Prayers for Creation

16th December 2022 

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;  Christina Rossetti 

You Lord, are the source of all good things: 

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation: 

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives: 

May we live together in peace.

A reading from Isaiah 55:10-11

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,

And do not return there without watering the earth

And making it bear and sprout,

And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;

It will not return to Me empty,

Without accomplishing what I desire,

And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

Response

Winter, the fallow season, 

prepares the land for spring.

The small seed lies dormant 

lest the cold freeze its vulnerable growth.

But in due time what is small will swell, 

what is vulnerable will gain strength, 

and what is hidden will bloom forth.

Winter, the fallow season 

is when we prepare for spring. 

Waiting,

but gaining strength, 

patiently building networks of support. 

Confident that the Word in us 

will accomplish God’s desire.

In the bleak winter Lord,

We pray for those who feel they have no hope, 

for those who anticipate a Christmas without joy.

We give thanks for all who ease their pain and desolation.

We give thanks for those who offer time and money with generosity.

Open our hearts that we too may be givers. 

In the bleak winter Lord,  

We pray for birds and animals seeking food and warmth,  

for wildlife threatened by human greed and ignorance. 

We give thanks for all who stand up for the rights of creation.

We give thanks for  all who offer time and money with generosity.

Open our hearts that we too may be givers. 

In the bleak winter Lord,

We pray for all affected by systems that fail to deliver, 

systems corrupted by prejudice, selfishness and complacency.

We give thanks for all who stand up for the rights of others, 

who challenge the status quo and seek a better world.

Open our hearts that we too may act for change.

Lord God, unfreeze frozen hearts, 

bring new life to hearts of stone, 

and work in us and all your creation  

the transformative power of you Word.

May your will be done!

Amen. .