Barnes in Common

There are two ways of understanding the above verse – either God’s name is majestic wherever we go or the majesty of God’s name is somehow demonstrated by ‘all the earth’, in other words God is in and reflected by everything around us.

I grew up in the North of London, moving out to the West Country when I was five. At that point I became fascinated with the natural world, particularly birds. I was a keen and active member of the Young Ornithologists Club, the junior division of the RSPB. I can remember being interviewed by a local newspaper during one of our activity days, clearing scrub somewhere. The interviewer asked me where my interest in birds had come from and I replied that having recently moved from London I was struck by the wide variety of birdlife in Dorset as all I could recall seeing in London were pigeons and starlings!

Although my knowledge of birds has diminished over the years my love of nature has grown and expanded, the beauty and awe of the natural world have become for me an important point of connection with the divine. Therefore it was with a profound sense of joy that I discovered that Barnes, and indeed much of South London was not as devoid of nature as the North of my memories.

Since we have been back in London there have been far more birds than just pigeons and starlings. I am continually awestruck by the variety of birdlife in our garden, we get visits from parakeets and have a resident woodpecker. I frequently see herons and cormorants fishing in the river and many others beside and that’s without trying – I haven’t managed to find the time to get out with the binoculars and have a good look at what’s here!

Leg O’ Mutton nature reserve, Barnes

Barnes really is a nature rich environment and there are a number of reasons for this, the most obvious being the Wetlands Centre and the Leg O’Mutton nature reserve. In addition to these there are the allotment sites and plenty of large properties with large gardens. Between them these offer travelling corridors and havens to all manner of wildlife.

As well as the above mentioned havens and corridors we are also wrapped into our little segment of London by the River Thames which itself provides habitat, feeding ground and travelling corridors to a wide array of God’s creatures.

Another of the reasons for this difference between North and South London is the amount of common land, certainly in this part of South London: Clapham, Wimbledon, Tooting, Barnes; we’ve all got commons. One immediate consequence of the common land is that it restricts the amount of building that can happen, therefore South London has resisted to a point the infilling between distinct communities that is usually part of town/city growth.

As well as space, common land can bring a sense of identity to a community. My dictionary tells me that a common is – a tract of open land used by the inhabitants of a town, parish etc.

We are the local inhabitants, Barnes Common is ours to use. If we made good use of it as a community, if we promoted community events and gatherings, the Common could help introduce or increase the sense of belonging into this community for which so many in today’s society are searching. Even without such aspirations, just to get together both in planned and unplanned, public and private events to have fun and enjoy being on the Common could be a tonic for us all and a great way to unwind after a busy week doing whatever keeps us busy.

A gift from God...
We are truly blessed to live in such a beautiful, awesome and nature filled place and to be here is a gift from God. I wonder how often we actually take the time to enjoy it or how active we are in encouraging others to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us. God’s majesty does shine through in the natural world. I have found that those who profess no faith will willingly engage in what can only be described as theological conversation about a creator and the consequences of being created – equally about stewardship and humankind’s responsibility to care for the planet on which we live.

To be encouraged to stop and take time to look around and engage with the beauty and awe of the natural world can lead to a powerful spiritual awakening for many people. In our outreach to our community and those around us it would be folly indeed to ignore the power and majesty of God’s creation.