Most of us have a garden of some sort or another – some of us even have allotments! The ones that are private are easily accessed by stepping out of our front or back doors! These gardens are part of our homes and they are homes for other non-human inhabitants as well, whether plants or animals.
I like the bible verses from Psalm 84:3,4 (NET) “…Even the birds find a home there, and the swallow builds a nest, where she can protect her young near your altars, O Lord who rules over all, my King and my God. How blessed are those who live in your temple…” Some versions put sparrow in the place of the first bird but apparently the second, the swallow is specifically mentioned here and in Proverbs 26:2. This is a beautiful picture, one where the psalmist romanticizes about the temple being a place of refuge and safety as he thinks of the birds nesting near its roof and finding protection in God’s presence.
The reality of our home being a place of safety might not be evident in our lives but it’s something we all long for – it’s often seen as a basic human right. Do we feel the same about the presence of non-humans? How do we look out for those creatures or plants that may be somewhat alien to us or something that we are afraid of? Maybe it’s out of context but I like to think that the verse already mentioned, says of those who live in the temple that they are blessed… those of a different nature to us whether human or non-human!
The temple was very much part of the Hebrew life back in the Old Testament times and it was a place to worship God. The birds were part of the temple, symbolic of acceptance of The Creator’s love of life – even in some cases that of species we may find ‘yucky’. We may not like certain creatures or plants but we have an opportunity in our own gardens however big or small, to encourage life and home-making. The gardening that we do doesn’t have to be the tidy type either. Ken Thompson in his article in The RHS Garden Anthology called ‘Ecology Begins at Home’ states “…the wildlife in your garden is not there despite your gardening, but because of it.” He also says “…wildlife does not care whether it lives in a ‘garden’, ‘park’ or other human defined piece of land.’
For a while we have wanted to have a wildflower patch to attract pollinators and birds. The ground has been prepared and the seed sown – it was hard work but we wait with expectation to see the results. Some of the plants may not appear for a couple of years but they will in due course provide homes and much needed food for wildlife. Some more work will be needed to get to that point as well!
Recently the subject of homes for the non-human creation was dealt with on the Breakfast Show, BBC Radio Surrey, by the Vicar of St Peters, West Thirle. He spoke about making homes for wildlife in the church ground – God’s Acre, as it’s often called. His intention was to help encourage a welcoming attitude for people and wildlife in the church there, in so doing reflecting a creation care attitude in doing something practical like this.
A study has been done and a book written by Miles King and Mark Betson called The Nature of God’s Acre. The study is based in Chichester diocese an article on it can be found here: nature blog. It may not work for Emmanuel to have such an area due to where the church building is situated – but to be welcoming to all is something that is a necessary part of our discipleship.
For further reading you may also like to read Jennifer Owen’s book Wildlife of a Garden: A Thirty Year Study. Ken Thompson has written an article on her work which is at Jennifer Owen’s study