Here
is the fifth of our November Novenas for the Fallen Through, which
for this month are devoted to Saint Cuthbert and to a call for
protection for our wild kinfolk. If you would like to read more about
this month’s novena you can read our first prayer here.
We have already lifted prayers for our badgers, our hedgehogs, and for the street trees of Sheffield,. Yesterday we turned to otter, cormorant, and seal, all of whom have been unjustly blamed for dwindling fish numbers and a decline in the fortunes of industrial fisheries and angling clubs. Today we again turn to the sea, this time to offer prayer to orca and shark.
As
I mentioned yesterday, I hadn’t even considered sharks when
thinking about which of our wild kin might be included in this cycle
of prayer until I came across a small toy shark on the road in front
of me when I went walking on Sunday. Seeing it there looking so lost
and vulnerable I felt chastened that I hadn’t included them before.
Whilst researching sharks in our waters, I came across reports of the
last remaining pod of orcas in British waters. They are in the most
desperately sad state and so in many ways this fifth novena will be a
grieving prayer, and it does matter so much that we allow ourselves
to grieve. If you feel that too you might wish to learn more about
the Remembrance Day for Lost Species which will be taking place on
November 30th. You can find out more about it here.
I
have already written about St Cuthbert’s intimate relationship with
the sea and shared some stories of that wild love. You can read more
about that in our fourth prayer here. Today, I will share another
story about Cuddy and the sea. Bede’s ‘The Life and Miracles of
St Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne’, written in 721CE, tells us
that, when Cuddy was building his tiny monastery on Inner Farne, he
found that he needed to put some support across a hollow on one side
that had been scooped out by the movement of the sea. He asked
members of his community to bring a beam of wood about 12ft long with
them the next time that they visited him so that he could use it to
support his intended building. Having received his blessing they
promised to do as he had asked. However, by the time they had
returned home they had forgotten all about it. The next time they
came Cuthbert asked them for the wood but they were empty handed.
They were deeply ashamed but he soothed them and asked them to stay
there overnight, as he didn’t believe that God would leave him in
need. The next morning they found that the tide had placed a piece of
wood of exactly the size required in the hollow where it was needed.
The very foundations of Cuddy’s spirituality came from the sea.
Ten
years ago I visited Orkney, which I know had a profound effect on my
own journey with Spirit. Whilst I was there I met Malcolm Handoll of
‘Five Senses’, who took us on several tours of the Main Island.
He told us that he had recently found his own lintel (this time, one
of stone) washed in from the sea. I wrote this poem for him. Reading
it now, it reminds me of St Cuthbert and his gift from the waves.
Fire-Maker
(for Malcolm Handoll)
Heather-bound,
barefoot and dancing,
Soul
fire held in dreaming tension,
Smiles
the sky and sings the hollows,
Combs
the beach and walks its beauty.
All
potential held within him,
lintel
stone and sea-soft tinder,
Connection
found and joy uncovered,
Fire-maker,
the land has called you.
Pulled
by tides and scoured by sea spray,
Cradled
by the sandstone hills,
Strata
formed from life’s deep journey,
Weathered
by the winter storm.
Prays
the flame and nurtures brightness,
Fire
sparks from the bow that sings you,
Cotton
grass brushes your fingers,
Fire-maker,
the land has found you.
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| Small-spotted Catshark egg and embryo, Alice Weigand |
And so, to the ancient sea-salt beauty of our much maligned sharks. Most of us who have walked on British beaches are only familiar with the sharks in our waters through the empty ‘mermaid’s purse’ egg cases that we are sometimes lucky enough to find on the shoreline. I never have, although I would love to! These are evidence of the presence of small-spotted catsharks, confusingly also known as lesser-spotted dogfish, or of the greater-spotted dogfish, also known as nursehounds. The little catsharks, no more than 3.3ft long, abundant in waters from Norway to Senegal and the Mediterranean, are considered of ‘Least Concern’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as, luckily for them, they are of low commercial value. Nursehounds are also faring well, although they are vulnerable to fishing and are sold in our fish and ship shops under the names ‘huss’, ‘rock eel’, or ‘rock salmon’. Their skin was also once used to smooth arrows and barrels, and to raise the hairs on beaver hats!
In
fact, although we rarely see them, there are 21 species of shark
living in our waters all year round. These include the angelshark,
common skate, and white skate, all of which are listed as ‘Critically
Endangered’ on the Red List. Thankfully, the Shark Trust were able
to secure domestic protection for the angelshark, which is now one of
the most heavily protected sharks in the Northeast Atlantic. The
common skate, the world’s largest at up to 9.4 ft in length and 6.6
ft in width, remains seriously under threat due to deliberate
targetting and as bycatch (being caught by accident by the profitable
trawl fishing industry). One of its great strongholds is off the
coast of Western Scotland. But, of course, all are suffering from a
decline in their habitats and food sources.
 |
| Basking Shark; cearban, muldoan, hoe-mother, brigdie |
We also have several species of shark who visit us seasonally. These include the world’s second largest fish, the basking shark, which can typically reach up to between 20 and 26 ft in length. How splendid! These filter-feeding beings can sometimes be seen basking in the sun and feeding on plankton between May and September. Other seasonal visitors are the blue shark, which can travel up to 5,700 miles in a single trip, and the shortfin mako, the world’s fastest recorded fish, which can reach speeds of up to 30mph! We are also lucky enough to have occasional visits from smooth hammerhead and frilled sharks and the quest is on to spot a great white shark in our seas, as the warming climate and declining availability of food may mean that they travel further afield. And, of course, as they do so our media, addicted to sensationalism in ever more desperate attempts to make money, publishes increasingly hysterical reports of the ‘shark threat’ off our coast.
I
notice that sharks are always described as ‘lurking’ and, as
ever, seals are being blamed for luring predators into our midst by
being far too successful at breeding! It matters to remember that
there hasn’t been a documented shark attack in British waters since
1847, although in June 2017 a surfer did sustain a nasty cut on his
thumb fighting off a 3-ft long small houndshark which had taking a
liking to his thigh.
Surprisingly
perhaps, The Sun has spoken out against shark-related hysteria on
several occasions, pointing out that there are no more than around 70
shark attacks reported worldwide each year and that only a handful of
these are fatal. However, they have also been guilty of describing
great white sharks as ‘patrolling’ our waters! This Wildlife
Online article; ‘Great White Sharks in British Waters?” sums up
the attitude of the media to our shark kin very well and this BBC article suggests where the fear of shark attacks in our quiet seas
may have come from. It is more the case that sharks desperately need
protection from us, rather than the other way round. South Africa’s
great white sharks are currently threatened with extinction after a
steep decline in their numbers due to trophy hunting, shark nets, and
pollution. Winghead sharks and whalesharks, the planet’s largest
living fish, have recently been redefined on the IUCN Red List as
‘Endangered’ due to increased pressure from human activity, the
world population of whalesharks halving in the last 75 years.
It
is estimated that around 100 million sharks are killed by humankind
every year, through both commercial and recreational fishing. Many
die by ‘shark finning’ which involves the sharks being caught and
their fins removed with a hot metal blade. The now finless creature
is then returned to the water where it soon dies from suffocation or
predation. And all of this without even mentioning threats to the
shark people from habitat loss, pollution, and the impact of
fisheries. A study by the IUCN found that one quarter of all known
species of shark are threatened with extinction and that 25 species
are critically endangered.
Sharks
have been here for 450 million years. It would be horrible to think
that there are people being born now who, if we don’t take care,
will see a planet without them. Thank goodness then for the tiny
catshark, so abundant in our waters. Perhaps the next time we are
blessed by finding one of her empty egg cases at the tide’s edge we
might think of her pups making their first wild journeys and resolve
to become better mothers to our seas.
 |
| Orcas via The Daily Mail |
And
mothering brings us to the plight of our orcas. In 2016 it was
reported that there was only one remaining matrilineal family group,
or pod, of orcas in British waters and that this family was ‘doomed
to extinction’. New research findings had revealed that western
European seas are a global hotspot for lingering concentrations of
PCB pollution. These chemicals, found in electrical equipment until
banned in the 1980s, are long-lasting and continue to leech into the
oceans from stockpiles on land that have not been properly disposed
of. European dolphins, whose numbers are also in decline, have been
found to contain extremely high levels of PCBs. High levels are known
to harm both fertility and immune systems. Orcas were present in the
North Seas until the 1960s when PCB levels were at their highest but
our only remaining residents are this little pod, now reduced to only
eight members, off the north-west coast of Scotland. They have been
studied for the last twenty years and have not produced a calf in
that time. Even were a calf to be born the PCBs in the fat in their
mother’s body would pass onto them through her milk. My heart
breaks.
Whales
and dolphins are also beleaguered by noise emanating from passing
ships, which is believed to hamper their ability to communicate and
to find prey. Studies are taking place to reduce noise pollution
based on methods used by military shipping. Again, around 600
cetaceans are beached on our shores each year, most of them porpoises
and dolphins. In 2014, 60 bigger whales were also stranded. The
reason for these strandings is not known, although it is suspected
that they are straying into unfamiliar waters in search of food.
Early one February morning in 2016, a 30-tonne sperm whale died on
the beach in Hunstanton in Norfolk, despite desperate attempts to
save him. Over 100 people gathered through the night to keep vigil.
It was not so very long ago that we were a nation of whale hunters,
Now I truly believe that many of us see them as family. There is hope
in that.
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| 'Cuddy's Choir' by Colin Smithson |
Novena for the Fallen
Through
Protection, justice, and shining health for our wild kin.
This is a prayer of wild mothering, for orca and shark.
Blessed Cuthbert,
Beloved Cuddy,
Saint of Salt and Fire,
Antlered ancestor,
Friend of otter, eider, cormorant, and crow,
Walker of the untamed edge of Land and Spirit,
Lover of wild places, wild creatures, and wild grace,
Threader of sea-stars into wild prayer.
We stand in solidarity with you at the roots of the Tree of Life.
Thank
you for the presence in our waters of the shark people,
oldest
of the old,
one
time companions of our distant ancestors
before
we were lost to the land.
Apex predator, wolf of the sea,
maintaining the balance in a web
that
we can barely see.
We
stand in awe that life on this planet has always
been
in held in your dark gaze,
what
sights you must have seen,
have
held within the memory of cells.
We pray with fervent hearts for the continuation
of
your ancient line, for fear to turn to fascination,
loathing
to love, for us to see in your dark eyes
wild
skies of endless possibility to swim in,
how
different you are, beyond our imagining.
Angel, catshark, nursehound, common skate, and white,
Portugese
dogfish, black dogfish, kitefin, and gulper,
blue
shark and shortfin mako, frilled and hammerhead,
rough
and bramble, smoothhound and bluntnose,
lanternshark
and velvet, greenland and leafscale,
porbeagle,
velvet belly, thresher and tope,
starry
smoothhound and knifetooth.
We name you kin,
and
in naming, bless you,
and
in blessing, love you,
and
in loving, vow to speak up for you,
and
in speaking up, name you.
Basking Grandmother, gentle sea-glider,
cearban,
muldoan, hoe-mother,
brigdie,
teach us tranquility,
how
to be sun-seen yet remain a mystery,
held
in our own secret sea.
No
one has ever seen the intimacy of your birthing.
In
holding your secrets may you find safety.
Nursehound, catshark, slender shallow water skimmer-swimmers,
may
your pups be blessed on their first wild journeys,
gift
us with your egg case purses,
reminding
us to be mindful mothers to our seas.
We ask that our waters become a safe haven
as
so much around us is changing.
Let
us offer wild welcome to the new,
mourn
the old, learn our lessons,
walk
in grace with grief and gratitude.
Blessed Cuthbert,
Saint of Salt and Fire,
Antlered ancestor,
Friend of otter, eider, cormorant, and crow,
Walker of the untamed edge of Land and Spirit,
Lover of wild places, wild creatures, and wild grace,
Threader of sea-stars into wild prayer.
We stand in solidarity with you at the roots of the Tree of Life.
Help us to sing a song of grieving
with,
and for, the orca mothers,
for
a mother line broken,
love
songs unspoken,
wombs
left barren,
milk
turned to poison.
For 13.8 billion years Creation has been birthing
and
we have taken the birth-prayer of orca,
through
carelessness, ignorance, indifference.
We
have poisoned our own seas.
Mada-chuain, Lleiddiad,
help
us to learn again an older tongue,
once spoken by those who walked in awe
and right relationship with life.
and right relationship with life.
We
grieve with you for the empty sea
where
your calves should be,
for
fathers with no family,
the
crumbling of your community.
We pray for the cleaning of your blood,
for
the healing of your wounds,
for
the quickening of your wombs,
for
the sweetness of your milk,
for
the birthing of your young,
for
the soul~song of your voices to become a choir
to
sing your blessingway.
And if you end, let us mourn your passing,
keen
your leaving,
hold
your memory as a promise to mending.
Blessed Cuthbert,
Saint of Salt and Fire,
Antlered ancestor,
Friend of otter, eider, cormorant, and crow,
Walker of the untamed edge of Land and Spirit,
Lover of wild places, wild creatures, and wild grace,
Threader of sea-stars into wild prayer.
We stand in solidarity with you at the roots of the Tree of Life.
Heart-song of the sea, forgive us for what we have done,
knowingly
and unknowingly.
Help
us to feel what must be felt,
cry
what must be cried,
mourn
what must be mourned,
grieve
what must be grieved,
and
on the other side of grief,
find wild hope to sustain us in the journey.
find wild hope to sustain us in the journey.
And
may the spirit-calves of orca
remind
us that we have responsibility.
And we thank Life for every person
who
is working to improve the lives
of
the whale people and all beings of the sea.
May
their labours be supported, successful, and strong.
We ask this in the name of badger and water vole,
red fox and red deer,
dotterel and dormouse,
red squirrel and seal.
Of starling and sparrow,
sand lizard and slow worm,
hedgehog and hare,
corn marigold and marsh cleaver.
Of great crested newt and small fleabane,
ringed plover and oystercatcher,
pasque flower and mountain ringlet butterfly,
wildcat and skylark.
Of marsh fritillary butterfly and shrill carder bee,
blue ground beetle and white-clawed crayfish,
freshwater
pearl mussel, cormorant, and crow.
Blessed Cuthbert,
Saint of Salt and Fire,
Antlered ancestor,
Friend of otter, eider, cormorant, and crow,
Walker of the untamed edge of Land and Spirit,
Lover of wild places, wild creatures, and wild grace,
Threader of sea-stars into wild prayer.
We stand in solidarity with you at the roots of the Tree of Life.
May all beings of the sea that you so loved,
where you sang Pslam songs to time and tide,
be bountifully blessed and wild with mothering,
hallowed with fathering,
and may we, in the name of salt and sea,
walk in grace with grief and gratitude
until justice comes for all beings of land, sea, and sky.
The first is for badger.
The second is for hedgehog.
The third is for Sheffield’s street trees.
The fourth is for otter, cormorant, and seal,
for salmon, and elver, and eel.
The fifth is for shark and orca.
May our string of prayer beads,
formed in the starry sea where all things are one,
gathered on the shore of meeting,
be filled with life, love, and wild justice
for all beings on this earth we share.
For this we pray.
Aho mitake oyasin, amen, blessed be. Inshallah.
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| 'Small-spotted catshark egg cases, Erwin Timmerman on Flickr |
References and Information:
On sharks ~
On orcas and other cetaceans ~
