“And yet, there is only
One great thing,
The only thing:
To live to see in huts and on journeys
The great day that dawns
And the light that fills the world.” – Inuit song of blessing
Oh God of great mystery and God of the hearth and home. God of the seas and those who journey…
Teach us to bend…
To look within…
To look in the humble shelters…
To sit…
To pray…
To wake up from our distractions…
And know that we are blessed even when the world feels like it’s in such turmoil.
Increase our compassion. Help us to understand our neighbors are everywhere about us, and far away on many continents.
We pray
for those who thirst for sweet water;
those who live and count on ice and snow, snow melt and rivers.
For brooks and streams plentiful with fish.
We pray for the circumpolar nations: Greenland, Canada, USA, Russia and its aboriginal peoples who speak out on climate change. They tend to the land and understand the sea as habitat.
A new day is dawning.
We celebrate Your creation as 180 miles of salmon stream access is being restored along the Oregon coast “SuperHwy”. The scientific body in the USA – the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation partnership – works with a dozen organizations to restore fish passage. For decades stream barriers, such as failing road culverts and tide gates, have stopped salmon migrating.
A new day is dawning.
It is deep winter in the South Pole. We pray for the “international continent” of Antarctica, not a nation but a land of research and exploration, a land of ice and snow. A place where 70 research stations are operated by 29 countries. The Antarctic Treaty initially signed in 1959, as of 2023 has 55 signatories involved in climate research, including the United States, Argentina, Chile, United Kingdom, France, Australia, Russia, Japan, China, Italy, South Africa, South Korea, India, Germany, New Zealand, Spain, Norway and many other nations.
Even in the dark of winter, a new day is dawning.
Your creation is beyond time and yet our human events and crisis come and go. The Deepwater Horizon Trustees (USA) continue in their tenth year of post-settlement restoration. The horrendous spill 16 years ago in the Gulf of Mexico has over 300 restoration activities and projects.
A new day is dawning.
The world watches as a waterway is blockaded and 90 days of war in the Middle East has changed so much. Lord, we pray for the peoples of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq whose commerce cannot exit the Strait of Hormuz. We pray for the leaders of Iran as they negotiate with the leaders of the USA. Countries all over the world are impacted by the oil shortage. We pray for the peoples of Myanmar, Vietnam, and the Philippines, which rely heavily on oil imports that pass through the Strait of Hormuz. As the crisis draws on , Singapore and Thailand are also impacted.
May your light comfort, bless, and relieve the economic hardship.
Behind each country are families trying to make ends meet, farmers in need of fertilizer, school children who ride buses, and business relying on truck transport and natural gas for cooking and heating
Teach us your mercy.
We pray that the war ends. We ask that signatures lead to binding agreements and an end to this calamity.
May we be drawn to your light and compassion. Bring your righteousness upon the Earth.
AMEN.
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