April 2016 WATERritual
Earth Day: Women Healing Earth
By Diann L. Neu and Mallory Naake
This ritual focuses on Earth healing women who work for land rights, provide access to water, grow gardens, and respond to climate change.
Audio available here.
Setting
Set the altar with a bowl of seeds, a cup or muffin cup with soil for each participant, a small glass of water for each participant, wind chimes, and a candle. You will use the soil, water, chimes, and candle during the section “Women Crying out for Justice.” Each participant will plant seeds in the soil as s/he shares during the reflection time, then take them home to plant. You may also want to add Earth Day objects to your altar that are important to you or your group.
Welcome and Naming the Circle
Welcome to this ritual that celebrates Earth Day. We have in front of us four elements: Soil and Seeds (Earth), a Bowl of Water (Water), Wind Chimes (Air), Candle (Fire).
Share your name and what brings you to this ritual today.
Prayer of Directions by Diann Neu © 2016.
The Prayer of Directions has roots in matriarchal cultures and in indigenous traditions. Each direction has a blessing of gratitude to bestow. It seems a fitting prayer this Earth Day.
(Face East, raise your arms above your head.)
Oh Great Spirit of the East, House of Light and the rising sun,
May the new life of spring blossom in us
So we may start each day anew, and be renewed.
(Face North, cross your arms in front of your chest and sway from side to side.)
Oh Great Spirit of the North, House of Night and falling rain,
May the cold and uncertain winters in our lives strengthen us
So we may be ready to welcome spring, and be renewed.
(Face West, extend your arms outward in a gesture of receiving.)
Oh Great Spirit of the West, House of Transformation and the setting sun,
May sunsets and changes in our lives illuminate us
So we may embrace our journey with gratitude, and be renewed.
(Face South, put your arms around one another.)
Oh Great Spirit of the South, House of the Eternal Sun and abundance,
May we harvest an abundance of love, mercy, and justice
So Earth and the universe may blossom, heal, and be renewed.
(Face Up, stretch.)
Oh Great Spirit of all that is Above, House of Heaven and home of ancestors,
May our minds and our hearts soar above Earth
So we may know the breadth of the cosmos, and be renewed.
(Face Down, bend over.)
Oh Great Spirit of all that is Below, House of Earth and energy,
May we be pulled to deeper places and to the depths of ourselves
So we may have the strength and the courage to face death when it comes, and be renewed.
(Face Center, rest your hands in the palms of the persons on either side of you.)
Oh Great Spirit of everything that is Center, Cosmic Source of gratitude,
May we know mutual love
So we may walk a way of beauty and holiness, and be renewed.
Chant Medley: “The Earth, the Air, the Fire, the Water” and “The Earth Is Our Mother” Author Unknown
The Earth, the Air, the Fire, the Water; Return, return, return, return. (2x)
The Earth is our Mother, we must take care of her. (2x)
Reading: “The Stones Cry Out,” by Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center, “An Interfaith Seder to Heal Mother Earth: Ten Plagues, Ten healings,” © 2016.
And the Gospel (Luke 19:40) says: “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep silent, the very stones will cry out.”
In our own generation, the stones are crying out.
The frozen stones we call Glaciers are groaning as they melt.
The West Virginia Mountains are moaning as they are destroyed in order to produce more coal.
The Coral Reefs are wailing as they blanch and die.
As the planet scorches,
and the corn parches,
the price of food climbs
and the people fall.
Those who are hungry, starve.
Children whose bellies swelled from hunger,
whose voices wailed from famine.
grow silent.
Dying. Dead.
And all these silent, silenced voices call on us to speak.
Not only to speak but to act.
To act against …
The Caesars of our day,
The Pharaohs of our day.
The Pontius Pilates and Abu-Jahls of our day —
The Empires of Oil, Tar, Coal, Unnautral Gas.
The Pharaohs of Fracking.
Chant: The Earth is our Mother, we must take care of her. (2x)
Women Crying Out for Justice
Touch Earth to honor Berta Cáceres for fighting against Dam building in Honduras.
WATER colleague Monica Maher knew and wrote about the work of Berta Cáceres in Honduras. Berta dedicated her life to working for the rights of indigenous Lenca people of Honduras. Cáceres cofounded and led the National Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) which among other things, fights against the internationally funded Agua Zerca hydroelectric dam project. The project would hurt the environment, violate Lenca land rights, and cut off their water supplies. On March 4 Berta was assassinated in her home as a direct result of her peaceful environmental and indigenous activism.
Response: Berta and Monica, you are women healing Earth.
Chant: The Earth is our Mother, we must take care of her. (2x)
Drink Water to honor Mary Grey for building Wells for India.
Since 1987, WATER colleague Mary Grey has been working in partnership with local voluntary organizations on water-related projects in north-west India. Wells for India works with the poorest and most marginalized communities in rural Rajasthan, irrespective of caste, religion or ethnic background. The focus is on water: the provision of sustainable water, with a strong emphasis on rainwater harvesting. The aim is to support rural communities to source sufficient clean water for drinking, cooking, washing, crops and animals.
Response: Mary, you are a woman healing Earth.
Chant: The Earth is our Mother, we must take care of her. (2x)
Sound Wind Chimes to honor Ann Sullivan SP, for creating White Violet Center at St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.
WATER colleague Sister of Providence Ann Sullivan founded the White Violet Center for Eco-Justice in 1996 at St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. It is a non-profit eco-justice education center focusing on organic agriculture, spiritual ecology and social advocacy. White Violet Center maintains a herd of alpacas, 343 acres of state-certified organic farmland, bees, a berry patch, a farmers’ market, classified forest and orchards. The staff hosts field trips, workshops and film series to educate both children and adults.
Response: Ann, you are a woman healing Earth.
Chant: The Earth is our Mother, we must take care of her. (2x)
Light a Fire to honor Mercy Amba Oduyoye for inspiring the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians in Africa.
WATER colleague Mercy Amba Oduyoye was the “initiator” of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians and is known as the “mother of African women’s theologies” and the “grandmother of womanist theology.” Mercy ignites fires of passion in women throughout Africa by inspiring them to explore their own contexts and write their stories. She challenges the Circle to address not only injustices toward humanity but also injustices toward the whole of creation.
Response: Mercy, you are a woman healing Earth.
Chant Medley: The Earth is our Mother, we must take care of her. (2x)
The Earth, the Air, the Fire, the Water; Return, return, return, return. (2x)
Reflection and Action
How do you care for Earth? Take some seeds and plant them in the soil as you share.
Closing Song: “We Have the Whole World in Our Hands,” new words by Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center, “An Interfaith Seder to Heal Mother Earth: Ten Plagues, Ten healings,” © 2016.
We have the whole world in our hands —
We have the frogs and the forests in our hands,
We have the wind and the honeybees in our hands,
We have the whole world in our hands!
We have the wheat and the mountains in our hands,
We have the winds and the oceans in our hands,
We have the rain and the rivers in our hands,
We have the whole world in our hands.
We have the tree and the tigers in our hands,
We have our sisters and our brother in our hands,
We our children and their children in our hands,
WE HAVE THE WHOLE WORLD IN OUR HANDS!
© 2016 Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER). Planned by Diann L. Neu dneu@hers.com and Mallory Naake mallory@waterwomensalliance.org.
