Matthew 4:19
One of my favorite passages of the new testament is the story about Jesus enlisting disciples. He’s out walking by the lake of Galilee and sees the cryptically named Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew casting their nets onto the lake.
“Come follow me“ said Jesus “And I will make you fishers of men.”
Say what you like about the new testament, but that is some beautiful language and as fine a choice as I can imagine to start a post on a Sunday morning. Certainly Worth A Dam has been “fishers of men” in the sense that we are always trying to connect with a broader network of support. I sometimes laughingly call it, “preaching the beaver gospel” but honestly that’s much of what we do. Over and over again, we try to tell people who will listen (and some people who won’t listen) that taking care of beavers is good for the watershed and the wildlife. Taking care of beavers is possible and worth doing.
Not just our special Martinez Beavers, but Concord Beavers, Lafayette Beavers, Berkeley beavers, San Mateo Beavers….even Orange County Beavers!
This morning I’m looking at the map of beaver supporters generated by new memberships at this years beaver festival. Last year we were thrilled that we got some Martinez-ites from the elusive “south of highway 4” bracket. This year we have Petaluma, Kensigton, San Bruno, San Francisco, and Chula Vista. The article in the chronicle about the mink helped us cast a “broader net”, and Linda’s appearance on Terra Verde radio Friday strengthened the point. I’m hoping my national interview Saturday will take our message to more and more places, and challenge folks around the country to think about how they can be smarter than a beaver, take care of problematic behaviors, and benefit from the good done by these remarkable animals.
Sadly, there are no beavers in the new testament. (A regional oversight, I am sure.) If there were though, this is where I think they’d be.
