It was my first ever pet service today. We did the story of Noah’s Ark. It’s tough, because this is a service aimed at little kids and Noah’s Ark is such a dark story that I’m not sure it’s suitable for children. Anyway, I kept it at the level of a nice man who saved animals in a big boat, and we were OK.
It was a small start, really. Two dogs, one cat and a rabbit. We did have lots of soft toys, though, so there were lots of animals we love in church this morning. I brought along my new pet – a brown unicorn (very rare) …
Turns out it was Mickey the Monkey in a horse mask with a paper cone stuck on – how disappointing. He was making a protest about the situation of his friends, the orang-utans in Indonesia, whose home is being lost, not to flood, but to de-forestation for palm oil plantations. Seems like the world is still full of corruption and violence, just like in the days of Noah. It’s hard for us to change, though, as we like all the stuff we have and worry that if we don’t have as much as we possibly can, we might not survive. Could we manage without cheap oil from oil palms, even if it means the extinction of the orang-utans? Apparently not – palm oil is in a lot of food and cosmetics, and is increasingly used in bio-fuel. My point this morning was that Jesus (whom his friend Peter said saves us like the Ark saved Noah and co.) makes it possible to change, by showing us that God loves us and that we can trust God rather than stuff. Our animals also teach us about love and trust, and together we can do a better job of caring for the world. A simple point, I know, but we were a congregation of simple folks, especially the rabbit.
We sang “Rise and shine and give God the glory glory”, accompanied on the ukulele. I’ve heard that, as space was tight on the Ark (as on most ships), Noah and Mrs. Noah only had room for a ukulele each, which they played at night to help the animals sleep. Therefore all stringed instruments today are descended from those two ukuleles. If that story isn’t true, it ought to be.
Alex Mabbs 
What a wonderful, playful and inspiring post on so many levels! THANK YOU. I, too, often wonder about how any of us might change some of the habits/practices in our lives which we have inherited from another generation. another mindset, another ecological/economic model — when blithe and un-reflective consumption was more the norm.
Thank you! It’s hard to change, but wondering about it is good, I think. Maybe it would be easier to do it in conjunction with others, although the hard bit then is to make those connections. Perhaps cultivating a sense of connection also helps – so Hooray! for pets and orang-utans. It’s hard to look an orang-utan in the eye and then eat palm oil.