Today, 10th September I am leading a pilgrimage as part of CCA’s Weekend of pilgrimages.
These are the prayers we will be using as we walk from Putney to Richmond along the Thames Path.
“Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.” Amos 5:24
The ancient practice of pilgrimage, honoured by many of the world’s great faiths, has a renewed focus in this age of climate and ecological emergency. Walking together with intention, mindfulness and prayer proclaims a different pace and place in relationship to the earth; and with each other. We become fellow travellers, learning again to ‘tread lightly’ on the earth. Pilgrimage invites a renewal of body, mind and spirit, while offering a visible sign of a different way of living and travelling.
Opening prayers:
Most High, all powerful, good Lord,
To you we offer praise and glory, the honour and blessing.
All creation – all that lives and breathes and moves – praises you.
All the elements praise you –
Brother Sun radiant with light and energy, beautiful and awesome,
And who with Sister Moon, establishes day and night, tides and seasons.
All praise to God!
Brother Wind and air, calm and serene, powerful and fearsome,
Bringer of weather, and source of energy.
All praise to God!
Sister Water, humble yet precious, simple and beautiful,
fluid energy and source of life.
All praise to God!
Brother Fire, playful, robust and strong,
offering warmth and comfort, yet to be handled with care!
All praise to God!
Sister-Mother Earth who sustains us and governs us,
And produces plants and minerals, sustaining life in all its rich diversity.
All praise to God!
All the elements praise you
and so too all that lives and breathes within your creation!
All praise to God!
In your bountiful love,
forgive our carelessness, our greed and our destructive acts.
Lord have mercy
Forgive our selfishness, and our failure to show compassion.
Lord have mercy
Forgive our heartlessness, our narrowness of vision and our failure to act justly.
Lord have mercy
Forgive our self-certainty, our disregard for your wisdom and our failure to learn.
Lord have mercy
With humility and contrition, we praise you
and ask your blessing on our endeavours.
May we serve you with humility,
seeking justice and showing loving care for all creation.
To you be all honour and power, praise and glory.
Amen.
Pauses for prayer.
1. Putney Bridge, beneath which runs the newly constructed super sewer.
This tunnel will be 25km long and 7.2 metres in diameter, when it finishes construction in 2025. It will carry away London’s sewage and rainwater with sufficient capacity that even during storms effluent will not enter the Thames. Instead this effluent will make its way to Beckton Sewage Treatment Works before being discharged as clean water into the Thames estuary.
We give thanks for the super sewer that will prevent sewage spilling into the Thames. We give thanks for the rich diversity of wildlife – fish, flora and fauna – that a clean Thames can support.
Yet we lament our human foolishness that so often allows harmful chemicals, sewage and litter to pollute the waterways on which we depend.
Lord have mercy:
Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream.
2. Betwixt the boat houses and the playground at Leader’s Gardens.
We give thanks for joy that the Thames provides a place for recreation and relaxation, both in, on and by the water. We give thanks for the healing and health-giving capacity of the natural world.
Yet we lament the thoughtless creep of urbanisation that can destroy such beauty and the inequalities of our society that precludes everyone having easy access to blue and green spaces.
Lord have mercy:
Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream.
3. London’s Wetland Centre. Over the past twenty plus years these disused Victorian reservoirs have been transformed to provide a rich habitat for different wetland – and other birds, including sand martins – insects, reptiles and amphibians, bats and various other small mammals. The Wetland Centre is also working with the Borough of Richmond to rewild the lower sections of the Beverley Brook to help prevent locally flooding as well as enriching biodiversity. In the past Beverley meant beaver meadow and, like Eel Pie Island, reminds us that in the past there were many more species resident in these waters.
We give thanks for nature’s capacity to both recover and to recreate biodiverse rich habitats. We give thanks for those opportunities that have been taken to rewild the landscape, even within the confines of a city.
Yet we lament those times when nature has been pushed out of the picture. We lament lawns that have been lost to astroturf, flowers beds lost to driveways, streets that still lack the companionship of trees.
Lord have mercy:
Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream.
4. Mortlake – where in the 17th century the famous Mortlake tapestries were woven by Flemish weavers. Some of the master weavers were granted English citizenship, whilst orphaned boys from the City of London were taken on as apprentices. This river location has also attracted other migrants; we passed but the Swedish school in Barnes, and if we went further upstream we would pass the German school at Petersham.
We give thanks for the diverse people who have settled along the Thames enriching the lives of their local communities.
Yet we lament the attitude of our our current government towards those who come to these shores seeking safety. We lament the affects of the climate crisis on communities across the globe, particularly for those who are already impoverished because of global inequalities.
Lord have mercy:
Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream.
5. Kew Gardens – which has a plant collection of some 17,000 species, whilst at its millennium seed bank at Wakehurst it has 2.4 billion seeds from around the world. Kew Gardens is also carrying out research research into climate change-resistant crops, zero-carbon fertiliser and plant- and cell-based meat and dairy products.
We give thanks for the rich diversity of plants that exists around the world, and for the research being done to protect and enhance plants and habitats.
Yet we lament the industrialisation of farming and the over grazing and exploitation of land to satisfy our desire for meat. We lament the economic model that leave many in the world with inadequate and poor diets .
Lord have mercy:
Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream.
6. Richmond Lock. The Thames is still tidal here and the lock helps maintain water levels between here and Teddington Lock. Even so during height tides and/ or times of heavy rain land either side of the river can flood and the risk is growing as a result of the climate crisis with rising sea levels and extreme weather systems. To ease this, work is being
carried out in the Old Deer Park to create creeks and swales, allowing the land to become once again a real floodplain.
We give thanks for the natural capacity of the soil, trees and plants to absorb rainfall. We give thanks for the diversity of habitats that create sustainable ecosystems.
Yet we lament the pressure we are placing on the environment to cope with the climate crisis that we have caused. We lament the threat that rising sea levels causes for so many small nations.
Lord have mercy:
Let justice flow on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream.
Our final pause is at Richmond Bridge, the end of our pilgrimage. Having begun our journey with a variation of St Francis’s Canticle of the Creatures, let us end with a modern Franciscan blessing.
May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that we may live deep within our hearts.
May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, hunger, and war, so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.
Amen.
further info:
Christian Climate Action is a community of Christians who support each other to take meaningful action in the face of imminent and catastrophic anthropogenic climate breakdown. We are inspired by Jesus Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit. Following the example of social justice movements of the past, we carry out acts of public witness, nonviolent protest and civil disobedience to urge those in power to make the changes needed. We also work to engage and mobilise people to take action.
Earth Vigil – Westminster. Every Wednesday, 11-1pm, 1-3pm, we sit together outside parliament, praying to our Creator God For more info contact christianclimateaction@gmail.com
‘Make Polluters Pay’ 23rd September for a day of action with Christian Aid.
‘Oily Money Out’ 17th – 19th October. Join us for protest, prayer and action outside the annual Oil and Money Conference
The Green Tau 