Book 9 of 2024 -- A Year in the Life of the Atikokan River

For nine years every day I looked out the dormer window in the manse out over the Atikokan river valley. Many times I would walk the dog along the trails. When Patty came to Atikokan for the first time we took a walk along the trail leading down from the church before she left. The river is a highlight of the community though, as Brian says in the last column in this book, sometimes it might be easy to take it for granted.

So when I saw on Facebook that Brian and the Progress had put a series of columns into a small book I immediately asked how one might get a copy without having to travel to Atikokan.

It is a great little read. 12 monthly columns about the river. I really appreciated that for each month Brian had not only given the traditional English month names but also the Anishinabemowin names. It is a small act but one that recognizes that the river has been used for far longer than the 125 year that the community of Atikokan has existed.

As we travel through the 12 columns Brian leads us in an exploration of the biology, the flora and fauna one encounters in the valley. He talks about how climate change and human activity have impacted the river and also how the river has impacted human activity. He then includes an appendix with some scientific data about the river.

It is probable that the book will be of most interest to people who have lived in Atikokan and experienced the river directly and given how it was published it is not likely to spread much beyond the town. But I am sure glad I had the connections to get a copy (a signed copy in fact). Well done Brian!

Book 8 of 2024 -- Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul

 

There is something deep in my heart that seems to resonate with Celtic Spirituality. Always has been in fact. So when I happened across this book while browsing one day earlier this year, I decided add it to my cart.

To the best of my memory this is the first book by Newell that I have read, though I know I have heard the name before (I would have to check my shelf at the church to see if I have another one of his). In this book he uses a variety of Celtic saints and leaders over the centuries to explore some aspects of Celtic Christian Spirituality. Some of them are names I have known of for years, though not always been really familiar with their way of thinking. Others were people I heard of first when reading this book.

The overarching premise of the book is that of finding/recognizing the sacred in a variety of places. Much of Western Christianity (Roman Catholic and Reformed churches) has tried to limit the sacred to the realm of the church. Celtic Christianity has a broader view of where the sacred might be seen and found. I agree with the latter point of view. In some ways I wonder how the Celtic approach (which was intentionally quashed by the Roman Church in the Middle Ages, indeed I would suggest that quashing the remnants of Celtic Christian though is part of why the Pope allowed Henry II to invade Ireland, thus beginning a bloody centuries long struggle) might tie in to some of Christian mysticism (which has also long been viewed with suspicion by the church).

Over and over again as I was reading I found myself vigorously nodding in agreement. The chapters of Pelagius, Brigid, and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin were most notable for this. Each chapter ended with a meditative exercise focusing on the theme of that chapter which are all compiled into an appendix and I may have to go back and revisit those as time goes by.

Certainly a book I would endorse for a gentle, meditative read.