“Creation waits in eager expectation…” 
—Romans 8:19 

My dear friends, 

Let us remember this holy fact: Even the stars are listening. The present scientific discoveries validate what ancient wisdom expressed through song.  

That all is connected. 

Everything—everything—is entangled. 

Every tree. Every heartbeat. Everything continues to bring into its breath the original wind that swept across creation’s water during its origin. 

This is not just poetry. It is quantum truth. When you touch the soil, the soil touches you back. From the beginning, humans existed with their palms open like wings as they walked with the Earth, because the Earth speaks. Those who make themselves receptive to her voice understand her message. 

This Earth Day may we all be reminded: 

Environmentalism exists as only one aspect of this movement. 

This is about remembrance. Our path leads us back to our authentic selves. 

Human beings do not have dominion over creation. We exist as individual threads that compose her extensive network. Humans do not hold title to the universe. We are temporary visitors of water and the worm and winged creatures. This moment in our church, know that we are not stepping back. We are stepping deeper. Deeper into truth. Deeper into Indigenous wisdom. 

Jesus through his lifetime devoted himself to the sacred web of care which led to his death while restoring it.  

So let us realign. The future demands that we plant seeds which will continue beyond our lifetime. Let us listen—to one another, to the bees, to the silence, to the sermon of the Earth. 

The universe is watching. 

Creation is waiting. Let us respond. 

With Ubuntu. With holy courage. What we do now echoes—across generations, across galaxies; all things find their connection through the rhythmic grace that exists in the expanding universe. 

The Rev. Lester V. Mackenzie, AHC (Associate of the Holy Cross) 
Chief of Mission Program, Office of the Presiding Bishop