With the United Nations Climate change conference—COP26 or Conference of the Parties—happening in Glasgow, Scotland through November 12, Christians have an opportunity (and I believe, a responsibility) to pray for what is happening there, both for the leaders who are meeting and for the decisions being considered. With that in mind, I share this prayer from the Anglican Church of Australia to help direct our prayers for the global decisions that will be addressed, but also for the local and personal choices we make in our homes and communities.

The pictures accompanying this prayer move from the global to the particular, from a distant picture of Earth from space to a single evergreen sapling growing on a rotting log. I encourage you to let these images inform the movement of your prayers as well—from a big comprehensive vision to the particular action you might take in your own backyard.

The prayer begins with a confession of the harm we have done to Earth and its inhabitants, a necessary first step in changing how we live differently on and with this world.

Earth From Space

Forgive us, Lord God our Creator.

A view of our planet from space can either turn the onlooker inward or turn them outward. A turn outward can come in a couple of different forms, which though reflecting different theologies, are both forms of looking for an alternative to Earth. The first is the "Heaven Out There Someplace" point of view that implies or even states that the Earth is not ultimately significant since we will leave it behind when we go to Heaven. The second is the search for a substitute Earth, also "out there," which we could move onto if we ruin the planet we currently inhabit. In contrast to these views, this prayer provides a different framework: we ask forgiveness from the Lord and Creator of the Earth since our sins against this Earth, including its inhabitants, are sins against God. This is our starting place.

Satellite View of Madagascar

In haste and hunger for progress
we have laid waste the good earth you have made.
We have mined landscapes, spoiled coastlines
and polluted air and water.

As the perspective moves closer in, we see a satellite picture of Madagascar. Southern Madagascar has the unfortunate notoriety of being on the verge of becoming the world's first climate-change induced near-famine in modern history. In addition to the effects of our unhealthy habits, shortcuts and greed on polar bears, coral, and a myriad of other species, the effects on our own species are becoming impossible to ignore. We can pray that our hearts would be open to this fact now and that we do not need to see the devastation reach our own backyard before we start to care and change.

Carilo
Neighborhood From Above

We have brought health and wealth to some
and suffering and deprivation to others,
exploiting the earth and threatening its creatures.

As neighborhoods now become visible, our prayer also becomes more specific. How have I supported the imbalance of resources in my own choices? In what ways do I take more than my fair share of what the earth provides? We all need to acknowledge our part in creating and sustaining this imbalance so that we can change our life patterns.

Football outside Jakarta
Children Playing Among Trees

Make us hungry now
for generosity and balance.

We move in closer to where we can now see faces. Are these faces real to me? Can I hear the children playing even though they are not my children? Do I want them and other children to grow up in a generous and balanced world? What would I do, what am I willing to change, to make that possible?

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6
Conifer sapling
Fir Seedling

Make us brave enough to choose more wisely
for the future of the earth,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 
                           © The Anglican Church of Australia

The conclusion of the prayer brings us to our own decisions and what we need in order to make better decisions: courage, wisdom, vision, and Jesus. If we are missing one of these, our actions will be weaker as a result. Which of these do I particularly need to pray for? Which of these is a strength of mine that I can offer to further God's purposes? I believe that we build courage not by waiting to act courageously until a feeling of courage has arisen within us, but by moving forward with a courageous action in spite of our fears. As I have often told my kids, if you don't think you are good at something, the way to get better at it is to practice it.

I encourage you to pray through the prayer again, perhaps even praying it daily during the next few days, keeping in mind our planet and the choices we, individually, and as a global community will make that affect the health of Earth and all whose home it is.

Forgive us, Lord God our Creator.
In haste and hunger for progress
we have laid waste the good earth you have made.
We have mined landscapes, spoiled coastlines
and polluted air and water.
We have brought health and wealth to some
and suffering and deprivation to others,
exploiting the earth and threatening its creatures.
Make us hungry now
for generosity and balance.
Make us brave enough to choose more wisely
for the future of the earth,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Louise

Feel free to contact me directly at info@circlewood.online

To learn more about The Ecological Disciple's parent organization, visit the Circlewood website.