To Bee Or Not To Bee
What a week we have just experienced! The old saying, “May you live in interesting times,” certainly felt fitting.
At Coffee: Grounds for Discussion on September 20, Dr. Karen Goodell offered an engaging and hopeful presentation. Many know this parishioner and vestry member as “The Bee Lady.” In previous talks, she has shared both her knowledge of bees and her passion for preserving their habitat—and ours.
Karen’s influence is already visible in the pollinator pathway garden on the east side of the church. In her latest presentation, she helped us better understand:
The decline in insect populations and how to interpret it
Environmentally safe and ecologically sound ways to reduce mosquitoes around our homes
Ways to discourage carpenter bees from our outdoor spaces
For me, the advice about carpenter bees was worth the price of admission all by itself. More importantly, Karen’s talk was the latest example of how we are learning to care more faithfully for the world God has given us.
I have said before that being a Christian on Sunday morning is easy; living that commitment from Monday through Saturday is the harder work.
Early last week, Rev. Julia received a phone call in which the caller used hateful language and criticized her for caring about Haitians. The caller also targeted her mixed-race identity and her womanhood, claimed there was no place for her in this world, and accused her of leading the people of Granville astray. The call included a thinly veiled threat of violence, including the possibility of her death.
By Wednesday’s Vestry meeting, we had contacted security specialists and reviewed ways to staff and secure the office differently. Some measures must be taken immediately, while more substantial changes are being prepared.
As one security specialist said, “We understand that St. Luke’s must provide a culture of safety while also offering radical hospitality and love.” We will share more as this safety and security work moves forward.
On Friday, while preparing a painting estimate for a potential client in Newark, I asked a few questions and learned more about her story. Before her divorce, she had been a farm girl and a wife. She later moved her children to Dresden, where they attended school. After they grew up and moved away, she relocated as well. She has now lived in her Newark home for 28 years.
She mentioned that she works in her son’s office. As we spoke, I realized that I knew her son and his family. They had attended St. Luke’s with us until COVID, but they never returned.
She explained that they had left the Episcopal tradition because of its teachings. Curious, I asked, “Which teachings?” She replied, “You know—the crazy teachings.”
We continued talking, and I described our recent teaching about environmental stewardship and conservation, feeding people who are hungry, and following Jesus. She agreed with all of that, but again said, “But you know the crazy stuff.” At that point, I let the matter go.
We live in interesting times. We live in a time when Jesus—the ultimate countercultural figure—is too often portrayed as someone who rejects people who do not think or look like him. Yet his message was clear: love God and love one another. Too often, that message becomes distorted.
We are doing what we can to love our neighbors, even when that love is not returned. This is one of the most difficult parts of living into our Christian faith and baptismal covenant.
Pastor Julia stopped me in my tracks during her sermon when she said that, whenever we look into another person’s eyes, we are looking into the eyes of someone loved by God. That is our work from Monday through Saturday.
Peace,
Henry Zaborniak, Senior Warden