"The reason mankind was brought into being by God, was so that people might apprehend with their senses the sky, the earth and everything they contain, as visible objects, and by means of them go beyond them with their minds to invisible beauties, that they might sing the praises of God, the one Creator of all."
-St. Gregory Palamas
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The very definition of beauty contains three important
characteristics which translate into environmental concepts to maintain
God's beauty in our world; wholeness, radiance and form. Mankind's destruction
and abuse of God's creation has lead to the loss of this beauty. A key
environmental issue, the loss of biodiversity points to our loss of wonder
and appreciation of wholeness and form. Global dimming points to the dimming
of radiance, and therefore beauty. Our ministry's small part in global
enviromental issues is the outreach of money, time, prayer and appreciation
for two of God's beautiful birds that are currently endangered. The sale
of some of our nature art (swans and the golden finch) will go towards
this endeavor and also to raise awareness.
Click
here to read more about environmental issues: Loss of Biodiversity and
Extinctions and the effects of Global Dimming and its effects on the trumpeter
swan and golden finch
The Trumpeter Swan
Although the trumpeter is one of few birds in Canada that has come back
from the brink of extinction, it inhabits only a fraction of the territory
it occupied more than a century ago.
Thanks to continental wide efforts, the species recovered sufficiently
to be taken off the endangered list in Canada in 1996. It is still blue
listed in Alberta, however, which means that it is considered to be a
t risk.
With an average weight of 12 kilograms and a wingspan of 2.3 metres, the
trumpeter is the continent’s largest bird. Few sounds in the natural
world are as hauntingly beautiful as the sonorous, French horn like call
that it makes to communicate.
| Golden Finch Goldfinches are sociable birds that travel in flocks during winter and feed in small groups during breeding seas on. They nest later than most other birds, starting in late June at the earliest, which coordinates the rearing of chicks with the ripening of many seeds. They breed from central Canada to the northern reaches of the American South. In winter, the American goldfinch occurs from the Canadian border south into Mexico. A seedeater, it nests i n fields, meadows, orchards and gardens. Although widespread, some goldfinch populations could be impacted by global warming. As climate changes, seed-producing plants on which goldfinches feed may decline in the southerly portions of the bird's range, eliminating a key habitat component in those areas. |
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Ph. 216. 832.4445
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