​Today I was
stopped
in my tracks
by the sweet
earthy smell
of rotting leaves.
Heaven on earth!
A tree's offering
to the soil.
This scent tells
the curious truth:
death can be achingly,
exquisitely,
lovely.
Death is not
a final ending,
it is a transformation,
a continuum,
an outpouring
of love.
- Wendy Janzen

A million thanks, Eternal One,
for all the gifts of life.
For each element, each life form,
that intersects with mine, 
I offer my deep gratitude.
For the sun, air, and clouds,
the tamaracks, maples, and willows,
thank you!
For the blue jays, crows, and geese,
the bunnies, squirrels, and fox, 
thank you!
For the moths, bees, and spiders,
the asters, sunflowers, and goldenrod,
thank you!
For the apples, squash, and carrots,
the grains, seeds, and nuts,
thank you!
For ponds, creeks, and rain,
the rocks, soil, and compost,
thank you!
For neighbours, friends, and strangers,
and all microscopic life I cannot see,
thank you!
For this community, ecosystem, home,
for this place of belonging and connection, 
and for a million other ways you
bless my life and all lives,
I am truly thankful to you, the
Ground of our being, 
Creator of all that was, 
and is, and ever shall be.
Amen.

- Wendy Janzen

God of the Cosmos, 
who created the circle of life, 
we give thanks and praise for this 
most beautiful, complex, and wise 
planet we live on.
We recognize the brokenness
around us and within us, 
and offer you our deep grief 
and prayers for our planet. 
In the brownness of 
this season of decay, 
we know that you are present. 
We pray for all the griefs we carry - 
for loved ones we have lost,
for our loss of connection with the earth,
for disenfranchised peoples,
for species under threat,
for drained ancient lakes,
for dammed rivers,
for strange weather patterns,
for the lack of will to ban coal,
for short sighted leaders,
for urban sprawl and new highways,
for unwanted pipelines,
for rising temperatures.

Hear our cries, and 
have mercy on us, O God.
Hold and honour our grief,
reminding us that the 
depth of our grief reflects
the depth of our love and concern.
Grant us your deep peace, 
beyond our understanding.
May the light of this 
single candle
be a beacon of hope,
a light in the darkness,
a guiding force into a new
way of living in step
and in balance with
the needs of all life.
We place our trust
in your great love for
the world, and that
we have a future
with hope.
Amen.

​- Wendy Janzen

​May November be a time
to lay to rest that which
no longer brings life.
May the cool days invite
you out to wander
and pay attention.
May you embrace the
mysteries of life and
find the blessings of
God everywhere.
May the laments of the
Earth touch your heart and
transform your living.
May your soul recognize
kinship with all that exists.
May your prayers for the
Earth be heard.

- Wendy Janzen

We give you honour and thanks, Creator of all, for the good gifts of this season - crystal blue skies, misty mornings, wild grapes, mushrooms, vibrant colours, longer nights, abundant harvests...

We give you honour and thanks, Creator of all, for the good gifts of life - air to breathe, fresh water, fruits of the earth, a place to call home, a circle of friends, animals who provide companionship, family, time for play and rest…

We give you honour and thanks, Creator of all, for the mysteries of our world that inspire wonder - mycelium, galaxies, atoms, aurora borealis, whale migrations, lichen, star dust, metamorphosis... 

We give you honour and thanks, Creator of all, for those parts of creation we may not be so fond of - rats, snakes, mosquitos, blind weed, skunks, starlings, dandelions, spiders...

We give you honour and thanks, Creator of all, for wise and compassionate ones - for prophets, activists, artists, poets, mentors, peace-builders, edge-walkers, earth-keepers, truth-tellers, change-makers, love-bearers…

We give you honour and thanks, Creator of all, for sacred spaces - for communities of faith, prayer, holy ground, burning bushes, epiphanies, soulfulness, mystery, longing, renewal, hope, new life…

For all this and so much more may we be truly grateful. Amen.

​- Wendy Janzen

Blessed are you, autumn,
season of unavoidable endings.
You show us how letting go
can be a glorious, joyful practice
with your spectacular colours.
You model how to hold 
paradoxes with grace -
the balance of living and dying,
relinquishing and receiving,
gathering and sharing.
You know that death is not
and ending, but a passage,
a transformation into new life.
May we learn these lessons well:
to celebrated with abandon
to practice reverence 
to surrender completely
to embrace tenderly
to love without regret.
​
- Wendy Janzen

This month of November can be a melancholy month - darker days, moodier skies, fallen leaves, and days like All Saints Day, Remembrance Day, and Eternity Sunday that all point us toward facing our losses and making space for lament. A lot of us feel grief over the amount of climate-related damage is being inflicted on the earth. Our November worship gathering created space to acknowledge our grief, to name species at risk, and to turn to God for hope in the ritual of communion.

Litany of Lament
Christ, our Wounded Healer, who suffers the pains of creation, we bring to you our prayers of lament for the Earth. In your mercy, receive our prayers as we name the species of our province that are threatened, endangered or extirpated:
    Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison
Christ, our Wounded Healer, who suffers the pains of creation, we bring before you our laments as we name other environmental concerns we carry:
     Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison
Christ, our Wounded Healer, who suffers the pains of creation, we hold before you other griefs and laments that are on our hearts today:
    Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison
Christ, our Wounded Healer, who suffers the pains of creation, Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, have mercy on us. In your kindness and love, you have entrusted us as caretakers for your Creation, to live as your image-bearers in a world you created for your delight. We confess that we have turned from your will, often abusing the natural world for greedy and short-sighted purposes. Now we are facing global climate disruption and other ecological crises as a result of our rebellion. Forgive us of our sins, and the sins of our society, and our failure to care for what you created for good. In your mercy, lead us to repentance, compassion, and life. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

I have set before you life and death . . . therefore choose life. (Deuteronomy 30:19)

​Partial list of species who are threatened, endangered, or extirpated in the province of Ontario:
Eastern Tiger Salamander, Extirpated
Fowlers Toad, Endangered
Barn Owl, Endangered
Golden Eagle, Endangered
Greater Prairie Chicken, Extirpated
Lake Sturgeon, Endangered
Paddlefish, Extirpated
Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee, Endangered
Karner Blue Moth, Extirpated
Mountain Lion (Cougar), Endangered
American Badger, Endangered
American Chestnut, Endangered
Small White Lady’s Slipper, Endangered
Spring Blue-Eyed Mary Extirpated
Four-Leaved Milkweed, Endangered
Blue Racer Snake, Endangered
Eastern Box Turtle, Extirpated
Spotted Turtle, Endangered
Timber Rattlesnake, Extirpated
Incurved Grizzled Moss, Extirpated
Pale-Bellied Frost Lichen, Endangered
Piping Plover, Endangered
Grey Fox,Threatened
Butternut Tree, Endangered
Eastern Flowering Dogwood, Endangered
Red Mullberry, Endangered
Common Five-Lined Skink, Endangered
Algonquin Wolf, Threatened
Eastern Persius Duskywing Moth, Extirpated
Northern Bobwhite, Endangered
and more...

- Wendy Janzen
​

 Prayer on the last day of October    

God of Octobers, 
We thank you for this month
of clear blue skies,
of geese flying in formation,
of snakes sunning themselves 
on the path,
of squirrels busy
collecting nuts.
We thank you for 
the rich palette of colour
painted on the forests,
for the sounds of crunchy leaves
beneath our feet,
for abundant apples 
loading down branches
and scattered on the ground,
for pumpkin patches,
clusters of grapes, 
frosty mornings,
and the culmination
of the garden harvest.
God, in this holy 
season of transformation
may we be released from
the busyness and excesses of life,
so that we might learn to 
simply be present
to rest in your presence.
Amen. 

​- Wendy Janzen

Each October for several years now, right around the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, I pick the wild grapes that grow along our fence. I turn them into juice that is then used as our communion juice at Burning Bush Forest Church (and will be used at Wilmot Forest Church, too). It is a practice of gratitude, and a gift of grace, to have juice that comes from the "wild." I did not plant these grapes, and they are definitely not a cultivated variety. I rarely prune them, but every October they offer enough small little clusters to put away juice for worship. Below is my ode to wild grapes!

Wild Grapes
I open the door to the 
wide, wild, world;
crisp October air washes my face,
fresh and surprising,
awakening me to this day.
Wild vines sprawl along an
urban fence line; who planted them -
human? bird? - no one knows.
Through summer months
tendrils stretched and grasped 
for the sun, reaching further
and further, claiming new
territory each day.
Once vibrant green leaves 
alive with purpose now 
a yellowing and limp tangle. 
I move slowly, methodically,
along the row,
the vines playing a game
of hide and seek with their
tiny deep purple clusters.
Hands stained, 
fingers numb,
bowl filled,
ample left behind for 
other foragers, my heart
offers thanks for this small harvest,
grateful for this miracle,
this gift of the earth.
My mind jumps ahead
to jars of jewel-hued liquid
that will be poured out in worship,
poured out as an act of love for all.
The wild Christ,
present in the elements,
juice and bread; 
in light, earth, water, and wind,
in rituals that transform us
and unite us with all that
was and is and ever shall be.

- Wendy Janzen, 2019

Mennonites are not known to celebrate or recognize feast days for Catholic saints. We turned away from all of that during the Radical Reformation. There are, however, some gems of wisdom in the faith heritage that preceded Anabaptism, and St. Francis is one of those figures who deserves some attention.

This 13th century saint was known for his desire to imitate the life and work of Christ, for his concern for the well-being of the poor, and for his belief that nature was the mirror of God. Over the past four years that I have been drawn into leading an ecologically-oriented outdoor worshipping community called Burning Bush Forest Church, St. Francis has become an inspiring figure of faith for me.

Francis’ reverence for nature and love of animals is a helpful example of how faith informs our relationship to the earth. We are members of a community of creation and have a call to protect and enjoy nature as both stewards of God’s creation, and as creatures ourselves. Fransiscan spirituality helps to provide a beautiful perspective on our place in creation, and paints creation as revelation of God’s outpouring of love not only for us, but for all creatures.

The Feast of St. Francis marks the end of the Season of Creation, a rather new liturgical season from September 1 to October 4. The Season of Creation invites Christians around the world to honour our Creator by loving creation and each other. The Feast of St. Francis is a day that some churches offer a blessing of the animals.

In this day of climate crisis and mass extinctions, it seems important that churches and people of faith address these pressing issues from a moral and faith perspective. The worship gatherings I lead with Burning Bush Forest Church are an invitation for people to deepen their connection with the earth and with our loving Creator who breathed life into all that exists.

I wrote this prayer a year ago to celebrate the Feast Day of St. Francis, and to express my gratitude for all animals.

Creator of all that lives and breathes,
we raise up a prayer of thanksgiving for
the animals in our lives
and in our world.
For the great animals --
elephants, whales, grizzly bears, wolves, wild cats…
For the endangered animals --
bees, caribou, orcas, whip-poor-will…
For pets and companion animals --
dogs, cats, horses, rabbits…
For forgotten and unpopular animals --
rats, reptiles, fish, insects…
WE GIVE OUR DEEP THANKS.
We are grateful for a world of beauty and diversity,
for the role of each animal in its ecosystem.
Stir us to action for creatures who have
no voice or ability to
save their habitat or
affect change in our world.
May we live lightly in this world
so that our more-than-human
neighbours may also live.
With gratitude for the blessings
of this earth, and for all
God’s creatures we pray.
Amen.

- Wendy Janzen