This week as we celebrate Earth Day (April 22), we are especially mindful of how we are part of God’s creative and creating web. Dependent on the earth God has made, we are also endangered when it is threatened. Being conscious and careful of our use and impact of all the earth offers us is ultimately a matter of justice, for in the devastations it is the poor, the weak, the young, the vulnerable who suffer. This lovely prayer written by Cheyenne and Richard Olsen was offered at Sunday’s service. May it be a blessing and a reminder: we are all held in the palm of God’s hand.
We bring the whole of creation,
which waits with eager longing for its release
from the bondage and cruelty to which we have subjected it.
We bring the rivers, dammed and diverted for our use
We bring the elephants, killed for their ivory
We bring the forests, clear-cut for their bodies
We bring the pigs, trapped in cages for our food.
Lord, may you show us our part In promoting these wrongful actions against your creation, and inspire us to take the actions that will achieve the redemption
of all your creatures.
–Cheyenne and Richard Olsen
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