​Blessings.
Today we continue with our series of inspirational messages that will focus on Homes, as we take time to stroll our neighbourhoods, back yards, parks, or just sit and look out a window. This resource is adapted from, and used with permission from, The Prayer Bench (https://prayerbench.ca/). 
Our Habitat for Today :  The squirrel !
Now I (Rev. Gail) have to admit that although I like to watch squirrels play chase with each other in my garden, I am the first to get upset when they start to dig up my bulbs.  So much so, that I have tried everything from human hair, paprika, bone meal, and special ‘Squirrel Off’ that I purchased from the nursery.  Next year I will try Tricia Wetlauffer’s tip for placing a rubber snake in my garden!
But Janice, of the Prayer Bench, reminds us to focus on the playful nature of the squirrel, suggesting that we should give them a chance to earn a bit of admiration. I expect you have all seen squirrels. They are the most visible wildlife in many towns and cities. Perhaps as you have strolled or sat looking from your window or balcony, you have seen them zig-zagging along the grass or leaping from tree to tree. They are accomplished acrobats, jumping a distance of 20 feet. They can fall from a distance without hurting themselves, and effectively use their tail for balance and as a parachute.  
They are talkative. Perhaps you have heard their high-frequency chirps or watched the communicative tail movements. They have their own warning system. 
They gather nuts and bury them in soft earth. In winter they can sniff out their hoard from under a layer of snow. But sometimes they forget and little trees grow from their abandoned stash. 
Squirrels play-fight with one another and young squirrels chase each other in delight improving their strength and coordination. 
They are cheery, don't you think? Maybe a little fun to watch? 
Enjoy this little video:
Squirrels at play
Peace to your house Squirrels. May God cause all to be well with you.

Focus for Your Stroll 
“play is using our bodies, hearts, minds and spirits to explore the world around us with kindness and awe.”  - Jennie Justice 
Today is a day for practicing play. Be like a squirrel and Stroll in a zig-zag pattern. Try leaping. Vary your route and create a small adventure. Write a fun, tiny poem. Make a play page in your journal with colours and shapes. In your meetings, phone calls, emails or conversations, use the word “delight” in a sentence ten times today. Collect a treasure on your Stroll and carry it in your pocket as a touchstone for a desire for a lightness of being. Savour a handful of nuts. Do the twist!
A reminder – this Sunday 27th will be Holy Humour Sunday – so playfully find a funny hat or costume to wear as we gather in person outside.
Peace, Rev. Gail

Blessings.
Today we continue with our series of inspirational messages that will focus on Homes, as we take time to stroll our neighbourhoods, back yards, parks, or just sit and look out a window. This resource is adapted from, and used with permission from, The Prayer Bench (https://prayerbench.ca/). 
Our Habitat for Today :  Wasps in their Nest
Reflection: Standing in Awe 
Sadly, probably many of us have at some point googled how to get rid of a wasp nest. Or, perhaps we have purchased a lethal spray, waited to late evening when the wasps have returned to the nest, then sprayed this potent chemical foam into the nest sealing their exit, before leaving the scene quickly.   It does work. 
But, have we stopped to consider the intelligence and the architectural beauty of their home? 
The Queen spends the winter in a protected place, maybe under a piece of bark. Come spring and it is time to build a nest. Not build so much as to craft. The Queen uses her jaws to scrape bits of fibre from plants, logs, cardboard or fences and with her saliva breaks down the wood to produce a fibre that eventually dries as a strong, grey paper. She makes paper. 
This paper is shaped into a series of hexagonal cells which create “waterproof envelope.”  Their new home is vented at the top, and open at the bottom so the wasps can come and go. 
The Queen lays a fertilized egg into each cell and the life cycle continues.  
Video - A wasp building a nest.

Yes, wasps can be troublesome and the sting of a riled wasp hurts. But standing in awe goes a long way in finding other ways to live together in peace and harmony. 
Peace to your house Wasps. May God cause all to be well with you.

Focus for Your Stroll 
During the 2020 Season of Creation, from 1 September through 4 October, thousands of Christians on six continents united for a time of restoration and hope, a jubilee for our Earth, and they discovered radically new ways of living with creation.
As you stroll today, I invite you to pray this prayer before you Stroll :
“Jesus Christ, teach us to empathize with Earth.
Make our spirits sensitive to the cries of creation,
cries for justice from the land, the seas, and the skies.
Jesus Christ, make our faith sensitive to the groans of the Spirit in creation,
groans of longing for a new creation.
Jesus Christ, make our hearts sensitive to the songs of our kin,
songs of celebration from the sea, the forest, and the air.
Christ, teach us to care. Amen

Stroll now with deeper awareness of our kinship with creation. Look for the wasps and give thanks. 
When you return you might want to honour the skill of wasps by making paper. 
Instructions to make paper
And another way to make paper!

Peace, Rev. Gail