We invite you to join in our community prayers from worship this past Sunday (February 9), particularly as we pray for the well-being of God's good creation.
In worship, we entered into the groaning of Romans 8 -- all creation groaning, we ourselves groaning, and the Spirit praying with us in groans too deep for words -- as we considered how we live in a time of climate emergency. Our prayer follows the pattern of Joanna Macy's "Work that Reconnects" -- expressing gratitude, acknowledging our pain, finding deeper connection and belonging, and then going forth to act.
Please pray with us.
Loving God,
in the beginning, you Created everything that is
sun, moon, and stars,
the sky, the oceans, the land,
every living thing,
every plant,
the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air,
even us,
and then you stood back and beheld what you had made,
your creation,
and you said this is good.
With all creation, we give you praise.
We thank you.
We thank you for the world you have given us to inhabit.
For the life you give us to live,
from the first light of dawn,
to the dimming of the day.
We thank you for the gift of each other,
for the gift of life lived in relationship,
life lived in the community of all creation.
And in community with all creation,
we groan.
We lament the waste we have made of this world,
the ways we have used this earth
as if it were an endless supply house,
or a dumping ground.
We groan with the ache of creation,
and its peril.
We long for a world that is healed and whole.
Help us do better and make it so.
Help us to experience our connection to the rest of creation
more deeply every day,
and in that connection,
in a deeper sense of belonging,
help us find the work that is ours to do.
We pray for those who are hurting in body or spirit,
help us participate in your healing.
We pray for those who ache and grieve, including ourselves,
help us embody comfort and hope.
We pray for an end to violence of every kind,
the violence that we direct toward each other,
the destruction that we wreak on this planet,
help us to be your peace.
In deep connection and solidarity with all you have created,
with everyone who has ever lived in you,
we pray together the prayer that Jesus taught, saying:
Our Father/Mother, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.
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