BTW these posts are listed in reverse chronological order. The date at the top of what Blogspot posts is almost never the date it was posted. What remains is less a blog and more an organized passing on of experience had and insights gained through reading, research and walking the trails!
ANCIENT PATHS OF THE TORONTO CHRISTIAN SPIRIT
Sedulius of Liège, a 9th century Irish Celtic scholar, wrote this gloss on the margin of a manuscript he was transcribing about a pilgrimage to the Holy City of Rome
Techt do Róim, mór saítho, becc torbai;
in Rí con-daigi i foss,
manim bera latt ní fhogbai.
"To go to Rome is little profit, endless pain;
the master that you seek in Rome
you find at home or seek in vain."
The postings on this blog witness to the truth that God can be found here in Toronto.
PILGRIMAGE
For ancient Celts, “life was seen as a pilgrimage.” The Northumbria Community speaks both of “the inner journey - the landscape of the heart - and the outer journey – the landscape of the land”. Each is “part of the same life embracing/expressing availability to God and to others.” www.northumbriacommunity.org/sharing-wisdom/428-what-can-we-learn-from-celtic-spirituality?showall=1
WALK THE ANCIENT PATHS
Columba (Colum Cille) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columba founder of the monastery / mission outpost on Iona on which the gospel was lived and from which it spread throughout what would become Scotland and England, gave this blessing to his disciples just before he died:
See that you be at peace among yourselves, my children, and love one another.
Follow the example of good [ones] of old,
and God will comfort you and help you,
both in this world and in the world which is to come. Amen.
Ancient Paths Of The Toronto Christian Spirit attempts to trace the ways of some of the good ones of old in the city which is my home. It is my aim both literally and figuratively to walk such paths.
By “Toronto” is meant the region embraced by the ancient name the Toronto Carrying Place. Physically its boundaries are...
South – the Shores of Lake Ontario including Toronto Island
North - the Narrows from which Toronto derives its name above Lake Simcoe
East - the Rouge River Valley watershed
West – the Humber River and associated watersheds
Not by accident the Carrying Place is also the name of a local expression of the Northumbria Community here in Canada. We carry each other in prayer as we walk the ancient paths all the while God carrying us in mercy and grace.
This summer with the Holy Spirit, and miniature schnauzer Zephyr as constant companions, I walked partially up the western side of the Toronto Carrying Place and finished to the east at the mouth of the rouge. These walks have been added to journeys previously done. To date (July 21, 2011) on the "western outer journey" we covered about 28ks as the crow flies - much longer on foot - from the mouth of the Humber to Major Mackenzie (adding a short walk in Nobleton and King City). Easterly we managed a walk in Newmarket and from the Zoo to the mouth of the rouge.
The inner journey will take some explaining.
With the help of historians The Rev Dr. Alan Hayes (Wycliffe), The Rev'd Ed Hird, Wikipedia, Heather Robertson's Walking Into Wilderness, The Toronto Region Conservation Authority's The Humber:the Toronto Carrying Place, a growing number of self-correcting internet sources and other sources, the following brief accounts have been assembled.
The breath of God has long renewed and transformed people of Toronto. The following godly souls lived in or near this city for some part of their lives. My initial hope was eventually to have one story to ponder for each day of the year. These 11 posts are a long way from that.
But a pilgrimage is marked one step at a time.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
LET THE PEOPLE LOVE ONE ANOTHER
For centuries the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) dominated the region we now know as upper New York and Ontario (and Toronto).
They celebrated “The Great Peacemaker,” Deganawida, and his disciple Hiawatha. “Deganawida” (or Tekanawite) means “Two River Currents Flowing Together.” A prophet from the Huron wing of confederacy, his origins (some say as early as 1090- 1150 CE) remain obscure.
When warfare between the people of the five nations was most intense, Tekanawite appeared in one settlement after another, bearing the message of the Longhouse, the Good Message of Great Peace (Gayanashagowa), and the Power of the Good Mind.
The people listened and were impressed, for in their hearts they were tired of the bloodshed. The Great Peace was accepted across North America by all of the native nations.
Though warfare between first nations in various confederacies would resume, the Great Peacemaker was a beacon of hope and peace. In that sense, he paved the way for the reception of the good news of Jesus when it did come.
What was his message?
"Let the people love one another…We are all children of the great Spirit. We are brothers and sisters. Forego and forget your revenge. Let us live in peace."
God is not without witness: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Romans 1:20.
'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:18
Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Romans 8:16
One life, with each other, sisters, brothers. “One” by U2
They celebrated “The Great Peacemaker,” Deganawida, and his disciple Hiawatha. “Deganawida” (or Tekanawite) means “Two River Currents Flowing Together.” A prophet from the Huron wing of confederacy, his origins (some say as early as 1090- 1150 CE) remain obscure.
When warfare between the people of the five nations was most intense, Tekanawite appeared in one settlement after another, bearing the message of the Longhouse, the Good Message of Great Peace (Gayanashagowa), and the Power of the Good Mind.
The people listened and were impressed, for in their hearts they were tired of the bloodshed. The Great Peace was accepted across North America by all of the native nations.
Though warfare between first nations in various confederacies would resume, the Great Peacemaker was a beacon of hope and peace. In that sense, he paved the way for the reception of the good news of Jesus when it did come.
What was his message?
"Let the people love one another…We are all children of the great Spirit. We are brothers and sisters. Forego and forget your revenge. Let us live in peace."
God is not without witness: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Romans 1:20.
'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:18
Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Romans 8:16
One life, with each other, sisters, brothers. “One” by U2
Saturday, July 23, 2011
The Globe and Mail
Seems my walk is timely. This from July 23 Globe and Mail in the News / Heritage section covers the ancient ground nicely:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/history-runs-deep-in-torontos-humber-river/article2107315/
The trail is called Toronto Carrying Place, a portage and canoe route that followed the Humber River from Lake Ontario to Lake Simcoe and the upper Great Lakes.
Ms. McDowell reads from fur trader Alexander Henry’s diary from 1765 as he crossed the height of land to enter the Humber watershed.
“At [Lake Simcoe’s] farther end we came to the carrying-place of Toronto. … The woods and marshes abounded with mosquitoes. … The whole country was a thick forest, through which our only road was a foot-path.”
Ms. McDowell explains the footpath would have been well worn even then.
The Huron and Petun First Nations established fishing camps in the young Humber Valley as the ancient Lake Iroquois receded 12,000 years ago. Archaeologists have unearthed 4,000-year-old spear tips just a kilometre away at James Gardens, where Black Creek meets the Humber.
Corn has been grown here for 1,600 years, according to archaeologist Ronald Williamson, author of Toronto: a Short Illustrated History of its First 12,000 Years. By the beginning of the 13th century, the migrant camps along the Humber had become small permanent settlements. By the early 16th century, they were home to 2,000 people.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/history-runs-deep-in-torontos-humber-river/article2107315/
The trail is called Toronto Carrying Place, a portage and canoe route that followed the Humber River from Lake Ontario to Lake Simcoe and the upper Great Lakes.
Ms. McDowell reads from fur trader Alexander Henry’s diary from 1765 as he crossed the height of land to enter the Humber watershed.
“At [Lake Simcoe’s] farther end we came to the carrying-place of Toronto. … The woods and marshes abounded with mosquitoes. … The whole country was a thick forest, through which our only road was a foot-path.”
Ms. McDowell explains the footpath would have been well worn even then.
The Huron and Petun First Nations established fishing camps in the young Humber Valley as the ancient Lake Iroquois receded 12,000 years ago. Archaeologists have unearthed 4,000-year-old spear tips just a kilometre away at James Gardens, where Black Creek meets the Humber.
Corn has been grown here for 1,600 years, according to archaeologist Ronald Williamson, author of Toronto: a Short Illustrated History of its First 12,000 Years. By the beginning of the 13th century, the migrant camps along the Humber had become small permanent settlements. By the early 16th century, they were home to 2,000 people.
Friday, July 22, 2011
TRUE RELIGION
That’s what the sign says above the jeans store. We saw it yesterday at massive air conditioned Yorkdale mall, a mecca of commercial pleasure – retail therapy at its best. The Apple store was packed with eager devotees, competing for the privilege of sitting at the feet of the techno shamans who enable their newest gadgets. The many stalls and money changers in the temple offered to grant our every prayer for relief from the heat and to slake our thirst with cool waters courtesy of the corporate world – for a small fee of course.
The website graphics of the retail chain paint an unmistakable picture of what is meant by “True Religion:” gorgeous hunks, incarnations of the gods, tough and sensitive, enraptured locking eyes with fair divas with pursed lips, wondering – a spiritual haze rising from the mountain stream – a vision of nirvana made possible presumably by the stylish, rugged clothes you can buy at “True Religion”.
The Sociology of Religion, my first university course in that field, underlined one principle above all others: you will never understand how a religion functions for a people until you understand their economy. The point of faith in something beyond just matter is to give you an edge on life. The pie is only so big. You and I – and everyone must divide it between us. So if you can reach beyond the ordinary and gain an advantage, you might claim a superior piece of the pie for you and yours.
Some of the first Europeans who made first contact with the First Nations peoples genuinely did have compassion for the souls of their new friends. They really did believe they could make their lives better both in this world and the next. But make no mistake they received the royal funding for the journey more on the prospects of imperial expansion, colonization and economic gain. It was the 17th century way of the world.
The name “Toronto”, as we shall see did not originally mean gathering place as has been supposed. It means “a great place to fish” – an economic boon to whoever can claim and secure it. The various Carrying Places along the northern coast of Lake Ontario – The Scugog / Oshawa Trail, the dual path of the Toronto Carrying Place, more westerly routes along the Credit River and to Burlington/Hamilton – these long preceded the arrival of either French or English. Rather they were ancient routes for commerce or traveling to summer dwellings to beat the heat or winter ones to draw near to the warmth of the lake! The commercial enterprises flourishing in all the regions embraced by those trails today differ on a matter of scale but still manifest that same ancient longing to live well.
How you live with your things now IS a spiritual issue.
It may seem crass - not like the stuff of True Religion as we learned it in Sunday School. Yet faith is not just about eternal rewards but also much about this life. Jesus spoke much more about how we should then live here and now in the light of who He is and of his revelation to us than He did about the afterlife. His concern was how we relate to the stuff God made, especially other people. "Love one another" means for Jesus not the acquisition of stuff but of friends by personal sacrifice for them.
Wrote his brother,
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27
Amen.
The website graphics of the retail chain paint an unmistakable picture of what is meant by “True Religion:” gorgeous hunks, incarnations of the gods, tough and sensitive, enraptured locking eyes with fair divas with pursed lips, wondering – a spiritual haze rising from the mountain stream – a vision of nirvana made possible presumably by the stylish, rugged clothes you can buy at “True Religion”.
The Sociology of Religion, my first university course in that field, underlined one principle above all others: you will never understand how a religion functions for a people until you understand their economy. The point of faith in something beyond just matter is to give you an edge on life. The pie is only so big. You and I – and everyone must divide it between us. So if you can reach beyond the ordinary and gain an advantage, you might claim a superior piece of the pie for you and yours.
Some of the first Europeans who made first contact with the First Nations peoples genuinely did have compassion for the souls of their new friends. They really did believe they could make their lives better both in this world and the next. But make no mistake they received the royal funding for the journey more on the prospects of imperial expansion, colonization and economic gain. It was the 17th century way of the world.
The name “Toronto”, as we shall see did not originally mean gathering place as has been supposed. It means “a great place to fish” – an economic boon to whoever can claim and secure it. The various Carrying Places along the northern coast of Lake Ontario – The Scugog / Oshawa Trail, the dual path of the Toronto Carrying Place, more westerly routes along the Credit River and to Burlington/Hamilton – these long preceded the arrival of either French or English. Rather they were ancient routes for commerce or traveling to summer dwellings to beat the heat or winter ones to draw near to the warmth of the lake! The commercial enterprises flourishing in all the regions embraced by those trails today differ on a matter of scale but still manifest that same ancient longing to live well.
How you live with your things now IS a spiritual issue.
It may seem crass - not like the stuff of True Religion as we learned it in Sunday School. Yet faith is not just about eternal rewards but also much about this life. Jesus spoke much more about how we should then live here and now in the light of who He is and of his revelation to us than He did about the afterlife. His concern was how we relate to the stuff God made, especially other people. "Love one another" means for Jesus not the acquisition of stuff but of friends by personal sacrifice for them.
Wrote his brother,
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27
Amen.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Zephyr The Wonder Dog Takes a Break
Micah 2:
In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established
as chief among the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills,
and peoples will stream to it.
2 Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
4 Everyone will sit under their own vine
and under their own fig tree,
and no one will make them afraid,
for the LORD Almighty has spoken.
5 All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods;
we will walk in the name of the LORD
our God for ever and ever.
Well, the best laid plans of dog and me.. orphan go astray.
Zephyr and I, over the last few years, have twice walked twice around Toronto (yeah that's four times!). We did this by driving to point A walking a short distance to Point B then walking back to A to ride home in the car. Its amazing the distances we covered by accumulating short doable walks in the cool of the evenings.
This wondrous miniature schnauzer has come to love the hikes as much as I. After sniffing everything with an odour - that's just about everything - she gets into a rhythm as if in training for the marathon - often leading the way.
To illustrate, this last Wednesday morning, July 20th, I put on my walking hat - the black one with the oversized goose feathers that I always wear - and pretty much only wear - on our adventures. Instead of going for a walk, because of the heat I grabbed my CDP (Celtic Daily Prayer) and sat on the living room couch in our AC'd house for morning devotions. Zephyr pranced to my feet, patiently waited, then jumped up on the coach, stared at me intently and managed a muffled "Bark"! Her message was unmistakable: "If you wear that hat, Dad, it's time to walk - move it!"
Alas, the heat outside prevented that. In spite of her insistence, we did no walking that day - or the next or the next or the next. The adventure hat languished outside hung on a canoe oar - it was just way too hot for either of us.
Then she lost her appetite - other than nibbling a wee bit. While we continue to keep her out of the sun and the Vet coaches her to health, Zephyr has to bow out of our walks till she regains her strength.
Facing long walks without my canine companion feels a bit like Atreyu continuing without Artax (see Never-Ending Story). It might allow for longer, more adventurous trips and she can join me later when the Carrying Place Trail goes through the cooler Ontario woodland - but I will miss the company.
Reading the early European explorations of this part of the new world, one is awed by what they accomplished. As Heather Robertson reports in her excellent Walking Into Wilderness, John Graves Simcoe's initial (1783) travels up the Carrying Place were short jaunts as far as they could go through untamed country -on a thinly worn footpath. Four days it took him to arrive at Holland Marsh then on by canoe to Georgian Bay. On the return trip from the Hollland River it took just three days to proceed down what would become Yonge Street. An accident to one of their men caused them to go slowly! People - and dogs - and their health are more important than timely distance covered.
That's nothing compared to Robert Livingston who during the war of 1812 traveled from Fort Willow near Barrie to Fort Mackinac in Sault St Marie and back - in winter - on snowshoe!
All of these pale in comparison to the first nations peoples - who most Europeans beginning with Étienne Brûlé (1593-1633) struggled to keep up with.
Courage on your walk - one step at a time.
All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods;
we will walk in the name of the LORD
our God for ever and ever.
In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established
as chief among the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills,
and peoples will stream to it.
2 Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
4 Everyone will sit under their own vine
and under their own fig tree,
and no one will make them afraid,
for the LORD Almighty has spoken.
5 All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods;
we will walk in the name of the LORD
our God for ever and ever.
Well, the best laid plans of dog and me.. orphan go astray.
Zephyr and I, over the last few years, have twice walked twice around Toronto (yeah that's four times!). We did this by driving to point A walking a short distance to Point B then walking back to A to ride home in the car. Its amazing the distances we covered by accumulating short doable walks in the cool of the evenings.
This wondrous miniature schnauzer has come to love the hikes as much as I. After sniffing everything with an odour - that's just about everything - she gets into a rhythm as if in training for the marathon - often leading the way.
To illustrate, this last Wednesday morning, July 20th, I put on my walking hat - the black one with the oversized goose feathers that I always wear - and pretty much only wear - on our adventures. Instead of going for a walk, because of the heat I grabbed my CDP (Celtic Daily Prayer) and sat on the living room couch in our AC'd house for morning devotions. Zephyr pranced to my feet, patiently waited, then jumped up on the coach, stared at me intently and managed a muffled "Bark"! Her message was unmistakable: "If you wear that hat, Dad, it's time to walk - move it!"
Alas, the heat outside prevented that. In spite of her insistence, we did no walking that day - or the next or the next or the next. The adventure hat languished outside hung on a canoe oar - it was just way too hot for either of us.
Then she lost her appetite - other than nibbling a wee bit. While we continue to keep her out of the sun and the Vet coaches her to health, Zephyr has to bow out of our walks till she regains her strength.
Facing long walks without my canine companion feels a bit like Atreyu continuing without Artax (see Never-Ending Story). It might allow for longer, more adventurous trips and she can join me later when the Carrying Place Trail goes through the cooler Ontario woodland - but I will miss the company.
Reading the early European explorations of this part of the new world, one is awed by what they accomplished. As Heather Robertson reports in her excellent Walking Into Wilderness, John Graves Simcoe's initial (1783) travels up the Carrying Place were short jaunts as far as they could go through untamed country -on a thinly worn footpath. Four days it took him to arrive at Holland Marsh then on by canoe to Georgian Bay. On the return trip from the Hollland River it took just three days to proceed down what would become Yonge Street. An accident to one of their men caused them to go slowly! People - and dogs - and their health are more important than timely distance covered.
That's nothing compared to Robert Livingston who during the war of 1812 traveled from Fort Willow near Barrie to Fort Mackinac in Sault St Marie and back - in winter - on snowshoe!
All of these pale in comparison to the first nations peoples - who most Europeans beginning with Étienne Brûlé (1593-1633) struggled to keep up with.
Courage on your walk - one step at a time.
All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods;
we will walk in the name of the LORD
our God for ever and ever.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
THE TORONTO CARRYING PLACE: TWO PATHS
Zephyr was feeling better today (yay) so our brief outing took us along the Rouge end of the Carrying Place Trail.
NOTE ON TRAILS: HUMBER-side
We already have walked the Humber Portage part of the Toronto Passage up to Major Mac. Along that section between the 1660's-1670's and the late 1680's a village called "Teiaiagon" (more in the next post) sat atop what is now Baby Point. Sometimes called "the shared path" the Humber portion of the Carrying Place was widely used by both French and English fur traders until Toronto started to be permanently settled in the late 18th, early 19th century.
A comprehensive list of trails along the Humber can be found in the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority's For the Living City
http://trca.on.ca/dotAsset/50127.pdf
NOTE ON TRAILS: ROUGE-side
Under a canopy of trees embracing the sky, the lack of sun making it hard but for the largest flora to flourish, shaded most of the way and much easy walking, the Little Rouge Trail is likely most similar of those I walked to the sort traveled by first nations peoples around the time they first encountered Europeans - though without the helpful signs and white paint path markers on trees! Trails back then were often through think brush!
For a complete list of Rouge Trails, see the Rouge Park Visitors Guide:
http://www.rougepark.com/explore/adventures/Rouge_Park_Visitor_Guide_web.pdf
Now dog and I are now following the east end of the Carrying Place trail along the Rouge to the Oak Ridges Moraine. I have signed up to canoe later from the mouth of the Rouge through the marsh and beach. Other Rouge Park paths will take you to the edge of the Toronto Zoo (dog's aren't allowed at the zoo so we'll have to bypass that). Miles of private property and commercial land are between there and the trail called "Nokiidaa" (Ojibwa for "walking Together") linking Aurora, Newmarket and East Gwillimbury along the East Holland River. http://www.ontariotrails.on.ca/trails-a-z/nokiidaa-trail-association/ (See "ETERNAL PEACE")
Ganatsekwyagon
In 1669-1671 "Sulpician Fathers under Francois d’Urfe" went on mission to "the Seneca village of Ganatswekwyagon" Father Claude Trouvé (1644-1704) also was invited by the Iroquois confederacy to instruct them in the Gospel.
Heritage Toronto says about Ganatsekwyagon: This post-contact Seneca village, which has been designated as a National Historic Site, was established in the late 1660s by the New York Iroquois. However it shows evidence of previous occupations between 9,000 to 4,000 years ago.
http://www.heritagetoronto.org/discover-toronto/map/archaeological/ganatsekwyagon. The village was abandoned by the Iroquois in 1687, after which it was occupied by the Mississaugas. Forming the entry point to the east branch of the Toronto Carrying Place, the village became a major trans-shipment point in the fur trade between the upper Great Lakes and Albany, New York. A Sulpician mission was established at the settlement between 1669 and 1671.
Where Ganatsekwyagon is exactly is debated. Some put it along the coast where two french canon balls (but nothing else) were found on a farm. Others suggest "Bead Hill", a site somewhere near the Rouge whose precise location is a carefully guarded secret. Others favour still other sites.
Wikipedia fills in the history:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Carrying-Place_Trail
Another good timeline can be found at Southwestern Ontario: The First 12,000 Years Historic: http://diggingontario.uwo.ca/Historic.html
A 1680 map showing the location of both villages can be viewed at
http://www.waterfrontoronto.ca/image_galleries/history_and_heritage
TWO BECOME ONE
Both trails merge north of Aurora at the Holland River. At Lake Simcoe the Carrying Place continues to the narrows at Couchiching. Says Wikipedia, "These straits, an important fishing area, gives rise to the name Toronto, from the Mohawk term toron-ten, as this is 'the place where the trees grow over the water'. The First Nations peoples had planted trees in the narrows between the lakes to act as a weir to catch fish." I have yet to figure out how to make that keg of the trip!
Toronto is a great place for fishing for people! Maybe I can catch a ride on a boat or something. Following the Severn River to Georgian Bay completes the Carrying Place Trail.
BACK ON THE ROUGE
Zephyr and I today met a young family from the UK hiking the Rouge and we shared a bit of the story of the trail. I prayed silently for them as was done by Sulpicians so long ago. They focused their teaching on the devotional life of the faithful, on a personal experience of the person of Jesus and on the quest for personal holiness. The Sulpician pursuit of holiness, as severe as the Canadian winter, was warmed by their love of his First Nations hosts and of Jesus. They prayed in Adoration (Jesus before my eyes), in Communion (Jesus drawn into my heart) and in Cooperation (Jesus in my hands).
As Jean Jacque Olier, founder of the order, had taught them to pray:
O Jesus…
Come and live in Thy servants,
In the spirit of Thy holiness,
In the fullness of Thy might,
In the truth of Thy virtues,
In the perfection of Thy ways,
In the communion of Thy mysteries.
Subdue every hostile power
In Thy spirit, for the glory of the Father. Amen.
NOTE ON TRAILS: HUMBER-side
We already have walked the Humber Portage part of the Toronto Passage up to Major Mac. Along that section between the 1660's-1670's and the late 1680's a village called "Teiaiagon" (more in the next post) sat atop what is now Baby Point. Sometimes called "the shared path" the Humber portion of the Carrying Place was widely used by both French and English fur traders until Toronto started to be permanently settled in the late 18th, early 19th century.
A comprehensive list of trails along the Humber can be found in the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority's For the Living City
http://trca.on.ca/dotAsset/50127.pdf
NOTE ON TRAILS: ROUGE-side
Under a canopy of trees embracing the sky, the lack of sun making it hard but for the largest flora to flourish, shaded most of the way and much easy walking, the Little Rouge Trail is likely most similar of those I walked to the sort traveled by first nations peoples around the time they first encountered Europeans - though without the helpful signs and white paint path markers on trees! Trails back then were often through think brush!
For a complete list of Rouge Trails, see the Rouge Park Visitors Guide:
http://www.rougepark.com/explore/adventures/Rouge_Park_Visitor_Guide_web.pdf
Now dog and I are now following the east end of the Carrying Place trail along the Rouge to the Oak Ridges Moraine. I have signed up to canoe later from the mouth of the Rouge through the marsh and beach. Other Rouge Park paths will take you to the edge of the Toronto Zoo (dog's aren't allowed at the zoo so we'll have to bypass that). Miles of private property and commercial land are between there and the trail called "Nokiidaa" (Ojibwa for "walking Together") linking Aurora, Newmarket and East Gwillimbury along the East Holland River. http://www.ontariotrails.on.ca/trails-a-z/nokiidaa-trail-association/ (See "ETERNAL PEACE")
Ganatsekwyagon
In 1669-1671 "Sulpician Fathers under Francois d’Urfe" went on mission to "the Seneca village of Ganatswekwyagon" Father Claude Trouvé (1644-1704) also was invited by the Iroquois confederacy to instruct them in the Gospel.
Heritage Toronto says about Ganatsekwyagon: This post-contact Seneca village, which has been designated as a National Historic Site, was established in the late 1660s by the New York Iroquois. However it shows evidence of previous occupations between 9,000 to 4,000 years ago.
http://www.heritagetoronto.org/discover-toronto/map/archaeological/ganatsekwyagon. The village was abandoned by the Iroquois in 1687, after which it was occupied by the Mississaugas. Forming the entry point to the east branch of the Toronto Carrying Place, the village became a major trans-shipment point in the fur trade between the upper Great Lakes and Albany, New York. A Sulpician mission was established at the settlement between 1669 and 1671.
Where Ganatsekwyagon is exactly is debated. Some put it along the coast where two french canon balls (but nothing else) were found on a farm. Others suggest "Bead Hill", a site somewhere near the Rouge whose precise location is a carefully guarded secret. Others favour still other sites.
Wikipedia fills in the history:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Carrying-Place_Trail
Another good timeline can be found at Southwestern Ontario: The First 12,000 Years Historic: http://diggingontario.uwo.ca/Historic.html
A 1680 map showing the location of both villages can be viewed at
http://www.waterfrontoronto.ca/image_galleries/history_and_heritage
TWO BECOME ONE
Both trails merge north of Aurora at the Holland River. At Lake Simcoe the Carrying Place continues to the narrows at Couchiching. Says Wikipedia, "These straits, an important fishing area, gives rise to the name Toronto, from the Mohawk term toron-ten, as this is 'the place where the trees grow over the water'. The First Nations peoples had planted trees in the narrows between the lakes to act as a weir to catch fish." I have yet to figure out how to make that keg of the trip!
Toronto is a great place for fishing for people! Maybe I can catch a ride on a boat or something. Following the Severn River to Georgian Bay completes the Carrying Place Trail.
BACK ON THE ROUGE
Zephyr and I today met a young family from the UK hiking the Rouge and we shared a bit of the story of the trail. I prayed silently for them as was done by Sulpicians so long ago. They focused their teaching on the devotional life of the faithful, on a personal experience of the person of Jesus and on the quest for personal holiness. The Sulpician pursuit of holiness, as severe as the Canadian winter, was warmed by their love of his First Nations hosts and of Jesus. They prayed in Adoration (Jesus before my eyes), in Communion (Jesus drawn into my heart) and in Cooperation (Jesus in my hands).
As Jean Jacque Olier, founder of the order, had taught them to pray:
O Jesus…
Come and live in Thy servants,
In the spirit of Thy holiness,
In the fullness of Thy might,
In the truth of Thy virtues,
In the perfection of Thy ways,
In the communion of Thy mysteries.
Subdue every hostile power
In Thy spirit, for the glory of the Father. Amen.
Monday, July 18, 2011
MIGHTY GITCHI MANITOU
Of Toronto’s two founding first nations villages, Teiaiagon to the west astride the Humber River (Teiaiagon means “crossing point” or "it crosses the stream”), in the area now known as Baby Point near Jane and Bloor, proved the more significant. Etienne Brule may have gone through that area between 1615-1618 though that is now in doubt.
First nations peoples tended to move their villages about every 15 years as soil became exhausted. There is no way to know how many previous tribes chose that impressive site through the centuries. Steep banks on three sides made for sound defense and easy access to water made survival during a siege possible. It is an attractive site to keep your people safe.
French Jesuits Brebeuf and Chaumonot serving at St Marie among the Huron (Midland) spent the winter in the Hamilton-Brantford area in 1640-41 among the Attawandaron (it means in Huron something like "people whose speech is a little off"). The French called them "Neutral" since they had avoided choosing sides between the Iroquois and the Huron. Since there are signs of a large Huron village near Hackett Lake (Weston Road and 16th Sideroad, King Twp) is it possible that Brebeuf and Chaumonot traveled the Carrying Place en route?
However, neither Teiaiagon to the west nor the smaller Ganasekwagon to the east were established by Iroqouis until the 1660s - 1670's. Upon their arrival, the Huron retreated north. It is certain that Louis Hennepin arrived at Teiaiagon in 1678, and Rene-Robert Cavelier de La Salle was there in 1680.
Roman Catholics' low-key relational approach won many friends among first nations peoples, in a way that the more aggressive European protestants could only envy.
Huron called Jean de Brébeuf "Echon" meaning "Healing Tree", due to the medicines he brought them from Europe. Brébeuf's Huron Carol circa 1643 is one of Canada’s earliest and finest musical achievements. Perhaps some of this hymn was composed in the environs of the Carrying Place!
’Twas in the moon of wintertime,
When all the birds had fled,
That mighty Gitchi Manitou
Sent angel choirs instead;
Before their light the stars grew dim,
And wondering hunters heard the hymn:
Refrain: Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, In excelsis gloria.
Within a lodge of broken bark
The tender babe was found,
A ragged robe of rabbit skin
Enwrapped His beauty round;
But as the hunter braves drew nigh,
The angel song rang loud and high:
The earliest moon of wintertime
Is not so round and fair
As was the ring of glory on
The helpless Infant there.
The chiefs from far before Him knelt
With gifts of fox and beaver pelt.
O children of the forest free,
O seed of Manitou,
The holy Child of earth and Heav’n
Is born today for you.
Come kneel before the radiant Boy,
Who brings you beauty, peace and joy.
Huron Carol tr. fr. Huron to English by J. Edgar Middleton, 1926.
First nations peoples tended to move their villages about every 15 years as soil became exhausted. There is no way to know how many previous tribes chose that impressive site through the centuries. Steep banks on three sides made for sound defense and easy access to water made survival during a siege possible. It is an attractive site to keep your people safe.
French Jesuits Brebeuf and Chaumonot serving at St Marie among the Huron (Midland) spent the winter in the Hamilton-Brantford area in 1640-41 among the Attawandaron (it means in Huron something like "people whose speech is a little off"). The French called them "Neutral" since they had avoided choosing sides between the Iroquois and the Huron. Since there are signs of a large Huron village near Hackett Lake (Weston Road and 16th Sideroad, King Twp) is it possible that Brebeuf and Chaumonot traveled the Carrying Place en route?
However, neither Teiaiagon to the west nor the smaller Ganasekwagon to the east were established by Iroqouis until the 1660s - 1670's. Upon their arrival, the Huron retreated north. It is certain that Louis Hennepin arrived at Teiaiagon in 1678, and Rene-Robert Cavelier de La Salle was there in 1680.
Roman Catholics' low-key relational approach won many friends among first nations peoples, in a way that the more aggressive European protestants could only envy.
Huron called Jean de Brébeuf "Echon" meaning "Healing Tree", due to the medicines he brought them from Europe. Brébeuf's Huron Carol circa 1643 is one of Canada’s earliest and finest musical achievements. Perhaps some of this hymn was composed in the environs of the Carrying Place!
’Twas in the moon of wintertime,
When all the birds had fled,
That mighty Gitchi Manitou
Sent angel choirs instead;
Before their light the stars grew dim,
And wondering hunters heard the hymn:
Refrain: Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, In excelsis gloria.
Within a lodge of broken bark
The tender babe was found,
A ragged robe of rabbit skin
Enwrapped His beauty round;
But as the hunter braves drew nigh,
The angel song rang loud and high:
The earliest moon of wintertime
Is not so round and fair
As was the ring of glory on
The helpless Infant there.
The chiefs from far before Him knelt
With gifts of fox and beaver pelt.
O children of the forest free,
O seed of Manitou,
The holy Child of earth and Heav’n
Is born today for you.
Come kneel before the radiant Boy,
Who brings you beauty, peace and joy.
Huron Carol tr. fr. Huron to English by J. Edgar Middleton, 1926.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
TORONTO's HOLY ISLAND?
Prior to the first Europeans seeing the Toronto area (around the time of Shakespeare), Great Lakes First Nations cultures regarded what we now know as Toronto Island as a sacred place of healing. Somewhere I read once (but I have lost the source) that members of all tribes and nations were welcome to go to the island for healing provided they first lay down their arms. They considered the Islands so healthy that they resorted to it “whenever indisposed”.
"If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God,
and wilt do that which is right in His sight,
and wilt give ear to His Commandments,
and keep all His Statutes,
I will put none of these diseases upon thee,
which I have brought upon the Egyptians:
for I am the LORD that healeth thee." Exodus 15:26
Of its birth Mohawks said, “On a day before the coming of the white man [the Great Spirit] was in a mood of anger and, as he often expressed himself forcefully, the winds came that day with a terrific roar, laid the forests bare as matchsticks, whipped the waves as tall as treetops on Lake Ontario and made the earth tremble with their violence…when the sinking and upheaval finished and the storm had ended an island had been formed…” From More than an Island by Sally Gibson.
The visionary who saw to the building of the island’s first church, The Most Reverend Arthur Sweatman (1834-1909), later became Lord Archbishop of Toronto and, later still, the Primate of all Canada.
At the opening service of St Andrew’s By-The-Lake Anglican Church, 27 July 1884, the good bishop preached to the crowded pews on the theme,
“It is good for me to draw close to God.”
Surely, we should draw close to God there still.
The Toronto Carrying Place - the local community group of the Northumbria Community has made the island a repeated place of pilgrimage. Looking at the island high in the air above the mainland, if you squint the island seems to take the shape of a bird's wing. During one of the Carrying Place events, we encouraged our island pilgrims to reflect on these sacred words. [ALL TNIV]
Exodus 19:4 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
Deuteronomy 32:9-12 For the LORD's portion is his people,
Jacob his allotted inheritance.
10 In a desert land he found him,
in a barren and howling waste.
He shielded him and cared for him;
he guarded him as the apple of his eye,
11 like an eagle that stirs up its nest
and hovers over its young,
that spreads its wings to catch them
and carries them on its pinions.
12 The LORD alone led him;
no foreign god was with him.
Ruth 2:12 May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."
2 Samuel 22:10-12
10 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
11 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared [a] on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness his canopy around him—
the dark [b] rain clouds of the sky.
Psalm 57:1Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.
Isaiah 40:31: Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Ezekiel 10:5,19, 11:22 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks… While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the LORD's house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them… Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
Malachi 4:2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.
Luke 13:34 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
Revelation 4:8: Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
"If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God,
and wilt do that which is right in His sight,
and wilt give ear to His Commandments,
and keep all His Statutes,
I will put none of these diseases upon thee,
which I have brought upon the Egyptians:
for I am the LORD that healeth thee." Exodus 15:26
Of its birth Mohawks said, “On a day before the coming of the white man [the Great Spirit] was in a mood of anger and, as he often expressed himself forcefully, the winds came that day with a terrific roar, laid the forests bare as matchsticks, whipped the waves as tall as treetops on Lake Ontario and made the earth tremble with their violence…when the sinking and upheaval finished and the storm had ended an island had been formed…” From More than an Island by Sally Gibson.
The visionary who saw to the building of the island’s first church, The Most Reverend Arthur Sweatman (1834-1909), later became Lord Archbishop of Toronto and, later still, the Primate of all Canada.
At the opening service of St Andrew’s By-The-Lake Anglican Church, 27 July 1884, the good bishop preached to the crowded pews on the theme,
“It is good for me to draw close to God.”
Surely, we should draw close to God there still.
The Toronto Carrying Place - the local community group of the Northumbria Community has made the island a repeated place of pilgrimage. Looking at the island high in the air above the mainland, if you squint the island seems to take the shape of a bird's wing. During one of the Carrying Place events, we encouraged our island pilgrims to reflect on these sacred words. [ALL TNIV]
Exodus 19:4 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
Deuteronomy 32:9-12 For the LORD's portion is his people,
Jacob his allotted inheritance.
10 In a desert land he found him,
in a barren and howling waste.
He shielded him and cared for him;
he guarded him as the apple of his eye,
11 like an eagle that stirs up its nest
and hovers over its young,
that spreads its wings to catch them
and carries them on its pinions.
12 The LORD alone led him;
no foreign god was with him.
Ruth 2:12 May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."
2 Samuel 22:10-12
10 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
11 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared [a] on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness his canopy around him—
the dark [b] rain clouds of the sky.
Psalm 57:1Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.
Isaiah 40:31: Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Ezekiel 10:5,19, 11:22 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks… While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the LORD's house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them… Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
Malachi 4:2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.
Luke 13:34 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
Revelation 4:8: Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
DANGERS
Storm clouds are brewing over my soul
& waves of confusion they buffet and roll
Be thou my anchor,
be thou my stronghold
As I am crossing over…
Carry me, carry me carry me
Over this ocean, carry me. (2x)
Before me, horizons of uncertainty
Behind me, the shadows
of what might have been
Be thou my rock, be thou my constancy
As I am crossing over...
Be thou before me a beacon to guide
Be thou beneath me,
my home-coming tide
Be thou around me on every side
As I am crossing over...
Nick / Anita Haigh © 2002 Break of Day Music/Daybreak
DANGERS
Danger loomed all afternoon. Zephyr was already feeling skittish. She could not read the abundant coyote warnings that I could: Wild in the City. No, she was sniffing something she did not like and she would not walk another step. We had already abandoned one dense trail where I first saw signs posted warning us of coyote. Dog-strangling vine gave her no worries, nor threat of thunderstorm, nor poison ivy. But something dark was still in the air and trusting her better judgment we backed out - again.
The notion that coyotes might be lurking in the bushes shook me, too. The travesty the Maxell’s experienced in their own back yard - a coyote jumping the fence grabbing their beloved Chihuahua and disappearing with a hasty lunch… Zephyr and I would be no match for that wily a hunter. We would have to content ourselves with an equivalency walk – covering elsewhere the distance we skipped here in fear. Maybe next time we’ll book a guide.
That's what the signs recommended.
Everything I needed to know in life I learned from Rouge Trail signs:
“For safety, never walk alone”.
We need each other. We were made to live and walk in fellowship. It’s a tough challenge to coordinate than doing it all on your own. But you miss so much of the view by yourself not to mention the dangers (I told you not to mention that).
So many dangers. Windat (Huron) “Indians” moved north once the New York Iroquois moved into town. Windat were also mighty hunters – but there was plenty of land enough for all to share if it can be worked out. First contact Europeans who joined up with one set of tribes/nations were often in danger among competing tribes. French feared the English and vice versa. All feared disappointing those who sent them. The presence of others could make the journey that much wiser.
Last night, we saw the movie Forks Over Knives about the health dangers of eating animal based foods. We're not vegan yet - but it is a sobering documentary. Today on the radio on the way to what would become our aborted walk, I heard that someone was stabbed just blocks from where we live. On the way home, we saw a van that had been badly rear-ended on the Don slip road. So many dangers.
Whoever else comes along, the journey must be walked with Jesus. He is more than our guide along the changeful way, who will, when need be, carry us when storm clouds of confusion are brewing. He is the Way itself.
Steps and slopes may be steep. Watch your footing.
We have met the enemy and he is us. We so often are our own enemy. The treacherous paths we are on require caution. I find I fear less making a mistake than I do forgetting something. Neglect can also be our downfall. Watch your step.
What to do if approached by a coyote: Remain calm. Do not run away or turn your back. Slowly back away.
In the face of metaphorical coyotes it’s good advice.
Remain calm: Trust the Lord who has brought you this far.
Do not run away: face what confronts you head on.
Slowly back away: when necessary REPENT - often!
Read [and obey] the Signs
In the big book of creation and also in the little book of Scripture. John Stott, God rest his soul, dedicated his life to expositing the Bible and guiding the wanna be faithful, from you and me to the Queen. It is worth studying: See…
http://geochristian.wordpress.com/2008/09/28/visualizing-bible-cross-references/
Chris Harrison, of Carnegie Mellon University, and Christopher Romhild, of Nordelbische Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Germany, have created a graphic that shows 63,779 cross-references between different portions of the Bible. The colored lines are the cross-references. The white bars at the bottom represent the number of verses in each individual chapter of the Bible; the long white bar at bottom center would be Psalm 119, which has 176 verses. National Geographic Best Science Images of 2008 #6
Do the above- The God of that word will bring you to...
Celebration Forest
At the clear end of the dangers, near the Twin Rivers carpark is an area set aside to commemorate those who during their lives made contributions to Rouge Park: a meadowed valley circle surrounded by forest wildlife - a celebratory symbol of safety found.
Thoughts for any day from a frustrated foray into into the forest.
Lord, save us from dangers and also from ourselves.
“Be thou around me on every side, as I am crossing over.”
& waves of confusion they buffet and roll
Be thou my anchor,
be thou my stronghold
As I am crossing over…
Carry me, carry me carry me
Over this ocean, carry me. (2x)
Before me, horizons of uncertainty
Behind me, the shadows
of what might have been
Be thou my rock, be thou my constancy
As I am crossing over...
Be thou before me a beacon to guide
Be thou beneath me,
my home-coming tide
Be thou around me on every side
As I am crossing over...
Nick / Anita Haigh © 2002 Break of Day Music/Daybreak
DANGERS
Danger loomed all afternoon. Zephyr was already feeling skittish. She could not read the abundant coyote warnings that I could: Wild in the City. No, she was sniffing something she did not like and she would not walk another step. We had already abandoned one dense trail where I first saw signs posted warning us of coyote. Dog-strangling vine gave her no worries, nor threat of thunderstorm, nor poison ivy. But something dark was still in the air and trusting her better judgment we backed out - again.
The notion that coyotes might be lurking in the bushes shook me, too. The travesty the Maxell’s experienced in their own back yard - a coyote jumping the fence grabbing their beloved Chihuahua and disappearing with a hasty lunch… Zephyr and I would be no match for that wily a hunter. We would have to content ourselves with an equivalency walk – covering elsewhere the distance we skipped here in fear. Maybe next time we’ll book a guide.
That's what the signs recommended.
Everything I needed to know in life I learned from Rouge Trail signs:
“For safety, never walk alone”.
We need each other. We were made to live and walk in fellowship. It’s a tough challenge to coordinate than doing it all on your own. But you miss so much of the view by yourself not to mention the dangers (I told you not to mention that).
So many dangers. Windat (Huron) “Indians” moved north once the New York Iroquois moved into town. Windat were also mighty hunters – but there was plenty of land enough for all to share if it can be worked out. First contact Europeans who joined up with one set of tribes/nations were often in danger among competing tribes. French feared the English and vice versa. All feared disappointing those who sent them. The presence of others could make the journey that much wiser.
Last night, we saw the movie Forks Over Knives about the health dangers of eating animal based foods. We're not vegan yet - but it is a sobering documentary. Today on the radio on the way to what would become our aborted walk, I heard that someone was stabbed just blocks from where we live. On the way home, we saw a van that had been badly rear-ended on the Don slip road. So many dangers.
Whoever else comes along, the journey must be walked with Jesus. He is more than our guide along the changeful way, who will, when need be, carry us when storm clouds of confusion are brewing. He is the Way itself.
Steps and slopes may be steep. Watch your footing.
We have met the enemy and he is us. We so often are our own enemy. The treacherous paths we are on require caution. I find I fear less making a mistake than I do forgetting something. Neglect can also be our downfall. Watch your step.
What to do if approached by a coyote: Remain calm. Do not run away or turn your back. Slowly back away.
In the face of metaphorical coyotes it’s good advice.
Remain calm: Trust the Lord who has brought you this far.
Do not run away: face what confronts you head on.
Slowly back away: when necessary REPENT - often!
Read [and obey] the Signs
In the big book of creation and also in the little book of Scripture. John Stott, God rest his soul, dedicated his life to expositing the Bible and guiding the wanna be faithful, from you and me to the Queen. It is worth studying: See…
http://geochristian.wordpress.com/2008/09/28/visualizing-bible-cross-references/
Chris Harrison, of Carnegie Mellon University, and Christopher Romhild, of Nordelbische Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Germany, have created a graphic that shows 63,779 cross-references between different portions of the Bible. The colored lines are the cross-references. The white bars at the bottom represent the number of verses in each individual chapter of the Bible; the long white bar at bottom center would be Psalm 119, which has 176 verses. National Geographic Best Science Images of 2008 #6
Do the above- The God of that word will bring you to...
Celebration Forest
At the clear end of the dangers, near the Twin Rivers carpark is an area set aside to commemorate those who during their lives made contributions to Rouge Park: a meadowed valley circle surrounded by forest wildlife - a celebratory symbol of safety found.
Thoughts for any day from a frustrated foray into into the forest.
Lord, save us from dangers and also from ourselves.
“Be thou around me on every side, as I am crossing over.”
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
ETERNAL PEACE
Over the last few nights Deborah, dog and I walked parts of three short trails.
NOBLETON
Nobleton marks the westernmost reach of the Carrying Place. From there it moves eastward toward Weston Road. Saturday night we walked through a quiet Nobleton neighbourhood for about 2kms. Such large homes yet no one seemed home - but for a trio of young adults quietly chatting by a pool. Were they all at the cottage? Zephyr disappointed a smaller local dog barking non-stop through the chain link fence that separated us but "Z" just did not want to play. She is so goal oriented!
KING CITY TRAIL
Simcoe Day took us to the Humber River - which by the time it reaches King City is not much more than a ditch beside the road. This is east of where the Carrying Place trail was but with street parking available at various points of access, we gave it a go. The King City Trail is very well marked: at every intersection a sign showing where you are in relation to the rest. It was a bit buggy in the early evening so we only took in about 2 kms. On the way back we discovered a large three bedroom house that had been sold in King - later we found out it was listed for just about what a much smaller place was listed for near us.
TOM TAYLOR TRAIL (named for a former mayor)
From there we drove to the head of the Rouge end of the Carrying Place Trail, to Newmarket along the Tom Taylor Trail. The 2.6 kms walk from the municipal building to the base of Fairy Lake and back was the most civilized of our outings. Paved sidewalks - watch out for speeding bikes - but when the street lamps go on - magical. On the way back from Fairy Lake we took the bike-less boardwalk to the east of the water and were privileged to feel the wings of a great heron glide right by us as it headed for the calm waters.
ETERNAL PEACE
A surprise greeted us at the end of our walk heading for the car: an Inukshuk and a statue by Sculptor Brett Davis entitled "Eternal Peace". Google "Eternal Peace" and "Newmarket" to see the one piece stone sculpture of what seems to be a mother raising a child high, each peering in wonder at the other. Is it Mary lifting Jesus high? Perhaps? Who's to say - but the Peace of all Peace be yours today.
NOBLETON
Nobleton marks the westernmost reach of the Carrying Place. From there it moves eastward toward Weston Road. Saturday night we walked through a quiet Nobleton neighbourhood for about 2kms. Such large homes yet no one seemed home - but for a trio of young adults quietly chatting by a pool. Were they all at the cottage? Zephyr disappointed a smaller local dog barking non-stop through the chain link fence that separated us but "Z" just did not want to play. She is so goal oriented!
KING CITY TRAIL
Simcoe Day took us to the Humber River - which by the time it reaches King City is not much more than a ditch beside the road. This is east of where the Carrying Place trail was but with street parking available at various points of access, we gave it a go. The King City Trail is very well marked: at every intersection a sign showing where you are in relation to the rest. It was a bit buggy in the early evening so we only took in about 2 kms. On the way back we discovered a large three bedroom house that had been sold in King - later we found out it was listed for just about what a much smaller place was listed for near us.
TOM TAYLOR TRAIL (named for a former mayor)
From there we drove to the head of the Rouge end of the Carrying Place Trail, to Newmarket along the Tom Taylor Trail. The 2.6 kms walk from the municipal building to the base of Fairy Lake and back was the most civilized of our outings. Paved sidewalks - watch out for speeding bikes - but when the street lamps go on - magical. On the way back from Fairy Lake we took the bike-less boardwalk to the east of the water and were privileged to feel the wings of a great heron glide right by us as it headed for the calm waters.
ETERNAL PEACE
A surprise greeted us at the end of our walk heading for the car: an Inukshuk and a statue by Sculptor Brett Davis entitled "Eternal Peace". Google "Eternal Peace" and "Newmarket" to see the one piece stone sculpture of what seems to be a mother raising a child high, each peering in wonder at the other. Is it Mary lifting Jesus high? Perhaps? Who's to say - but the Peace of all Peace be yours today.
Monday, July 11, 2011
CANOEING THE ROUGE
Deep irony lives along old rivers. The regions around the Humber and the Rouge valleys were home to generations of first nations who tamed a small bit of the wild to be a safe place for families. Hills on those same valleys became places where first nations and first Europeans met for trade and commerce: produce from land tamed.
Ironically, each river and valley today attracts a steady flow of visitors but not so much for commercial gain as to escape from it for a time, and to experience the wild within reach of the city. Now it is the untamed that draws them.
"Wild in the City", the laudable vision of Rouge Park, should be maintained for posterity. Elsewhere so much of the wonders of creation have been lost at the steady encroachment of civilization. Here are sufficient amenities - yet the bulk of the park is preserved from busy roads - except for the 401 overhead, and an incongruous Via Rail at the beach(!) - and from too safe paved lighted paths. Rougher more natural trails or the flowing river lead you on. It reminds me of that old hymn: "there's a wildness in God's mercy." (Yeah, I know its "wideness" but "wildness" works, too. Mercy when it comes is always an unpredictable, overwhelming flood. Wildness indeed.)
I can only imagine how the animals experience the Rouge. Some are approaching endangerment so what a blessing to have unrestrained freedom so close but far enough from where the masses drive to work. Animals flourish within the narrow confines of the Humber and also, and especially, the Rouge. May their tribe forever increase!
CANOEING
What a splendid morning it was paddling in a canoe on the Rouge. The number of groups working to expand our understanding of and appreciation for the wild in this city is mushrooming. But Toronto Adventures is one of only a few commercial groups enabling newbies like me to discover - within the bounds of Canada's largest city - the wild on the river itself. They were well organized and offered informed instruction and touring of the Rouge environs and marsh. Our guide was very sensitive to the needs of the beginner kayakers and the one novice canoeist (me).
SWIFT OBSERVATIONS
Stopping regularly to keep the group bunched, he pointed out enumerable flora and fauna, especially birds: kingfisher's speedy flight, watchful wary great blue heron wading on the edge of the marsh, hawks and turkey vultures high in flight way overhead....
Another irony: an old brick chimney from a derelict house has been preserved on the east bank of the Rouge for new residents: the chimney swift. The swift's natural habitat - hollowed out rotting trees - are often cut down as a safety hazard. Without decaying remnants of civilization such as crumbling chimneys, the swift would face extinction.
How ironic, too, that we were promised site of the Rouge's famed turtles basking in mid-day sun on stones by the slowly flowing stream - but they remained turtle-like and never appeared. Sigh.
GUIDE and COMPANY
Our guide knew his stuff and the area. I would gladly try my hand at kayaking on the Humber next time round if he were leading. Most participants came with a friend. Though we stayed together as a group down and back - more or less - a single kayak is very much an individual experience so interaction was limited. That's okay because it seemed to me most were more interested learning to kayak well and in the Rouge than in each other. Still afterward we were mixing better than at the start of the day - eager to talk about what each had learned and how we did.
I suppose the experience is similar to church in some ways. Each enters somewhat uncertain about the others and what the morning will bring. Church pews sit in what is called "the nave" - as in navy - resembling as they do rolling waves. Rhythmic motions of liturgy and prayer, like rowing, move us along together. After shared time either in the closed box of a church or the open-aired river-cathedral, we sense a unity of experience: of defeats and victories, insights and wonders and the presence of something much larger than ourselves.
Not so ironic then that we are changed by God in his own world. Being with God does that to you: both in the big book of creation and the little book of the written word. I offer now and then a thankful prayer for our guide and the crew of Toronto Adventures: may you peacefully dream of the Wild to come.
Ironically, each river and valley today attracts a steady flow of visitors but not so much for commercial gain as to escape from it for a time, and to experience the wild within reach of the city. Now it is the untamed that draws them.
"Wild in the City", the laudable vision of Rouge Park, should be maintained for posterity. Elsewhere so much of the wonders of creation have been lost at the steady encroachment of civilization. Here are sufficient amenities - yet the bulk of the park is preserved from busy roads - except for the 401 overhead, and an incongruous Via Rail at the beach(!) - and from too safe paved lighted paths. Rougher more natural trails or the flowing river lead you on. It reminds me of that old hymn: "there's a wildness in God's mercy." (Yeah, I know its "wideness" but "wildness" works, too. Mercy when it comes is always an unpredictable, overwhelming flood. Wildness indeed.)
I can only imagine how the animals experience the Rouge. Some are approaching endangerment so what a blessing to have unrestrained freedom so close but far enough from where the masses drive to work. Animals flourish within the narrow confines of the Humber and also, and especially, the Rouge. May their tribe forever increase!
CANOEING
What a splendid morning it was paddling in a canoe on the Rouge. The number of groups working to expand our understanding of and appreciation for the wild in this city is mushrooming. But Toronto Adventures is one of only a few commercial groups enabling newbies like me to discover - within the bounds of Canada's largest city - the wild on the river itself. They were well organized and offered informed instruction and touring of the Rouge environs and marsh. Our guide was very sensitive to the needs of the beginner kayakers and the one novice canoeist (me).
SWIFT OBSERVATIONS
Stopping regularly to keep the group bunched, he pointed out enumerable flora and fauna, especially birds: kingfisher's speedy flight, watchful wary great blue heron wading on the edge of the marsh, hawks and turkey vultures high in flight way overhead....
Another irony: an old brick chimney from a derelict house has been preserved on the east bank of the Rouge for new residents: the chimney swift. The swift's natural habitat - hollowed out rotting trees - are often cut down as a safety hazard. Without decaying remnants of civilization such as crumbling chimneys, the swift would face extinction.
How ironic, too, that we were promised site of the Rouge's famed turtles basking in mid-day sun on stones by the slowly flowing stream - but they remained turtle-like and never appeared. Sigh.
GUIDE and COMPANY
Our guide knew his stuff and the area. I would gladly try my hand at kayaking on the Humber next time round if he were leading. Most participants came with a friend. Though we stayed together as a group down and back - more or less - a single kayak is very much an individual experience so interaction was limited. That's okay because it seemed to me most were more interested learning to kayak well and in the Rouge than in each other. Still afterward we were mixing better than at the start of the day - eager to talk about what each had learned and how we did.
I suppose the experience is similar to church in some ways. Each enters somewhat uncertain about the others and what the morning will bring. Church pews sit in what is called "the nave" - as in navy - resembling as they do rolling waves. Rhythmic motions of liturgy and prayer, like rowing, move us along together. After shared time either in the closed box of a church or the open-aired river-cathedral, we sense a unity of experience: of defeats and victories, insights and wonders and the presence of something much larger than ourselves.
Not so ironic then that we are changed by God in his own world. Being with God does that to you: both in the big book of creation and the little book of the written word. I offer now and then a thankful prayer for our guide and the crew of Toronto Adventures: may you peacefully dream of the Wild to come.
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