Earth Prayer 2019

Thanks to Education for Justice for providing this prayer, by Jane Deren, Ph.D., for Earth Day 2019:

In the light of this Spring, this Easter Season,
We see the beauty of your Creation, O Lord,
Resurrection mirrored in the green growth around us,
Rebirth visible in buds and branches.

Yet we also see the tragedy
Of the changes in climate
Bringing floods, the fear of famine,
Destruction of homes and habitats.
Growing landfills and polluted seas
Reveal our failure at containing
Plastic refuse and unending bags of trash.

How do we hold both these realities,
How do we reconcile gift and guilt,
How do we delight as well as debate?

Make our attention to your Earth --
Our common home --
A prayer that we utter every day,
A prayer of thanksgiving that becomes
Embodied in our advocacy and our actions
As we recommit, as the trees do every Spring,
To grow and to give glory to God,
Through greening and healing Creation.