You will find below QUOTES, PRAYERS and POETRY that will hopefully give you the inspiration to do what you can to make a difference.
QUOTES
"The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden as it's gardener, to tend and care for it". (Genesis 2:15, The Living Bible Paraphrased.)
"As people of religious faith, we Bishops believe that the atmosphere that supports life on earth is a
"Given the power of sin and evil in this world, as well as the complexity of environmental problems, we know we can find no "quick fix" ---whether technological, economic, or spiritual. A sustainable environment requires a sustained effort from everyone." (ELCA statement, Claiming the Promise. Full statement can be found at http://www.elca.org/en/Faith/Faith-and-society/Social-Statements/Caring-for-Creation .)
"Our cautious response to these issues in the face of mounting evidence may be seen by the world as uncaring, reckless and ill-informed. We can do better. To abandon these issues to the secular world is to shirk from our responsibility to be salt and light. The time for timidity regarding God's creation is no more." (A Southern Baptist Declaration on the Environment and Climate Change (2008)).
"Since climate change and the global economy
now affect us all, we have to develop a sense
of the oneness of humanity." Dalailama
What we are doing to the forests of the world is but
a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourwselves
and to one another." Mahatma Gandi
"Unless decisive action is taken immediately, climate chaos will lead to increased human suffering and social upheaval condemning millions of people to hunger, disease, misery and death. Our pursuit of 'happiness and high quality of life' need not endanger other peoples, nations, communities, species and future generations that are also entitled to survival and happiness. The earth has enough resources to satisfy everyone's need, but not enough resources for anyone's greed." (African Church Leaders Statement on Climate Change and Water (2008)).
Our efforts to restore and protect this Earth, God's gift to us, takes us down many different paths. The actions we take whether big or small are all very important. God wants to hear from us as we strive to do his will. While during a worship service, before an important event, at meal time or quietly on our own when changing a light bulb to an energy efficient one prayer is important to us. It can give us hope, motivation and meaning to our green efforts. Prayers for our environment can found through out history and through all faiths.
Opening Prayer for Church Worship Service
Leader: You, Lord, who love all that you have made, grant us the grace to protect the earth that you have given us for our home. Renew our will to preserve its goodness and to keep it beautiful and fruitful for our children, Risen Lord Jesus.
All: Teach Us
All: Teach Us
(from Episcopal Church of the Nativity, Burnsville, MN)
Keep This Treasure, Your Earth, Safe from Harm
"Good and gracious God, we stand in awe of your power to create a magnificent world for us to enjoy during our lifetime. Help us to see it anew as the wonder that it is. Open our eyes and enlighten our minds to understand the power we hold and responsibility we have to keep it as a gift that we only borrow for our lifetime, to return to you and the generations to follow. Send your Holy Spirit to be here as we reflect in our hearts and minds on your call to us as human beings and Christians to keep this treasure, your earth, safe from harm. Amen."
(from the Catholic Wisdom Leaders Guide)
Prayer for Compassion and Action for Climate Change
(with hands stretched open and/or passing inflatable earth to one another during the prayer)
We hold the Earth. We hold brothers and sisters who suffer from storms and droughts intensified by climate change. We hold all species who suffer. We hold world leaders delegated to make decisions for life. (Pause for quite heart prayers.) We pray that the web of life may be mended through courageous actions to limit carbon emissions world wide. We pray for right actions for adaptation and mitigation to help our already suffering earth community. We pray that love and wisdom might inspire my actions and our actions as communities So that we may, with integrity, look into the eyes of brothers and sisters and all beings and truthfully say We are doing our part to care for them and the future of the children. May LOVE transform us and our world with new steps toward life. Amen
Collected from Sr. Joan Brown, Executive Director of New Mexico Interfaith Power & Light (IPL)
Prayer to Change Your Heart
Dear Heavenly Father. Thank you for the bounty of your gifts, for the beauty of your created world, and for the sustenance you provide me every day, both physical and spiritual. Thank you for giving me everything I need in such glorious abundance -- from the air I breathe to the water I drink to the food I put upon the table. Please forgive me for taking your creation for granted, and give me the strength and will to become a better steward of your blessings. Teach me to appreciate all you have given me, and help me to restore the forests, mountains, rivers and oceans so that they can glorify you, the creator of heaven and earth. Amen
Collected from Serve God Save the Planet a book by J. Mathew Sleeth, MD.
And He said. This is a beautiful world that I have given you.
Take good care of it; do not ruin it.
It is said: Before the world was created, the Holy One kept
creating worlds and destroying them. Finally, He created this one,
and was satisfied. He said to Adam: This is the last world I
shall make. I place it in your hands: hold it in trust.
- Jewish Prayer
Muslim Prayer on Waste
It is He who produces gardens with trellises and without, and dates and tilth with produce of kinds, and olives and pomegranates similar and different. Eat of their fruit in their season, but render the dues that are proper on the day that the harvest is gathered. And waste not by excess: for Allah loves not the wasters.
- (Surah 6:141)
Deliver us from Consumerism
We live in your world, O God, and for this, we praise and thank you. Among your treasures we creatures have fashioned many things to make our lives easier, healthier, and freer. But we have also created more things than we need, more than we can ever use. When these things distract us from our purpose in this life, we are misusing the world you have created. When these things prevent others from having their basic needs met, your creation is corrupted. Help us to keep our eyes open to this temptation of consumerism. Help us to be followers of Jesus who are focused on the important and simple things in life --Christians who care for others and are willing to share our riches with those who have unmet needs. Give us the courage to go against our culture when it confuses wants and needs. Remind us that when the journey of life in this world is complete, we take with us only what we have built inside ourselves: treasures of the heart, love and generosity, friendship and concern, caring and sharing. We pray for these things in Jesus' name Amen.
Collected from Catholic Wisdom Leaders Guide
Prayer for Earth Day
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to live in your creation. Thank you for giving us the tools we need to farm the land and to raise animals for our food. Thank you for giving us shelter from the wind, rain, and snow.
We know we need to care for your creation in a different way than we have in the past. We know we cannot continue to use the earth's resources you have given us in a way that will deplete them. We know we need fine sustainable ways to use resources.
We ask you, Lord, to help us find ways to solve the problems we have created. We ask that you please walk with us as we unravel the problems we have created and learn new and different ways to be more careful of your creation.
Thank you Father for all you have given us. We are certainly blessed to have you to help us.
Please live in our hearts and help us make the best decisions we can concerning care of the earth for us and for generations to come.
Amen
by Tim Morse
Every shining pine needle,
Every sandy shore,
Every thing in the dark woods;
Teach your children that the earth is our Mother
As, whatever befalls the Earth, befalls the children of the earth.
We are part of the earth, and the earth is part of us and,
We belong to the earth.
This we know, "All things are connected".
Like the blood which unites one family, all things are connected,
For we did not weave the web of life.
We are merely a strand in it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves and to our children.
Let us give thanks for the web and the Circle that connects us all.
Chief Seattle 1780-1866
Earth Day Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for providing us with all the gifts that we have. We are a rich nation compared to many others. We thank you for your generous gifts you have given us including food, land, shelter, and transportation.
We ask that you will help us recognize and value the natural resources of the earth. Our generation has used natural resources like they would last forever, with no end. We recognize that the use of these resources has unintended results. We see global warming, garbage islands, and nuclear waste, and we wonder what we need to do.
Father please help us find answers to the global problems that we have helped cause. Please be with us as we work to solve these problems. Please be in our heart as we work toward solutions. We know we cannot find answers without your help.
Thank you for all you have given to us. Thank you for your promise of always being with us. Father please help us as we make the earth a place that we can be proud to give to our children and their children.
Amen
(source unknown)
World Healing Prayers website
Healing the Worlds Climate through Prayer and Action
http://www.worldhealingprayers.com/9.html
God of the Universe
God of the Universe,
We thank You for Your many good gifts
For the beauty of Creation and its rich and varied fruits,
For clean water and fresh air, for food and shelter, animals and plants.
Forgive us for the times we have taken the earth's resources for granted
And wasted what You have given us.
Transform our hearts and minds
So that we would learn to care and share,
To touch the earth with gentleness and with love,
Respecting all living things.
We pray for all those who suffer as a result of our waste, greed and indifference,
And we pray that the day would come when everyone has enough food and clean water.
Help us to respect the rights of all people and all species
And help us to willingly share your gifts
Today and always. Amen.
- Fiona Murdoch, Eco-Congregation Ireland
Prayer for our Earth
All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures.
you embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction. Touch the hearts
of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united
with every creature as we journey towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle
for justice, love and peace.
Pope Francis Encyclical
POETRY
A Wish for the Earth
by Elizabeth Levie
imagine the earth, large and full,
with swirling blue oceans surrounding masses of land with streaks of soft white clouds above
imagine everything occurring on this earth in this very moment
a girl in a bright pink sari walking home from school
an old man pulling a donkey with rough, callused hands
a young couple saying "I do" as their mothers cry in the audience
a baby, wailing for food his parents cannot provide
a woman standing over her kitchen table addressing a pile of letters
imagine the earth, large and full
holding all of this--all of us,
the earth that gives us the greatest gift of all: the ability to be alive
the ability to feel
the pride of the girl
the exhaustion of the man
the excitement of the couple
the hunger of the baby
the purposefulness of the woman
we all have different beliefs,
we all belong to different faiths,
but let us all feel,
joy and pain, together
let us all come,
to save our world, together
by promoting energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy
let us help our world to become a place where all beings have access to sufficient,
sustainable energy, and by doing this let us do much more
let us help our world to become a place where everyone is treated equally and without bias
let us help our world to become a place filled with peace and diversity of people, ideas, and beliefs
let us help our world to become a place filled with boundless loving kindness and belief in
the genuine good of humanity
let us help our world to become a place where everyone's basic needs are met and every child born is able to reach their full potential
let us help our world to become a place where success is measured by kindness, love, and purpose, instead of material wealth
imagine an earth where these ideals are realized
image yourself, with the help of the people in this room and allies in the world beyond,
making these ideals become a reality
let us all work together to take care of our earth so that it can be a haven for all beings
Earth Day
by Bill Middlecamp (member of ICCSM) 2/13/2021
All welcome to the great Earth Day,
Respect and honor it they say.
Brother, Sister, Mother, Earth
Sustains us as we go our way.
We recognize with shame, the dearth,
We feign give back to this womb Earth,
With little thought for its tomorrow,
And singular life-giving worth.
Lack of gratitude gives sorrow,
Cannot pay back what we borrow
Too much focus on the fat,
Not enough on the marrow.
Fear pins us on our comfy mat,
Stopping us from actions that,
Correct the harms we've done for years,
We're eating at the place we've shat.
Those suffering are shedding tears,
Collapsing livelihoods bring fears,
Droughts are killing off their shade,
Their homelands turning into biers.
What progress we humans have made,
Tamed the earth with plans we've laid,
Modern living builds a debt,
Of exploitation's price unpaid.
Fossilized carbon that we let
Escape its underground closet,
Returns to us as rising sea,
And makes our riches salty wet.
Weirder weather, can't you see?
Is setting fire to the tree,
Where many species born and grown,
Will die because they cannot flee.
Trashy piles of refuse drown,
The beauty of rich nature's crown.
Grab, manufacture, sell, and toss,
Does suffocate us, hold us down.
We need not suffer any loss,
To save our grandkids from our dross.
A better life is in our hands,
Mitigation's not a cross.
Energy flows in our land.
Innovation is in our hand,
A better life, sustainably,
Is our right, we can demand.
A better life, sustainably,
Is twice as rich and sets us free.
Be not worried, in this rat race,
That we'll go back up in the trees.
Can we escape this madding pace,
And run away to outer space?
Not moon, nor Mars, could be our home.
A next-door star we cannot grace.
We're locked under a starry dome.
No science yet can let us roam
Away from floods, droughts, fires, and ice
That melts and runs into the foam.
It's diff'rent now, extremes, like dice
Roll double sixes, once, twice, thrice,
Within a year, a month, a week.
We shake our heads--so high a price!
We hold our tongues, we dare not speak,
Against the profits that we seek.
We must prophesy this hour.
Tis not the time to be too meek.
We must prophesy this hour.
Muster courage; truth to power.
Tell our leaders, let them know,
Preserving life preserves the flower.
Six decades past, scientists showed
The rising threat we've come to know.
The president, though he did heed,
Felt we had time, first let us grow.
Four decades past, we planted seed
of action, but too small a deed.
Opponents rose, a well-heeled crowd.
But facts prevailed and gained some speed.
Two decades past, truth got a shroud
Of mis informers, boastful proud.
The data, they could not deny.
The scientists could not be cowed.
Today, we know the reasons why
Each passing year sets records high.
We won't be safe in Babel's tower.
Ignore the truth and we shall fry.
We must prophesy this hour.
Muster courage; truth to power.
Respect the bee. Respect the flower.
Protect the bee. Protect the flower.
No comments:
Post a Comment