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By The Reverend Dr. Katie Snipes Lancaster

At Vacation Bible School, we are considering this question: What can birds tell us about God?

I love the ancient interpretation of the book of Genesis, that at creation, God hovered like a bird over the pre-creation messy chaos. I imagine God hovering the way water birds do out on the lake, practically skimming the surface of the water, so close as to touch it. God’s presence hovers near us like a bird, like a dove, like a pigeon, like an eagle.

Maybe you’ve sung “On Eagle’s Wings” and been moved by that image. That song comes from the prophet Isaiah who says that with God, our lives can soar like eagles, seeing this world in new, life-transforming ways.

All of this got us thinking: what about the birds? What if we had a bird visit us at VBS? And then, through a friend of a friend, we came across this animal rescue center called the Illinois Raptor Center who said, “sure, we’ll bring in a bald eagle.”

So, on Thursday, June 28 there will be an eagle in the sanctuary. We hope, somehow, that it impacts how we see God. Maybe it will impact how we understand ourselves as those who are called to care for creation. Maybe it will impact how we read scripture—that God’s love will soar with us on eagle’s wings in a new way after this eagle visit. If you’d like to join us for the eagle presentation, please do. There will be an hour long presentation from 4:50–5:50 p.m. this Thursday in the sanctuary.