Divine One, as we look out upon your world and ours, it is so easy to see things which discourage and dismay us…
- The deaths last week on the James Smith Cree First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada, with ten murdered, eighteen critically wounded and both perpetrators losing their lives.
- The on-going devastating results of climate change, as Shanghai, China, braces for a violent typhoon.
- As Europe acknowledges their hottest summer in recorded history.
- The flooding in Pakistan that has not only taken more than 1300 lives and displaced millions, but threatens an already-struggling economy with serious food shortages.
- A bombing by Russia of a dam, a civilian infrastructure with no military value, in Ukraine and the subsequent flooding of homes.
- The change in leadership in Sweden with resignation of its president.
And so, God of Life and Love and Healing, we pray for this beleaguered planet and for all its inhabitants. We confess our often-heedless participation in despoiling our environment and ask both your forgiveness and guidance as we attempt to move forward together in a way which will provide life and health to all.
Hear our prayer, and heal us, God of grace and mercy.
But even in the midst of all that makes us weep and grieve, if we really look, if we open our eyes and minds and hearts to truly see, there are also many things happening to give us hope…
- The world uniting in mourning with the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth around the death of Queen Elizabeth II, as they prepare for her funeral on Monday.
- The scared fires being lit across Canada for the James Cree Nation victims and indigenous communities that are calling for substantive drug and alcohol treatment especially for the crystal meth epidemic.
- The planning underway for the third annual Orange Shirt Day heralding a move to lament boarding school atrocities in both Canada and USA and to lead the way to truth and conciliation.
- The ongoing encouragement and support for the brave and determined people of Ukraine.
- The EU moving to cut use of electricity by 5% this year.
- A vegetarian restaurant in Bristol, England, displaying the carbon footprint of food on its menu, in addition to the calorie count.
- A major reduction in child poverty in the United States due to the expanded Child Tax Credit.
And so, God of Life and Love and Healing, as we live in this combined paradoxical state of discouragement and hope, we life our voices in the prayer of Sarah Bessey – “A Prayer to Learn to Love the World Again”:
God of herons and heartbreak,
teach us to love the world again.
Teach us to love extravagantly
knowing it may
(it will) break our hearts
and teach us that it is worth it.
God of pandemics and suffering ones,
teach us to love the world again.
God of loneliness and longing,
of bushfires and wilderness,
of soup kitchens and border towns,
of snowfall and children,
teach us to love the world again.
Amen
And in that love, to care for and cherish, to help and heal, to live wisely and responsibly each day that lies before us.
Hear our prayer, and heal us, your children, O God of grace and mercy.
Amen and amen
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