Pastor's Note

CONTACT WITH ICE
July 23rd, 2006

It may seem odd to write about ice in the middle of summer. But then again, when the days are hot, a meditation about ice can be refreshing.
Ever since I was a kid, I have heard and read about glaciers. But it was only two weeks ago, while traveling in Alaska, that I had a chance to really experience one. In fact, I saw a number of them, some were very near.
Frankly, I was not ready for the beauty and the sheer awesome power of the glaciers that I experienced. Because of their density, the ice is very blue. Like a river of ice, they move slowly, but faster than I expected. And the calving – the chunks breaking off into the water – is something one has to experience.
At one point, we stopped and just listened to a glacier moan and creak as it moved along. Although they are ancient ice, glaciers are a source of life for many birds and animals that have adapted to their presence.
I felt rather insignificant next to the glacier, but in that experience I also felt tremendously at one with all God’s creation. At the very same time I was inspired not to take myself too seriously but also to be conscious that I, too, matter in the great scheme of the created world. I am small and very young in comparison, but I also share the same world as these ancient beds of ice.
Studying God’s creation always leads us to the Creator, whom we praise and thank. As the Canticle from the Book of Daniel states, “Ice and snow, praise the Lord.”