Sacred Animals
We were delighted to see just a little of our past member Rev Barbara Allen on
ABC TV’s Compass program recently when it explored Sacred Animals, the
field in which Barbara now specialises. Humans have always shared a special
relationship with animals. So, posing the question “Why and how are animals
venerated in Australia today?”, Compass explored the intriguing rituals, prayer
& blessings for animals, embedded in a range of religious, indigenous, spiritual
and secular traditions.
You can read more about Barbara’s ministry at her Animal Ministries page on
Facebook. “Animal Ministries strives to honour the animal-human bond, especially in terms of spirituality, theology, and pastoral care. All major religions
acknowledge that animals are to be cared for, but this has not always been
given a high profile. Together, we can work together, as a multi-faith group, to
better the lives of our winged, feathered, and four-legged kin.”
You can also buy a copy of Barbara’s book, Animals in Religion: Devotion,
Symbol and Ritual. It explores the role and presence of animals within a
wide range of religious traditions, from ensouled narratives within oral tradition
to religious texts, myths and accompanying legends. Some of the material may
have a familiar ring, such as the stories of St Francis of Assisi and Ganesha,
but other, unusual facts also make an appearance. This book offers a deeper
respect for our four-legged, finned and feathered brethren. From the principle
of ahimsa (non-violence) in Jainism,
Buddhism and Hinduism, to the laws
which relate to ts'ar ba'alei chayim
(avoiding the suffering/pain of living
creatures) in Judaism, we encounter the
interdependence of life. The Jainist
notion of ‘reverence for life’, the
pronouncement in Genesis that ‘it was
good’ and the Islamic belief that all
species are Muslim allow us to come to
a realization, or a deeper appreciation,
that non-human animals have value in
our religious traditions, as well as in our
hearts and homes. The book examines
animals not only in all the major monotheistic religions but in the beliefs of the
Egyptian, Mesoamerican and Indigenous peoples of North America and
Australasia as well as of the Vikings and
Druids.
St Margaret’s News
5
November
2016