Author: Judith Russenberger

Environmentalist and theologian, with husband and three grown up children plus one cat, living in London SW14. I enjoy running and drinking coffee - ideally with a friend or a book.

Advent 23

December 2022

What an amazing door! I wonder what your front door says about you? Does it suggest a 

warm welcome, a place of Christian hospitality?

In many European countries there is a tradition of blessing one’s house on the 6th January when the arrival of the magi is celebrated. The doors or lintels are marked in chalk with the sign of the cross, the year and the letters C M B – Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar or Christus mansionem benedicat, “May Christ bless the house.”

+ 20 + C + M + B + 23 +

Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” Luke 10:5

Advent 22

December 2022

This painting by Camille Pissarro shows a small space outside the door, where a woman is sewing and at her feet a child playing. A couple of cats mouch about. Just inside the door is a second woman also working with her hands. The vine over the door is not yet in leaf, so perhaps this is early spring and the participants are taking the opportunity to enjoy a little sunshine. There is a blurring of the boundary between inside and outside.

Advent is a cold dark time of the year and we may be reluctant to go outside. But why not wrap up warm and make the most of the daylight hours? It can be a wonderful tonic.

The people who walked in darkness

   have seen a great light;

those who lived in a land of deep darkness—

on them light has shined. Isaiah 9:2

Counting on … day 415

22nd December 2022

Ginger biscuits have the smell of Christmas. Rather than using just ginger, add other spices too such as cinnamon, allspice  and cardamon. 

The following is a simple recipe 

75g margerine, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of syrup. Melt these gently in the microwave. 

Add 225g plan in flour plus 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda and 1 tsp of more of your choice of spices. Mix and add oat milk/ the juice of an orange to bind as necessary to for a firming dough. 

Chill.

Roll out and cut into shapes. 

Bake at 180C until cooked. They will still be slightly soft but leave on the baking tray. This completes the cooking and gives rise to the term biscuit meaning twice cooked.

Advent 21

December 2022

An illustration from A Christmas Carol. Scrooge, about to unlock his front door, is confronted with the image of his deceased partner. This visionary experience continues during the night when he is visited by the spirits of Christmas past, present and yet-to-come, that challenge Scrooge to reconsider how he will celebrate Christmas and how he will relate to his fellow neighbours. Think back over your past celebrations of Christmas. Are there things that stand out is being particularly enjoyable, things that made Christmas special for you or for someone else, things that reflected the love and generosity of God? Are there things you could replicate so that your Christmas celebration reflects that love and generosity of God?

But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate. Luke 15:22-24

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

Counting on … day 414

21st December 2022 

Keeping the front door closed is an obvious way of keeping one’s home warm during the winter. It saves on energy bills too. However not all retailers follow the same logic and instead leave their shop doors wide open. 

‘Close the Door’ has some tips as to how you can tactfully suggest that it would be better for the environment if their doors were not left open. (It also deters petty theft). They also have a list of companies who have signed up to a policy of not leaving doors open.

http://www.closethedoor.org.uk/

Advent 20

December 2022

A change of heart. This illustration by Tasha Tudor is from Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden. It shows the first time that Mary steps inside the secret garden. It is winter and the garden seems devoid of life. The soil is bare and there are no leaves or flowers on the skeletal plants that occupy the space. The coldness of the garden reflects the coldness of Mary’s heart. But over the following months the garden and Mary’s heart are brought back to life and overflow with joy and colour.

What is there within you that is waiting for a little nurturing in order to blossom?

I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord; and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart. Jeremiah 24:7

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 2 Corinthians 5:17

Counting on … day 413

20th December 2022

Following on from the news that France is banning internal flights, I have set up a Parliamentary Petition asking the UK Government to ban internal flights as a means of achieving our net zero carbon target.

Please do sign and share the petition.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/629859

Advent 19

December 2022

A prison door is, I find, a frightening image. It evokes the horror of being shut in – locked up – of not being able to get out. A loss of freedom. Metaphorically I wonder what things imprison us? Or what things, what fears, do we lock away so that we don’t have to face up to them?

Advent is a good time to unlock the prison doors in our lives, to free ourselves from constriction.

I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,

   I have taken you by the hand and kept you;

I have given you as a covenant to the people,

   a light to the nations, 

   to open the eyes that are blind,

to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,

   from the prison those who sit in darkness. Isaiah 42:6-7

Do not fear, for I am with you,

   do not be afraid, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you,

   I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Counting on … day 412

19th December 2022

Spare a thought for the humble earthworm. According to a report in the Guardian, ‘Populations of earthworms in the UK may have fallen by about a third in the past 25 years, an assessment has shown.… “It would have widespread impacts on the species that feed on soil invertebrates, like birds,  but also affect soil processing and nutrient cycling, the whole functioning of our ecosystems,” he [Prof James Pearce-Higgins] said. “Thrushes, starlings and many waders that rely on soil invertebrates are in long-term decline. These declines are greatest in south-east England where hotter, drier summers may also reduce the availability of earthworms to foraging birds.”

Dr Ailidh Barnes, also at the BTO, said there were good reasons to expect declines in earthworms on farmland. “Changes in the UK countryside over the last century, such as extensive drainage, pesticide use and inorganic fertiliser application, are likely to have negatively affected earthworm populations.” Repeated ploughing was also likely to cause harm.”

There are 29 different species of earth worms in the UK.