During this current national election season in the United States, many of us who live here are experiencing a heightened sense of concern for the future of the earth and its inhabitants. This acute concern can actually make it difficult to find the words we want and need to pray. As a possible entry into your own prayers, no matter where on this earth you live, I share this short prayer from Archbishop Desmond Tutu. It is from the book “God’s Good Earth: Praise and Prayer for Creation,” an ecumenical collection of responsive readings, Scripture, hymns, prayers, and reflections which address the beauty of Creation and the peril it currently faces.

My hope is that these words—which voice both grief and hope concerning the earth—will help you put into prayer your own sense of grief and hope. That they will help you find words that reflect your own yearning for justice and restoration, for good leadership that works for the benefit of the generations already born and those yet to come.

I invite you to let the prayer create a space in your day and in your spirit where you are able to speak to and listen to the God who created and loves this world, a God who sees and cares about the forgotten and the neglected, a God of mercy and of justice.

Whenever and wherever we continue to choose our leaders, or find ourselves under those we did not choose, let our prayers and our words continue to reflect values that will nurture the web of life our Creator has established rather than wreaking destruction upon it. May we, as individuals, as nations, as a world, find the path of justice and walk on that path.

“Creator God, you have called us to be keepers of your earth. Through greed we have established an economy that destroys the web of life. We have changed our climate and we drown in despair. Let oceans of justice flow. May we learn to sustain and renew the life of our Mother Earth. We stand with Indigenous people worldwide who are demanding restoration of their ancestral lands. We pray for our leaders, custodians of Mother Earth, that they may negotiate with wisdom and fairness. May they act with compassion and courage; and lead us into the path of justice for the sake of our children and our children’s children. Amen.” 

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Louise