, and the environment during this season. I hope you will join us tomorrow for our own Pet Blessing and Costume Pawty event (more info below).

There is a famous painting, which you may have seen before depicting Saint Francis preaching to the birds. This is of course based on the stories and legends of him proclaiming God’s love to all of creation, and the creatures miraculously stopping to listen, and being captivated by his loving presence. Yet, in the modern depiction above, artist Kelly Latimore flips the script with his icon of “A Bird Preaches to Saint Francis.” I really appreciate this take. It is a subtle yet significant difference!

Much of what I appreciate about Saint Francis is that he invites us to share in a spirituality of slowing down and paying attention to creatures. Francis considered all creation his siblings in God, and as such he encounters the Divine presence in “Brother Sun”, “Sister Moon”, “Brother Wolf”, and even “Sister Death.”

Join us Saturday for the Pet Blessing and Costume Pawty and join us Sunday as we continue in our series For the Beauty of the Earth. We will reflect further on the life of the hippie saint, and celebrate World Communion Sunday!

And in the meantime, may you find times to slow down, and listen deeply to the sermons of our siblings the birds and other creatures:

“Best of any song

is the bird song

in the quiet, but first

you must have the quiet”

–Wendell Berry

‘A Timbered Choir’

 

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz