Though our human world is being terribly impacted by the realities of the Coronavirus Pandemic, the sickness being spread and its damaging effects on our economy, mental health, and spiritual resilience, the earth is sighing from a sliver of relief. Clear skies are seen from outer space as the factories of the world stop production for a time. Animals are emboldened by the lack of noise and quiet roadways. Today, we pray for the earth, its waters and skies, and for all the creatures that walk upon it.
Psalm 89:11
“The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours.
The world and all it contains, you have founded them.”
Let us pray,
Creator God, holy nurturer, blessed gardener of creation. The earth cries out in anguish as your human children disrupt the natural order of life with pollutive and abusive habits toward nature. Yet, during this time of stillness, quiet and sheltering in place, the earth has had a moment to breath. It sighs with just an ounce of relief from the busyness of human activity. Open our eyes to our dependence on creation, and our unity with it. Help us to understand what it means to care for and nurture our one and only planet, the way that you, the holy gardener, nurture it. Give us awareness and change our hearts, oh God. Let those in power hear the cries of the people and the shouts of the earth as we long for policy that protects our sacred home. We give you thanks for all the places of the earth, the dry places, the wet places, hot and cold, populated and deserted. God, carry us through this wilderness and let us emerge with new perspective on how to be partners in creation, instead of dominators of it. Let the stillness of this terrible pandemic become a transformed practice of sabbath, of treading lightly on this precious and holy ground. All this we pray in your name. Amen.
Pastoral Intern Sarah Swindall