The fall brings the convergence of three important streams: the Season of Creation runs from Sept. 1 to Oct. 4 with this year’s focus on water, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30, and the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi on Oct. 4, 2026. While at first glance, these may seem separate, upon further reflection they flow together. At the heart of each of these streams is the necessity and call of our faith to love. Not the fuzzy warm love that comes easily with those we know and like; but the gritty, gutsy and fierce love that comes from Jesus’ command to love God and to love neighbour.’
The Rev. Christine Muise is associate incumbent in Parish of the Valley. Photo: Contributed
We will not work to protect that which we do not love. We will not invest in changing our ways until we realize that we are all journeying in the same river. Our world deeply needs the spiritual transformation that guides our hearts to realize that to care for and protect creation is interconnected with the rights and the wisdom of Indigenous Peoples. It is through awakening a love of water for all it brings us, beyond what comes out of our tap; it is knowing that water gives us sustenance, brings life to all living things, cleanses us and heals us; only then we will do the work that is needed to continue to protect our waterways, our water sources, and support the work of Indigenous people who are leading the way.
We need to be grounded and centred in the love of God, so that we have the full capacity and take on the responsibility to hear, see, feel, and acknowledge the depth of destruction and pain that colonialism has and continues to cause. It is to live faithfully into our baptismal covenants of striving for justice and peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being, and striving to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation, respecting, sustaining and renewing the life of the Earth. As people of faith, we are invited to consciously move away from the systems that continue to oppress and subjugate people and the planet, and instead lean into the wisdom, knowledge, and resilience that exist in Indigenous ways of knowing and being. It is only from this heart space that we will see the 94 Calls to Action not as a ‘to-do’ list but as the ‘soul-map’ to bring us into right relationship, not only with First Nations, Inuit and Metis Peoples, but with everyone and all life. Dignity and justice for one opens the capacity for all.
Our Christian tradition includes St. Francis, who died 800 years ago, who fell so in love with Christ, that he fell in love with all of creation and especially those who were marginalized. His Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon are akin to the opening prayers of Indigenous Peoples around the world. This canticle includes Sister Water whom he calls useful, precious, and humble. If only we had seriously carried his teachings all these generations, our Christian faith would have us living in better harmony with everything and everyone. In these times of climate crisis and chaos, with the utter desolation of forest fires burning extensively through Indigenous traditional territories, homes and habitats — in these times when even the lands that St Francis called home, are burning, we need to awaken to the ways in which we are called by faith to respond. We do not have time to waste.
The spiritual work of repentance (of turning) is not to beat ourselves up for what our ancestors, or we, have or have not done; repentance is a change of heart, where we awaken to the realities, people and histories around and among us, where we awaken to God’s love flowing through us, and where we respond with a love that is fierce, empathic and mischievous. This is what Jesus showed when he overturned tables, healed people, and challenged those in authority.
These streams of love, coursing through us; these fountains of wisdom flowing from our hearts, and these tears of pain that have flooded hearts and souls for generations, give us the capacity to find new ways to attune ourselves with living, healing, and healthy waters. It is from this love that we will can consider following, being in solidarity, and partnership with our Indigenous siblings the world over, to protect sacred water, to join the land defenders, to see our interconnectedness and our deep belonging to all life. With love, intergenerational trauma can be transformed into intergenerational healing. With love, we will care deeply and work tirelessly on the path to reconciliation. With love we will have the fortitude to transform the unjust structures of this world.
May the waters of the Season of Creation course through us, not just until Oct. 4, but every day. May the journey of Truth and Reconciliation be the path we follow each and every minute. May the life of St. Francis of Assisi offer us a Christian alternative to the harmful practices of our times.
The Rev. Christine Muise is associate incumbent in the Parish of the Valley
Following streams of love, finding the courage to change
The fall brings the convergence of three important streams: the Season of Creation runs from Sept. 1 to Oct. 4 with this year’s focus on water, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30, and the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi on Oct. 4, 2026. While at first glance, these may seem separate, upon further reflection they flow together. At the heart of each of these streams is the necessity and call of our faith to love. Not the fuzzy warm love that comes easily with those we know and like; but the gritty, gutsy and fierce love that comes from Jesus’ command to love God and to love neighbour.’
We will not work to protect that which we do not love. We will not invest in changing our ways until we realize that we are all journeying in the same river. Our world deeply needs the spiritual transformation that guides our hearts to realize that to care for and protect creation is interconnected with the rights and the wisdom of Indigenous Peoples. It is through awakening a love of water for all it brings us, beyond what comes out of our tap; it is knowing that water gives us sustenance, brings life to all living things, cleanses us and heals us; only then we will do the work that is needed to continue to protect our waterways, our water sources, and support the work of Indigenous people who are leading the way.
We need to be grounded and centred in the love of God, so that we have the full capacity and take on the responsibility to hear, see, feel, and acknowledge the depth of destruction and pain that colonialism has and continues to cause. It is to live faithfully into our baptismal covenants of striving for justice and peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being, and striving to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation, respecting, sustaining and renewing the life of the Earth. As people of faith, we are invited to consciously move away from the systems that continue to oppress and subjugate people and the planet, and instead lean into the wisdom, knowledge, and resilience that exist in Indigenous ways of knowing and being. It is only from this heart space that we will see the 94 Calls to Action not as a ‘to-do’ list but as the ‘soul-map’ to bring us into right relationship, not only with First Nations, Inuit and Metis Peoples, but with everyone and all life. Dignity and justice for one opens the capacity for all.
Our Christian tradition includes St. Francis, who died 800 years ago, who fell so in love with Christ, that he fell in love with all of creation and especially those who were marginalized. His Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon are akin to the opening prayers of Indigenous Peoples around the world. This canticle includes Sister Water whom he calls useful, precious, and humble. If only we had seriously carried his teachings all these generations, our Christian faith would have us living in better harmony with everything and everyone. In these times of climate crisis and chaos, with the utter desolation of forest fires burning extensively through Indigenous traditional territories, homes and habitats — in these times when even the lands that St Francis called home, are burning, we need to awaken to the ways in which we are called by faith to respond. We do not have time to waste.
The spiritual work of repentance (of turning) is not to beat ourselves up for what our ancestors, or we, have or have not done; repentance is a change of heart, where we awaken to the realities, people and histories around and among us, where we awaken to God’s love flowing through us, and where we respond with a love that is fierce, empathic and mischievous. This is what Jesus showed when he overturned tables, healed people, and challenged those in authority.
These streams of love, coursing through us; these fountains of wisdom flowing from our hearts, and these tears of pain that have flooded hearts and souls for generations, give us the capacity to find new ways to attune ourselves with living, healing, and healthy waters. It is from this love that we will can consider following, being in solidarity, and partnership with our Indigenous siblings the world over, to protect sacred water, to join the land defenders, to see our interconnectedness and our deep belonging to all life. With love, intergenerational trauma can be transformed into intergenerational healing. With love, we will care deeply and work tirelessly on the path to reconciliation. With love we will have the fortitude to transform the unjust structures of this world.
May the waters of the Season of Creation course through us, not just until Oct. 4, but every day. May the journey of Truth and Reconciliation be the path we follow each and every minute. May the life of St. Francis of Assisi offer us a Christian alternative to the harmful practices of our times.
The Rev. Christine Muise is associate incumbent in the Parish of the Valley
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