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.

Celebrating the gift of smell 

31st May 2025

Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions; your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. Psalm 45:7b, 8a

You Lord, are the source of all good things: 

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation: 

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives: 

May we live together in peace.

A reading from the Song of Songs 4:13-14 

Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with all choicest fruits, henna with nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all chief spices— a garden fountain, a well of living water, and flowing streams from Lebanon.

Praise be to God for the gift of smell:

Summer sweet smells,

the spiced scent of roses, 

the honey sweetness of lime blossom, 

the calming fragrance of lavender. 

The morning’s scents of dew damp grass, 

of hay in the noon day’s heat, 

the evening’s languid aroma of honeysuckle 

draws in the smells of night.

The burnt earth smell of bracken, 

the pungent smell of the first rains.

The slip-sliding smell of fresh water, 

the salty tang of the sea.


The simple – overlooked? – nose 

plays host to an olfactory banquet, 

attuning us to the time of day, 

the seasons and the weather.

Picking up signals 

that suggest delight or warn of danger,

that pique our appetite, 

and speak of attraction, reward and love.

Praise be to God for the gift of smell.


Ever present God, 

bless our mindfulness, 

our ability to sense your presence,  

to find you in the smells of the everyday, 

to relish the delights than come less often. 

Ever present God, 

be with those surrounded by the smell of war and fear, 

of destruction and decay.

Breathe compassion 

into the hearts of those who wage war, 

and those who make peace. 

Ever present God, be with those 

surrounded with pollution and those who breath acrid air.

Bless the work of all who create green spaces, 

whose living organisms purify the air.

Lend strength to those who protect the environment 

and those who seek a cleaner way of life.

Ever present God, be with those 

in need of healing in body, mind and spirit.

May they breathe out all that causes harm 

and breathe in all that is wholesome. 

Inspire and renew us one and all 

with the sweet fragrance of your Spirit. 

Amen.

Counting on … day 74

30th May 2025

Individuals and households are also key contributors to community resilience. If individuals and/ or households are well prepared for a disaster – which could be having three day stock of non-perishable food, having a well equipped first aid kit, having a store of drinking water having a first aid qualification, having windup torches and radios, being proficient at simple carpentry and other repair skills – then the whole community can benefit. And the total can be more than the sum of the parts.

Counting on … day 73

29th May 2025

Community transport can be another plus for community resilience where it enables people to access local transport when public transport of not available or is unsuitable.  It may operate via a dedicated minibus which can be expensive to run or via volunteer drivers using their own car or a shared car. 

Boosting aces to active travel could be equally useful – with use of cargo bikes to move goods and people and the use of adapted cycles that can enable use by people with disabilities and people with young children, to get around without reliance on cars. 

https://volunteerfriends.org.uk/community-transport-services/
https://www.communities1st.org.uk/transport
https://www.communityaction.org.uk/volunteer-driver
https://www.richmond.gov.uk/services/roads_and_transport/vehicles/active_travel/cargo_bikes
https://wheelsforall.org.uk/wheels-for-all

31 Days Wild: 28th May 2025

Walking along a narrow and little used lane, I looked at the plants growing along the verge – a variety of grasses, buttercups and the occasional late dandelion, convululus (hedge and field varieties),  dock plants, cow-parsley and hogweed – all of which I’m sure are beneficial for wildlife. But what I can’t judge is whether this diversity of wild plants is good or not so good – it’s hard to judge what’s not there!

However I am encouraged by the following observation made by the Natural History Museum: “Road verges cover an enormous area in the UK – they span about 500,000 kilometres, equivalent to driving more than 12 times around the Earth! Their total area is thought to be slightly larger than the Lake District National Park. Museum botanist Fred Rumsey says, ‘The sheer scale of the road verge habitat in the UK is pretty mind-boggling. In terms of providing habitat for our threatened wildlife, this huge network of linear strips is increasingly important.’” (1)

Warwickshire Council has a scheme for improving biodiversity by focusing on encouraging wildlife friendly verges – https://www.warwickdc.gov.uk/info/20855/biodiversity/2016/wildflower_verge_trial

(1) https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/why-road-verges-are-important-wildlife-habitats.html

Counting on … day 72

28th May 2025

Warm Spaces offer people somewhere warm to go in the colder months of the year – but they offer more than just warmth and have the potential to be key community hubs in the event so crisis, climatic or otherwise.

“Welcome Spaces are:

  • ▪Warm: Warm Welcome Spaces are heated and offer refreshments such as tea/coffee. Come in and feel the warmth.
  • ▪Welcoming: Warm Welcome Spaces are inclusive spaces where everyone can expect a warm welcome from staff and volunteers.
  • ▪Free: Warm Welcome Spaces are free to enter. It’s a great place to connect with your community and make new friends.
  • ▪Safe: Every Warm Welcome Space is a safe place to be. Lots of spaces can also signpost you to other local services that can support you.” (1)
  1. https://communitypeople.org.uk/help-for-people/warm-spaces

31 Days Wild: 27th May 2025

I am again up in Warwickshire (wet and windy). Today two things caught my attention – one was fields that are yellow with buttercups. The other was field of grass that instead of buttercups was full of black rocks feeding. I wondered if maybe the rain had brought a lot of worms and beetles etc close to the surface of the grass and whether that was attracting such a number of birds. 

“Worms, beetles and other invertebrates are the rook’s main food, which it catches by probing the ground with its large beak. It will also feed on grain, fruit, acorns and occasionally carrion and birds’ eggs.” https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/animals/birds/rook/

Counting on … day 71

27th May 2025

Local churches – particularly those where the congregation is predominantly local too – can be a force for good because it builds the strength of the local community and has a building that is available as a community centre. Tearfund identifies local churches as having ten key strengths that can enable them to tackle the risk of disaster.

  • respond immediately 
  • Provide compassion and care 
  • Have resources available locally
  • Influence and shale values
  • Act as community peace builders
  • Facilitate community action 
  • Raise awareness of risks and advocate for change
  • Communicate hope and promote healing
  • Pray to bring change
  • Raise issues and draw support from their denomination as a regional or national level (1)

However Tearfund also point out that some churches “may not see strengthening the resilience of communities as part of the church’s role.”

Churches need to consciously and proactively engage with the challenge of being a key part of community resilience.

31 Days Wild: 26th May 2025

I have a no more approach to both front and back lawns. 

The front lawn favours longer grasses and other plants because it gets little human footfall – but does get cat worn paths or this year, flatten areas where foxes have played. I picked one of each sort of grass that I could find and these are what I think they are.