Right now, the Platte valley in central Nebraska is filled with
migrating birds and the sounds they make. This St. Patrick’s Day, the Green
Team at St. Stephen’s invites you not only to wear green, but to be green and join us for our Sandhill crane
celebration March 17 and 18.
St. Stephen’s in Grand Island designates one Sunday during
Lent as Crane Sunday, a time to highlight the wonder people experience when
they stand at the river at sunrise or sunset watching and hearing the cranes
take off for the fields or return to the river for the night. That sense of
wonder is spiritual; the wonder we experience at the river is connected to what
we do and say in church on Sunday morning. Crane Sunday is meant to make that
connection explicit and to provide a time and place for mutual reflection on
this and other connections between the church and the wider world.
Along with our Sunday morning celebration this year, we will
be gathering at the Nebraska Nature and Visitor Center on March 17 to
experience the wonder together outdoors and to participate in some activities
to help deepen our sense of wonder. You’re welcome to join us for any one of
our weekend activities or for the entire experience.
The Nebraska Nature and Visitor Center is hosting ornithologist, author, and photograper Paul Johnsgard for a 2:00
program, “Winter and Early Spring Birds of Nebraska”. The more we learn about
birds, the more we wonder at their habits, their beauty, and their role in our
ecosystem. After the program, St. Stephen’s will have the conference room
available for people to rest or gather to talk or reflect, but with good
weather forecasted, most of us will walk or sit outside to soak up the sights
and sounds of early spring.
We plan to gather for Evening Prayer at 4:00, either in the conference
room or a quiet place outdoors. Gathering for prayer allows us to share our interior
prayerful response to the joy of spring and the return of the birds, and brings
us back to the connection between our joy and wonder in God and our joy and
wonder in God’s creation.
For those who want to see the sunset wonder at the river, we
are joining a 6:00 walking bridge tour. The cost for this is $15; call theNebraska Nature and Visitor Center at 308-382-1820 for details and registration.
Others may want to stop by the crane viewing site on Alda Road to see
the sunset wonder.
At 9:30 on Sunday morning, we will continue our prayerful
response at the church, gathering for Holy Eucharist, and reflecting on what we experienced outdoors and how it connects to what we are reading in Scripture and thinking
about as the church at Lent.
