TO PLAY OR NOT TO PLAY: THE SUNDAY DILEMMA OF A YOUNG CHRISTIAN ADHERENT ATHLETE IN MY DAY

Sitting on my front porch and listening to the groan of several power lawn mowers piercing the prevailing tranquility in my neighborhood this past Sunday afternoon, I was reminded of how much times have changed and a story I wrote on the subject about 10 years ago, some of which is revisited in the following post.

When I was a young fellow I found myself in a real bind. I had started to play organized baseball and games were scheduled on virtually every Sunday, May to September. The problem was that in those days recreational activities of any kind on The Lord's Day were very much frowned on, in fact if you were a practicing Christian it was considered a sin.

The Lord's Day Alliance, formed by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists in 1888 to protect the sacredness of Sunday in Canada, was still a force to be reckoned with in the 1940s and '50s. 

I well remember that there was a 12-midnight curfew for Saturday dances and that in some communities with flood-lit playing fields no extra inning of a tied baseball game could start 10 minutes before the bewitching hour of 12:00 a.m. (It actually happened to me in Thorold one Saturday night  when I was manager of St. Thomas Empires vying for provincial Intermediate "A" honors in 1969. With the score tied going into the 11th inning, the game was suspended and rescheduled to be played all over again on neutral grounds in Simcoe the following weekend.)

 

In fact, any public activity that disturbed the peace of a quiet, restful Sunday was frowned on. Sunday evening band concerts on the market square in my hometown were an exception in summer months.

My mother and father were staunch Presbyterians and it was only because of illness that I would miss attending Sunday School and the worship services that followed. At 16 years of age I even became a Sunday School teacher, so my formative years were firmly entrenched in Church and Christian beliefs and practices.

So it was with the half-hearted approval of my mother (my father had passed away) and struggling with pangs of guilt on one hand and a burning passion for the game of baseball on the other, that I began to venture onto the playing field with mixed emotions on Sabbath afternoons; after attending church worship services in the morning, of course. Looking back, I always felt that I did not play my best on Sundays and if I had a bad game, or committed an error in the field, I was convinced that it was a penalty  for playing baseball on the biblical "day of rest."

Boy, have times changed in the intervening 70 years. What pained and compromised me as a young athlete, families do not give a second thought today. When you think of Sunday today, one of two things likely come to mind. Perhaps you think of going to church with your family. However, there are other activities that captivate a huge percentage of North Americans -- golf, fishing, hunting, football and baseball, to name only a few of the weekend distractions. In fact, there is a real argument to be made that sports in general are better at bringing people together than church ever was.

It is really not surprising people feel this way. When you go to a football or baseball game, for instance, suddenly you are best friends with tens of thousands of other people in the stadium. These people don’t care about your gender, sexual orientation, race, or religion. All they care about is that you are supporting the same team. It is a bond that can last for life. It sounds silly, but it’s amazing the extent to which mutual support for a team can draw people together. It used to be that way with church attendance.

Today, more people than ever before are choosing not to attend church services. Maybe they simply don’t enjoy it. Possibly too, there are increasing numbers who have never been exposed to religious life as children or others who have not been accepted into a church because of their lifestyle. There are a lot of different lifestyles that certain denominations have trouble with. One of the most common is the refusal to accept members of the Gay community or views on contraception and abortion. Many religions teach that homosexuality, condoms, and abortions are sins, and that can be ostracizing to some. Thankfully, however, there are increasing religious denominations accepting people for who they are.

Watching and playing games on Sunday afternoons can be a great escape. Whether you are watching from home, physically at the game or participating in a recreational activity, it is a wonderful way to forget about the everyday stresses of life, including work, health, and personal relationships. Going to church does not necessarily do that for many current generation individuals. 

Two of the most widely watched television events on Sundays are baseball's World Series and football's Super Bowl. Even those who do not care about sports attend World Series and Super Bowl parties in homes, even if it’s just an excuse to get together with friends.

Companies spend millions of dollars just to get a 30-second commercial that will air during these major sports extraveganzas. In fact, it is now expected that the commercials you see during the game will be the best you see all year. Why do advertisers put so much money and energy into these commercials? Because they know they have a larger audience now than they will at any other time in the year. 

Even though churches are left competing with sports for attention on Sundays, they still have a unique and necessary role to play in addressing the world-wide needs of an increasingly desperate society; and for the most part they do it in a very low-key way, unacknowleged by main stream media. There are many people who are committed to their faith, including those who will put their beloved sport on hold to attend a religious service and still get home in time for the game-opening pitch or kick off. And that is a good thing, or an acceptable compromise by today's relaxed standards.

Personally, I do not attend church services anymore, but it has nothing to do with acceptance or a preference for sports...It goes much deeper than that and I might write about it some day, when I'm ready.

In retrospect, I am still in that moral bind of my youth. It has just taken on a different perspective. 

Old teachings and morals of formative days die hard! Perhaps that is the way it should be.

CLIMATE CRISIS IS A HUMAN CRICIS

Drought. Heat waves. Rising sea levels. Flooding. Severe storms. These are among the impacts of the climate crisis that are causing people to flee their homes and livelihoods all over the world.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that, on average, 20 million people are displaced by extreme weather events each year. It is estimated that, by 2050, the number of people who will be displaced by climate-related disasters will top 200 million.

The climate crisis poses an increasing threat to vulnerable populations around the world, and the effects are distributed very unevenly across the planet. Indigenous people and those in the global south -- having contributed the least to global warming -- are among the most vulnerable to its effects. As a result, church organizations (yes, we still have churches) with world-wide mission outreach programs, have called for the transfer of resources from affluent nations to low-income countries, in addition to debt cancellation in reparation for the irreversible loss and damage that has resulted from a warming climate.

Wealthy countries’ use of fossil fuels for much longer periods (e.g., since the Industrial revolution) confers an ethical responsibility to support countries that are least able to adapt and endorses the principles of a “just transition,” the implementation of actions and policies to lower carbon emissions and counter climate change while also taking significant steps to support workers and families in the industries and communities affected.

Admitedly, all so much easier said than done at a time when our governments are challenged and stretched in so many directions, many equally at the crisis stage.

God help us help others in dire need at this crucial and troubling period in our history where aid and humanitarianism has serious cost implications that have to be absorbed by the more advantaged.

GOT A SOFT SPOT FOR RABBITS? HERE'S A STORY FOR YOU!

Unique rabbit rescue hotel and terrace. ~~ Saugeen Times Photo

I re-produce the following story, not only for the edification of my committed wild life advocate granddaughter Alyssa Chaplin (see photo to the right) but because it qualifies as my good news contribution for the month on Wrights Lane. Alyssa, who is bound to be green with envy, has been sheltering rabbits in the limited confines of her rental premises in Guelph for the better part of 10 years. In fact she has mothered one pair, Isabel and Sergei, for eight years. She later added Mel and Bud to the brood, all of whom are compatible with the family dog, budgie and other occasional wildlife rescues, i.e. a pigeon not long ago.

Now, for the aforementioned story about a bunny heaven that has been created near me in rural Bruce County. There are no cages and the rabbits have free reign in what amounts to a bunny playground and condo living.

Just image, two insulated and heated buildings that the bunnies can enter and leave at any time. Their playground has everything a bunny could want … walkways, areas to explore and play in, fresh water for drinking, large trees that provide shade and all enclosed and protected against predators. Staycation terraces are everywhere.

This bunny paradise was started by Ruth Shannon five years ago on a wooded lot that once belonged to her grandparents and where she used to spend summers as a child.

Ruth Shannon and her
cuddle bunnies.

Shannon says that animals have always been a big part of her life. From dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs all the way to mice, she has had a passion for rescuing. Before domestic rabbits, she also rehabilitated many wild animals, from deer, raccoons, squirrels and chipmunks to birds.

“I could never have done this without the support of my family and, especially, my husband. We have rezoned the property, obtained permits and built structures to house many rabbits and have official NON PROFIT status,” she told Saugeen Times editor Sandy Lindsay recently. “Unfortunately, the need to rescue domestic rabbits now and in the future remains a necessity. We receive many requests and drop offs for a variety of bunnies on a regular basis and recently had two, one from Allenford and another from Guelph.”

Shannon explained facts about rabbits that perhaps many do not realize. “They are very social animals and are easily ‘litter-trained’ like cats. I have two who live in our home and who have free run with the dog. They are incredibly smart and loving.”

“We recently received two females and unknowingly they were expecting. Rabbits can have two to four kits and the mother will make her nest out of rabbit fur that she pulls from her mate or any other handy rabbit. The fur or hair is very insulating for warmth as the babies are born with no hair covering. A female also has two uteruses which means they can have a double litter. Also, their teeth constantly grow so that, like a cat or dog’s claws, they have to be clipped.

Shannon also takes some of them to schools where they are considered therapy support and, most recently, a long-term care facility in Walkerton has requested the same service for residents. “To hold and nuzzle a soft creature like these can be very calming and, at the same time, uplifting.”

“Their primary diet is all about nutritional needs,” explained Shannon. “We get hay from farmers but they also have to have greens such as Spring Mix, Romaine lettuce, cilantro and parsley … dried cranberries are the ultimate treat for them. We were getting a large part of the greens from a local Port Elgin grocer when items reached their ‘after date’. Unfortunately, their corporate office stopped it as it was considered a liability. Now, I guess it just goes into the landfill. Thankfully, however, Giant Tiger in Port Elgin stepped in and makes a monthly donation in product.”

The rabbits are fed twice a day and their water is constantly refreshed. “It is costing approximately $56 a day to care for them and, along with veterinary costs such as spay and neuturing, it works out to almost $32,000 a year. We invite families to come out with their children and learn about these sweet creatures and have the chance to hold them and appreciate what nature has given us. All we ask is that, if they are able, to give a donation to help with the costs of food and medical care.”

Rabbit House Rescue helps domestic rabbits in need through sheltering, adoption, education, spay/neuter, and community outreach. “We aim to promote and provide the resources, education, and programs. We will provide care, comfort, and compassion to rabbits in need as we seek to strengthen the human/rabbit bond,” says Shannon.

Currently, the sanctuary is caring for 58 bunnies that are separated into groups depending on age, gender, spay/neutered, and compatibility.

“The playground is their happy place where they are able to run, dig, hide, tunnel and basically frolic,” adds Shannon. “Adoption is our main goal but many come to us and are not suitable for adoption, so they will live their lives out in the sanctuary being free to choose where they go and are never caged. We are very selective when it comes to adoption as we want to know that they are going to a forever-home where they’ll be loved.”

ADVICE FROM A WASHED UP OLD PLAYER: COME DOWN FROM THE STANDS, GET INTO THE GAME WHILE YOU CAN

With the season in full swing, I find myself once again wishing that my favorite baseball team would recruit that perfect player. You know, the one who performs at every position beautifully and rarely strikes out or commits an error. The problem is, how can they get that individual to put down the hot dog and beer long enough to come down from the bleachers and play?

As we journey through life as self-declared good Christian people, what does it take to get us to put down whatever it is that we’re consuming and come down from the stands, euphemistically speaking? As we journey through life, what does it take to transform us from mere spectators to active participants eager to get in the game?

The onus is on very capable present and upcoming generations.

We live in a brave new world of artificial intelligence where machines increasingly assist us in most aspects of life. You may have heard of the artificial intelligence (AI) program ChatGPT and, with it, tried it to research a topic or write a note. But did you know from the same company there is another system called DALL-E that can create “realistic images and art” from a brief description? If you are unfamiliar with this program, try asking DALL-E to draw something like “a snail driving a racecar in the style of Picasso,” and I think you’ll be amazed at the result. 

The implications of these programs raise so many hopes and, simultaneously, so many concerns. For example, hope that AI will one day find a cure for certain cancers – and concern that without the proper safeguards, we could lose control of this amazing technology.

Because of our creative and technological mastery, unlike the laboring people in the time of Jesus Christ, we are not required to carry heavy burdens on our backs for extended periods. Still, there are times when we feel weary and find life burdensome...of no value to man nor beast. 

No machine can live our lives for us; no machine can spare us from the emotional stress, the spiritual conflict to which all human beings are subject. 

The pathetic part of it all is that some of us are at a stage in life when we have nothing left to offer to the game -- materially, physically or ministerially -- even if we did decide to come down from the stands, for perhaps one last attempt to be the player we once were...or thought ourselves capable of being in better days.

It hurts to walk up to the plate when it is next to impossible to run the bases. No apologies in recognizing when you find yourself with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning and your body incapable of getting up from the dugout bench. Time to call on a pinch hitter!

We are relegated to sitting on the sidelines savoring our hard-earned hot dogs and pop, watching the game being played out, for better or worse, by generations of our own making.

Indeed and ideally, let the young bucks of today come down from the stands, if they have the inclination to make a contribution and necessary courage of their convictions. Some will, some won't!

It is those willing to get in the game who will make a difference in the outcome.

None of which need stop old has-beens from watching with interest as others play the game we once had so much enthusiasm for. For me it has become a source of occasional encouragement, changing ground rules and style of play notwithstanding.

It is kind of a relief to know that I will have absolutely no impact on the final score...and no one expects me to have...now at my age and decrepitude.

Realistically speaking!