Doom & Gloom, Unicorns & Wonder

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines doomscrolling as “to spend excessive time online scrolling through news or other content that makes one feel sad, anxious, angry, etc.”i 

So, why in the world do we do it?  It starts out simply enough. “Doomscrolling starts with the goal of becoming more aware of a situation so you can understand what’s happening and prepare yourself for it.”ii  The scrolling, whether doom or binge scrolling, releases as a dopamine hit to the brain, making it hard to stop. People scroll to relieve boredom, stress, or to escape from difficult experiences.  

The problem: it’s not great for one’s mental health. Not only is it a time and energy suck, but scrolling drains one of wonder and imagination.  “I wonder if one of the purposes of the Church is to generate wonder. For a chunk of time each week, we are asked to consider what God has done, is doing, will do…Wonder is about faith. I don’t know what God’s going to do about this, but I believe God is at work in the world.”iii 

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and praying about our Presbyterian expression of God’s church here in Giddings-Lovejoy. And I wonder if the presbytery is stuck in some sort of doomscrolling cycle, and unsurprisingly, it is not good for our mental, emotional, or spiritual health. Goodness knows ministry is hard work, but it seems to me that we are going about making hard work harder. 

I was reminded this week (in the Bible of all places!) of the importance of imagination and wonder, dreams and the ever-elusive unicorns in our lives and faith. Presbyterian pastor Stephen Fearing pointed out in his recent Facebook post that unicorns are indeed in the Bible.  

This Sunday is the Baptism of the Lord, and each year in the Revised Common Lectionary, Psalm 29 is the appointed psalm reading. 

Verse six makes a reference to God making “young wild oxes” leap for joy.  

However, in the Psalter my friend Michael Morgan gave me at my ordination (printed in London in 1626), the paraphrase changes “young wild oxes” to “unicorns” to preserve the rhyme scheme. The verse sings as such: 

The voice of God doth rend and breake, the Cedar trees so long, 

The Cedar trees of Lebanon which are most high and strong 

And makes them leap like as calfe or else the unicorn. 

Not only trees but mountains great where in the trees are borne.iv 

Truth be told, and I’m sure Dr. Clint McCann (Eden Seminary) would confirm, unicorn is a poor translation.  Oxen may even ring truer in the sense that they are steady, strong, and especially hardworking, particularly in teams. Unicorns, on the other hand, are elusive at best.  But unicorns inspire wonder and imagination.  I’ve never, not once, watched a child color a unicorn in shades of grey. The full rainbow of colors is put to work by small hands. 

I believe we are moving into a season of wonder. I’m delighted that Giddings-Lovejoy has partnered with PneuMatrix leadership to assist the presbytery in acknowledging our history, assessing our present context, and to wonder about our future. They have already proven to be an excellent sounding board for the Vision Team, and we will be welcoming them back to do more work with the presbytery at the end of February. 

Let’s set ourselves free to wonder and imagine church in full explosive color. Imagine our ministries in rich technicolor. Imagine our expression of God’s love and grace in dayglo neon.  We can imagine and do, because indeed God is at work in the world through us.  

In Christ, 
Liz

Rev. Elizabeth Rolf Kanerva
Associate Presbytery Leader