Prayer for World Environment Day
Welcome: We join with each other and with the entire Earth community, with our ancestors and all beings of the future to bring new life to the land and the water, to the air and to all creatures, to recreate the human community, to provide justice and peace.
Reader: Job said, “Ask the animals, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you; ask the plants of the Earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will tell you all. There is not one such creature who does not know that all is of God’s own making. God holds in loving power the soul of every living being and the breath of each.” (Job 12: 7-10)
Quiet Reflection on something you have learned from an other-than-human member of the Earth community.
Reader: Teach your children that Earth is our mother. Whatever befalls Earth befalls the sons and daughters of Earth. This we know. Earth does not belong to humans; humans belong to Earth. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. Whatever befalls Earth befalls the children of Earth. 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. One thing we know. Earth is precious to God. (Chief Seattle)
Leader: We call upon Earth, our planet home, with its beautiful depths and soaring heights, its vitality and abundance of life, and we ask:
All: Teach us and show us the way.
Leader: We call upon the mountains, the high green valleys and meadows filled with wild flowers, the snows that never melt, the summits of intense silence, and we ask:
All: Teach us and show us the way.
Leader: We call upon the forests, the great trees reaching strongly to the sky with earth in their roots and heaven in their branches, the fir and pine and cedar, and we ask:
All: Teach us and show us the way.
Leader: We call upon creatures of the fields and farms and forests and seas, our brothers and sisters the wolves and deer, the chickens and cows, the hawks and robins, the whales and turtles, and we ask:
All: Teach us and show us the way.
Leader: We call upon all who have lived on Earth, our ancestors and friends who dreamed the best for future generations and upon whose lives our lives are built; with thanksgiving we call upon them:
All: Teach us and show us the way.
Closing Prayer (together): Creator God, I pledge to protect the sacred Earth community and to respect the entire web of life, honoring the dignity and value of every member: one planet with freedom, justice, and peace for all.
Closing Hymn: Canticle of the Sun (Marty Haugen) or some other appropriate song celebrating God’s creation.
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World Environment Day 2008
World Environment Day, commemorated each year on 5 June, is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and fosters political attention and action.
The World Environment Day slogan for 2008 is Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy. Recognising that climate change is the defining issue of our era, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is asking countries, companies, and communities to focus on greenhouse gas emissions and how to reduce them. World Environment Day will highlight improved energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, forest conservation, and eco-friendly consumption.
On this World Environment Day, “called to solidarity with all Creation,” let us examine the state of the entire sacred Earth community. Let us consider carefully the actions which each of us must take and then address ourselves to our common task of preserving all life on Earth in a mood of reflective resolution and quiet confidence.
World Environment Day Alphabet
A Air-dry clothes
B Bottled water: don’t buy it
C Compost
D Donate to an environmental cause
E Eat food from local sources and family farms
F Fly less
G Give a gift membership to an environmental organization
H Hot water: don’t use it when doing laundry
I Invest in renewable energy
J Join the action-alert list of an environmental group
K Keep your own neighborhood clean
L Lightbulbs: change incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs)
M Meat: reduce consumption
N Never litter
O Organic: buy organic produce and other products
P Plastic bags: avoid them and use canvas bags for shopping
Q Quiet enjoyment of Nature: take time
R Reduce, re-use, recycle
S Save paper: use both sides
T Telecommute instead of traveling
U Use “real” tableware instead of plastic, paper, or styrofoam
V Volunteer your time to help the rest of the Earth community
W Wrapping paper: use cloth or newspaper
X Exchange ideas
Y Youth: engage them and encourage them to care for Earth
Z Zero emissions is the goal!
http://www.unep.org/wed/2008
Prepared by Paulette Zimmerman, SSND St. Louis Province
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