In times of drought 

22nd August 2026

I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze. Leviticus 26:19

You Lord, our the source of all wisdom:

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 Haggai 1:5-6, 9b-11

Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.’

‘Why?’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.  Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labour of your hands.’

Patient God, 

have mercy on us for our foolishness.

We ignored the rising temperatures 

and the extreme weather events,

thinking it would not affect us.

We did not heed the warning signs:

we lived as if there would always be more water, 

as if we could have enough water to wash our cars and patios, 

grow crops and fodder, feed cattle and cool data centres.

Patient God, 

have mercy on us for our pride, 

our desire for greater riches, 

our confidence that economic growth was the only way.

We were sure we were in control: 

that we could buy fast fashion and disregard its ecological footprint, 

that we could eat meat and not consider where cattle food came from, 

that we could enjoy lives of luxury without being mindful of the poor.

Patient God, 

have mercy on us for our arrogance, 

our certainty that we had all the answers, 

that nature would always be at our beck and call.

The future was ours and we were kings: 

we could extract more and more from the planet – and not give back, 

we had the technology that would provide all the answers, 

we had no need for restraint!

God of recreation, 

renew your spirit within us.

May we learn from your wisdom ways of caring for the land, 

ways to conserve precious water, 

and ways to live joyfully within limits of the planet. 

God of restoration, 

renew your spirit within us.

May we find true happiness that comes from joy not financial gain, 

that comes from discerning the true value of all we consume, 

and that seeks fulfilment in the wellbeing of others.

God of reformation, 

renew within us your spirit. 

May we respect the gifts of nature, 

learning to give a well as take, 

and returning to a life lived within the natural environment. 

Amen. 

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground;

I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. Isaiah 44:3 3