Jo Swinney is a writer, speaker and editor. She joined A Rocha International as Head of Communications on June 1st, 2020.
Those of us with inquisitive children in our lives face a bombardment of tricky questions around Christmas time, from ‘Is Santa Claus real?’ to how exactly God and Mary made a baby together, and did the baby Jesus actually “no crying make” (as the carol Away in a Manger says)? Some of these questions make us pause as we navigate exactly what answer we wish to give our inquisitor.
For over a decade the two of us have had conversations about our joys and struggles in the work of fundraising and eventually decided to capture them in a book. Had we known that writing it would mean five years of work − we might have called a halt right there!
A week or two on Bardsey may teach me some important things, but the challenge is how I live out what I learn in my everyday life.
‘Of making many books there is no end’, wrote the philosopher, ‘and much study wearies the body’. So yet another new book on creation care may tempt you to click to another page. So, why is this book different?
After explaining that I was going to be the new science teacher at the large secondary school in the valley (which seemed to explain my weird views on animal life), I was escorted by a gaggle of boys and young men into the wetland proper, on the trail of Yusef.
Taking care of creation is sometimes more than mere words and issues. For some, it is a matter of life and death. Such was the case for Honduran preacher and community leader José Matilde Bonilla.
There’s a strong undercurrent of discouragement and despair in the conservation community. Given the challenges we’re up against, it’s hardly surprising. Needs can be overwhelming—how can we possibly fix them all? Expectations can be just as numerous and challenging—how can we possibly please everyone?
If you are on Olympics overload and are hankering for a little talk show blather, check out Context with Lorna Dueck’s “God’s Gardeners” episode. Margaret Atwood claims the spotlight for most of the show, but then yours truly and my handsome husband Markku join Margaret and Lorna for the last third of the show.
