“We know that the whole of creation has been groaning together as it suffers together the pains of labor, and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.”  – Romans 8:22-23

Beloved of God,

Autumn is here and with it the return of Sunday morning faith formation classes and opportunities galore for putting our faith into practice. Where will your energies be focused?  Read more about the options in this edition of Peace Notes.

Each October begins with the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi (observed this year on Sunday, October 6).  While we at Peace mark our Season of Creation in June each year, in many ecumenical circles the Season of Creation begins September 1st and ends October 4^th.  This year we’re marking the end of the ecumenical season by uniting with Christian communions around the theme, “To hope and act with Creation,” inspired by Romans 8:19-25.  It’s a practice we’ll continue going forward.

When Francis heard the Lord speak to him, saying “Francis, rebuild my church,” he took up that call in earnest.  Divesting himself from his family wealth, Francis embarked on a new path.  While he could easily have become the respected leader of a successful monastic community, removed from the distractions of society, he chose instead to immerse himself in the messy human condition, where he was often reviled as an embarrassment to the high society from which he came. Rather than accept a traditional endowment, Francis and his followers begged in the streets for bread, bricks, and firewood. He tended the sick and cared for orphans. He stood up against oppression wherever he encountered it, but he did so in such a loving way that he posed no obvious threat to the authorities and so managed to convert them to his cause.[1]

“The early Franciscan friars and the Poor Clares (women who followed Clare of Assisi) wanted to be gospel practitioners instead of merely “inspectors” or “museum curators,” writes Franciscan Father Richard Rohr.  “Both Francis and Clare offered their Rules as a forma vitae, or “form of life.” They saw orthopraxy (correct practice) as a necessary parallel, and maybe even precedent, to mere verbal orthodoxy (correct teaching) and not an optional add-on or a possible implication.

“Creation itself—not ritual or spaces constructed by human hands—was Francis’ primary cathedral.

His love for creation drove him back into the needs of the city, a pattern very similar to Jesus’ own movement

between desert solitude (contemplation) and small-town healing ministry (action).” – Richard Rohr

Not only was Francis aware of the groaning and suffering of his fellow human beings, he was tuned to the groaning of all creation. The more he found God within himself, the more he saw God outside himself where every detail of nature spoke to him of God.[2]  Prayer led Francis into the truth of his own reality and into the truth of the world. Nothing was outside the embrace of God’s love.  In his famous encounter with the wolf who had been terrorizing the village of Gubbio, Francis addresses the wolf as a brother, and the wolf, who’d charged toward Francis ready to attack, “closed his mouth and stopped running, and came meekly as a lamb and threw himself at the feet of St. Francis.”[3]  Whether the story is factually true in every detail is beside the point, which is that when Francis opened his eyes to the vulnerable ones of the two-legged variety, his eyes were also opened to the vulnerable ones of the four-legged variety—and sensing his address as genuine, they responded.

The theme “To Act and Hope with Creation” reminds us that our actions, and our trust in the God who empowers such actions, enable us to glimpse the future with hope.  This fall there are a number of initiatives before us.  Initiative 2117 in particular, if passed, would have deep and devastating impacts on our efforts in Washington to slow climate breakdown.  We’re being encouraged by our partners at Earth Ministry and Faith Action Network, as well as our Creation Care Team, to vote NO.  (To learn more about what’s at stake, seek out a member of the Creation Care team.)  However we choose to fill out our ballots, let’s do so as informed voters, digging beyond the 30 second radio and TV sound bites before making our choices.

Hope is a precious commodity these days.  It’s so easy to be disappointed with outcomes – especially ones in which we’ve invested so much energy.  But to be followers of Jesus is to live with the conviction that hope is real even when there are no obvious signs pointing in that direction.  Building our connections to others in a nurturing community helps to move us beyond the isolation that can be so despairing.  Each week we have the chance to take that step by coming together around Word and Table—places where Christ promises to meet us without fail.

With you on the Way,

Pastor Erik

[1] Mirabai Starr, Saint Francis of Assisi: Brother of Creation (Boulder, CO: Sounds True, 2007, 2013), 22–23, 27–28.

[2] Ilia Delio, preface to Franciscan Prayer: Awakening to Oneness with God (Cincinnati, OH: Franciscan Media, 2024), vii–viii, ix–x.

[3] You can find an account of this event in The Little Flowers of Saint Francis, a 14th-century collection of stories about Francis and his companions.

Image credit and inspiration: Dimitri Kadiev, Be Praised—mural of Francis and Clare on the side of the CAC (detail), photo of paint on adobe wall. This mural art on the outside of the CAC represents Francis’ love and acceptance of life in its varied and diverse manifestations.