Category: Counting On …

Reflections and actions during COP26 and going on

Prayers for creation

 3rd February 2024

The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein. Psalm 24:1

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 Leviticus 25:2-7, 23-24

When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land shall observe a sabbath for the Lord. For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in their yield; but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath for the Lord: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your unpruned vine: it shall be a year of complete rest for the land. You may eat what the land yields during its sabbath—you, your male and female slaves, your hired and your bound labourers who live with you; for your livestock also, and for the wild animals in your land all its yield shall be for food…The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants. Throughout the land that you hold, you shall provide for the redemption of the land. 

Response (from https://ourcommonprayer.org/2021/09/06/tuesdays-in-climate-emergency/)

Like carbon to the atmosphere:

We have added to the world’s woes.

Like nutrients from the soil;

We have taken without restoring.

Like heat to the ocean:

We have sown destruction.

All: Have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.

In our forgiving and being forgiven:

Bring in your reign, O God: Let Godly hopes prevail.

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen?”: 

Merciful God, open our ears to hear your word and our hearts that we may respond with action.

Intercessions

“Loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke.”

May we be not blind to the hardships faced by plantation workers and farmers when big business holds the balance of power. 

Rather let us support fair trade both with our lips and our purses. 

“Set the oppressed free and break every yoke.”

May we not be ignorant of the oppression of government loans and trade deals. 

Rather let us campaign for justice and use our voices to challenge those in power. 

“Share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter.”

May we not be forgetful of those who cannot afford to eat, at home and afar.

Rather let us be generous in sharing our wealth, whilst demanding a living wage for all.

“When you see the naked, clothe them; do not to turn away from your own kin.”

May we comprehend that it is not just people, but the land too that can be stripped of protection. 

Let us safeguard all living things that have been made vulnerable through our greed. 

“Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear”.

Restoring God, may we, in our lifetime, see the healing of the environment, the restoration of justice and the renewal of creation’s natural abundance.

“Then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.” 

May we learn in our hearts and put to effect in our lives the wisdom you teach us. 

Amen.

Based on Isaiah 58: 6-8

Counting on … day 34

3rd February 2024

As well as sight, we can find pleasure by taking time to enjoy our other senses. Spend a few minutes listening. What can you hear? Hopefully bird song, or children laughing, people chatting ….. Or make a real cup of coffee and spend time savouring first the smell of the beans and then of the coffee. Or take time to really taste a square of chocolate, allowing it to melt in your mouth and savour its taste. Or spend a few moments exploring your surroundings by touch. You might simply close your eyes and use your fingers to explore the different textures of your clothes. Or maybe walk barefoot in garden?

Counting on … day 33

2nd February 2024

Take time to celebrate. Today is the feast of Candlemas – why not eat your supper by candle light?

Candlemas is also a solar feast marking the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. In many parts of the world, this is celebrated with pancakes – round like the sun or if rolled up, rather candle-like!

Counting on … day 32

1st February 2024

Over the next fourteen days as I shall be focusing on ways to love life that don’t cost the earth

1. It is easy to forget that we live in a world of beauty.

Taking time so that you can look around and see the beauty that is  there.

Maybe stone or grass under your feet, weeds growing in the cracks, trees which this time of year maybe a fretwork of branches, the sky – a constantly changing backdrop of textures and colours. Or maybe the smile on a child’s face, the contended look of a cat, or the acrobatic display of a bird.