Together on the Journey:
A Weekly Blog 

This coming Wednesday, April 22, is Earth Day, a day devoted to environmental protection and sustainability. It’s a day to participate in community events such as park clean-ups, planting trees, or picking up garbage.

What I find interesting about Earth Day is that while it is not a Christian or religious holiday, it does echo some of the fundamental aspects of Christianity. One of the promises we make at our baptism is to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation, and to respect, sustain, and renew the life of the earth. This promise reminds us that all of creation was created by God, and we are called to live with it in a relationship of mutual respect and love. The Earth is not here for us to extract all we can from it for our own benefit, but for the mutual benefit of all. We are meant to be lovers of creation instead of dominators of it.

Part of the problem is our language. The very first chapter in Genesis talks about God giving people dominion over everything on earth. But that word, dominion, is a bad translation of the original Hebrew, which would be more accurately translated as ‘serve and observe’. This changes the meaning drastically from one of control and domination to love and joy.

So this Earth Day, I invite you to think of a way you can serve and observe creation. One way you can serve is by attending our garden clean-up day on Saturday April 25. It’s a great way to serve creation and connect with the community.

I want to end by offering a prayer litany for Earth Day that you can do on your own or with others. It was written by A Rocha Canada, whose mission is to live out God’s calling to care for creation and equip others to do likewise. You can find out more about them here: https://arocha.ca/

1: Prayer from the Earth

Creator of the cosmos, how marvellous are Your works! You made me unique among the planets of the Milky Way. From the fabric of the heavens You brought forth oceans of life-giving waters and soils for great green growing things. I laughed with joy as whales and wildebeests, bees and bears, salmon and sparrows leaped into being. You breathed and humans sprang up from the humus. You looked at it all, and said, “It is so good!” To the humans you said, “I give this to you to care for. Take, and eat!” So the humans took . . . And they took and they took and they took! Now my body is beaten, oil like blood oozes, and fires flame in wilderness. Hosea cried out in my defence saying, “The earth itself becomes sick!” but still the humans do not listen . . . How long, oh Lord, will they ignore my groans? I wait, breathless with exhaustion and anticipation for the children of God to be revealed. Restore and renew me, Creator, that all my inhabitants might sing your praises with one voice.

1 minute of silence

2: Prayer from Water

Holy Wellspring, you are the Source of all being and an overflowing ocean of love. From the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, to the peaks of the Himalayan glaciers, the waters of the world praise You! We praise you for the ability to purify, quench, clean, and bring about renewal and transformation. We mourn the fact that many in this world do not have access to us for a clean drink or even to splash about and play. We lament that so often we are an excuse for violence, conflict and even death. Aquifer of love, let your justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Make the deserts into ponds, and dry land into cascades. Let those who are thirsty come!

1 minute of silence

3: Prayer from Animals

Creator of Creatures, blessed be your name. We, the congregation of animals, praise you for the furred and feathered, the scaled and slippery, all manner of beast on earth, in the sky and under the water. We thank you for giving each of us a home where we would thrive. We mourn together for our sisters and brothers, the Spix Macaw, the Northern White Rhino and others who, because of human greed and indifference, will never look upon this earth again. We believe the Psalmist who declares, You save humans and animals alike, great Lamb of God. Gather us under your wings like a mother hen. Praise be to you, who sustains and restores us.

1 minute of silence

4: Prayer from People

Mothering God, you formed us from the soil and breathed life into our bones. Thank you for our bodies and our earthy companions of flora and fauna. We are grateful that you chose to teach us how to be human by becoming a human among us. We confess that we have often abandoned our first calling to care for our Earth home. Forgive us for the ways we have wounded creation and our human kin who most feel the effects of a changing climate. Open our hearts to wonder and transformation. Teach us to rebel against the silencing of your creatures, the felling of your forests, and the suffering of your children. Help us to become ambassadors of reconciliation on our way to a new creation. Oh Love Incarnate, may your kingdom come on Earth as it is in heaven.

1 minute of silence