…the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land. Leviticus 25:23-24
I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable. Jeremiah 2:7
What a terrifying and sad morning this has been.
The roofers began yesterday to put the new roof on our church building. In the course of the day they found, attached to the underside of the roof sheathing, a large hive of honeybees. They asked permission to kill the bees, and told us that the only alternative was to cut out that section of roof (about 6’ long), and then to repair the hole.
Killing honeybees is not a thing I’d ever choose to do. I asked our Jr. Warden who is in charge of Buildings and Grounds to find out what the additional cost would be. Then I immediately started making phone calls to beekeepers who might remove this hive. Rain and snow are forecast for tomorrow’s weather, and anything we could do would have to happen today.
In the middle of all this, my Jr. Warden called me again to tell me that the bees were gone. They’d begun to swarm the roofers, and the roofers had sprayed them.
I feel such a weight of grief and guilt. Of all the creatures we have such need of, honeybees are among the most critical. God’s plan for this world is one that calls for complete interdependence in every part. We must nurture all of this creation if we are to be nurtured on this earth. Today we destroyed a creature on which our agriculture is utterly dependent—a creature we are fast bringing to the brink of destruction. We continue to think we can manage all our needs while we destroy the very fabric of our existence.
I sat in tears after that last phone call, feeling helpless. We must do more, pray more, sacrifice more. I am so sorry, God.
I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable. Jeremiah 2:7
What a terrifying and sad morning this has been.
The roofers began yesterday to put the new roof on our church building. In the course of the day they found, attached to the underside of the roof sheathing, a large hive of honeybees. They asked permission to kill the bees, and told us that the only alternative was to cut out that section of roof (about 6’ long), and then to repair the hole.
Killing honeybees is not a thing I’d ever choose to do. I asked our Jr. Warden who is in charge of Buildings and Grounds to find out what the additional cost would be. Then I immediately started making phone calls to beekeepers who might remove this hive. Rain and snow are forecast for tomorrow’s weather, and anything we could do would have to happen today.
In the middle of all this, my Jr. Warden called me again to tell me that the bees were gone. They’d begun to swarm the roofers, and the roofers had sprayed them.
I feel such a weight of grief and guilt. Of all the creatures we have such need of, honeybees are among the most critical. God’s plan for this world is one that calls for complete interdependence in every part. We must nurture all of this creation if we are to be nurtured on this earth. Today we destroyed a creature on which our agriculture is utterly dependent—a creature we are fast bringing to the brink of destruction. We continue to think we can manage all our needs while we destroy the very fabric of our existence.
I sat in tears after that last phone call, feeling helpless. We must do more, pray more, sacrifice more. I am so sorry, God.