April 2022: Earth Day Prayer

May 1, 2022/in Blog, Featured, Monthly Rituals /by waterstaff

April 2022 WATERritual

“Earth Day Prayer”

Tuesday, April 26, 2022 at 7.30 pm EDT

By Diann L. Neu

Watch the April 2022 WATERritual.

Preparation: If you can, go outside for this ritual. Have herbs or spring flowers near.

Call to Gather

Earth Day, celebrated annually on April 22, reminds us to give thanks for our planet home. It calls us and the world to return to life. Have you noticed spring in your neighborhood? In mine, violets, dandelions, and tulips are in full bloom. Flowering trees are blooming. This past weekend I planted herbs and petunias. Earth is renewing itself once again.

Today we gather to cherish and reflect on Earth’s beauty. We gather to remind ourselves that we are stewards of this Earth and that we must protect it. Though we find ourselves in the midst of turmoil, let us not forget to open our eyes to the promise of spring, to find beauty and hope as we pay attention to climate change, war, and global warming that threaten Earth and the Cosmos.

This ritual invites us to reflect on how Earth takes care of us, and it challenges us to take better care of Earth. Let us praise Divine Providence for breathing life through the Earth.

Song: “The Earth, the Air, the Fire, the Water Return” sung by Libana

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTyBQelWS18&ab_channel=LadyBluemoon

Praise Divine Providence

We call upon Earth, our planet home, with its beautiful depths and soaring heights, its vitality and abundance of life.

With all creation, we praise you, Divine Providence:

Thank you, Earth! Breathe your life through us!

We call upon the mountains, the high green peaks and meadows filled with flowers, the knobs and the foothills.

With all creation, we praise you, Divine Providence:

Thank you, Mountains! Breathe your life through us!

We call upon the waters that rim Earth, horizon to horizon, that flow in our rivers and streams, that fall upon our gardens and fields.

With all creation, we praise you, Divine Providence:

Thank you, Waters! Breathe your life through us!

We call upon the land that grows our food, the nurturing soil, the fertile fields, the abundant gardens and orchards.

With all creation, we praise you, Divine Providence:

Thank you, Land! Breathe your life through us!

We call upon the forests, the great trees reaching strongly to the sky with Earth in their roots and the heavens in their branches.

With all creation, we praise you, Divine Providence:

Thank you, Forests! Breathe your life through us!

We call upon creatures of the fields, forests, and seas, our siblings, the wolf and deer, the eagle and dove, the great whale and the dolphin, the beautiful orca and salmon.

With all creation, we praise you, Divine Providence:

Thank you, Creatures! Breathe your life through us!

We call upon all those who have lived on Earth, our ancestors and our friends who dreamed the best for future generations and on whose lives our lives are built.

With all creation, we praise you, Divine Providence:

Thank you, Ancestors! Breathe your life through us!

Film: I AM the Earth – The I AM project, created by Free Spirit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuqsIYfCmdc&ab_channel=IAM

Holy Is Your Creation
Earth takes care of us, and challenges us to take better care of Earth.
Climate change is real, and scientists have shown that humans are causing it.
Holy is your Creation.

We can make a difference and slow climate change down.
We are the stewards of your Creation.

Half of the world’s forests no longer exist.
Holy is your Creation.

We can use cloth instead of paper products.
We are the stewards of your Creation.

In the past forty years, humans have directly or indirectly killed half of all existing wildlife.
Holy is your Creation.

We can visit a national or state park to remember the holiness of the natural and wild world.
We are the stewards of your Creation.

Sea levels are rising, and by 2100 the White House could have an ocean view.
Holy is your Creation.

We can choose public transportation and reduce our carbon footprint.
We are the stewards of your Creation.

We can reduce and reuse before recycling.
Holy is your Creation.

We can eat less or no meat. Rainforests are being replaced with farms largely used to feed livestock. That same food could feed us instead.
We are the stewards of your Creation.

Climate change is real, and scientists have shown that humans are causing it. We also have the power, however, to slow it down.
Holy is your Creation; we will be the stewards.

Film: Nature is Speaking – Julia Roberts is Mother Nature, Conservation International

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmVLcj-XKnM

Reflection / Group Sharing

During this time of celebrating Earth, let us take time together in groups of 3 or 4 to share what Earth means to us, and how we have and will take care of it.

Earth Pledge

Let us commit to caring for Earth, our home, by returning Earth to life. Let us join with Earth and with each other as we pledge:

To bring new life to land

To restore waters

To refresh air

To protect animals

To treasure trees

To gaze at stars

To cherish human community

To heal Earth

To remember the children

Let us say aloud in our own space:

All: I will care for Earth.

Blessing Herbs and Flowers

Blessed are you, Holy Creator, for calling forth stewards of creation throughout time, and especially now, when climate change and the future life of Earth is in our hands.

Look at your hands:

Bless us to be stewards of your Creation.

Blessed are you, Holy Healer, for giving us herbs of spring: basil, dill, parsley, cilantro, rosemary, thyme, mint, and so many others. They beautify Earth, flavor our foods, heal and nourish our bodies and souls.

Hold your herbs:

Bless us to be healers of your Creation.

Blessed are you, Holy Gardener, for bringing forth flowers from Earth, and for blessing us with beauty.

Hold your flowers and herbs:

Bless us as we enjoy the beauty of herbs and flowers.

Take Action to Care for Earth

Let us put our prayers into action. There are thousands of ways that we can help Earth each and every day. Here are a few important ones:

Go for a walk in the woods to reconnect with Earth.
Pick up litter in your neighborhood.
Stop using disposable plastic, especially straws.
Eat less meat. Try a vegan diet. Buy local produce. Compost.
Recycle—food, electronics, plants, clothes, paper, containers, and more.
Reduce your carbon footprint—fly and drive less; walk, bike, bus, train.

Sending Forth

Let us go forth to care for Earth.

You are the beauty of life; go forth to manifest beauty for Earth.

Blessed be the beauty of Earth.

You are the power of life; go forth to manifest power for Earth.

Blessed be the power of Earth.

You are the truth of life; go forth to manifest truth for Earth.

Blessed be the truth of Earth.

You are the gift of life; go forth to manifest gifts for Earth.

Blessed be the gift of Earth.

Song and Video

“Ever with You” by Jan Phillips (© 2012), video and photos by Joni Luna, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuqzU4adEUQ

I Feel You Everywhere

I feel you in my heart, I feel you in my hands,

I feel you in the stars, I feel you in the sand,

I feel you everywhere, inside every cell

there is no place here that you do not dwell

I Feel You Everywhere.

I feel you in my arms, I feel you in my feet,

I feel you in the eyes of everyone I meet

I feel you everywhere, inside every cell

there is no place here that you do not dwell

I Feel You Everywhere.

Chorus.

I feel you in the clouds, I feel you in the storm,

I feel you in the cold, I feel you in the warm,

There is nowhere I can go and not find you.

I feel you all day long, I feel you late at night,

I feel you in the dark, I feel you in the light,

There is nowhere I can go and not find you.

I feel you when I sing, I feel you when I cry,

I feel you breathing me, I feel you when I sigh,

I feel you everywhere, inside every cell

there is no place here that you do not dwell

I Feel You Everywhere.

I feel you in my words, I feel you in my love,

I feel you all around, I feel you up above,

I feel you everywhere, inside every cell

there is no place here that you do not dwell

I Feel You Everywhere.

Chorus.

I feel you in my womb, I feel you in my breast,

I feel you in the east, I feel you in the west,

I feel you everywhere, inside every cell

there is no place here that you do not dwell

I Feel You Everywhere.

I feel you in the Earth, I feel you in the clay,

I feel you when I work, I feel you when I pray,

I feel you everywhere, inside every cell

there is no place here that you do not dwell

I Feel You Everywhere.

Learn More from These Resources

Neu, Diann L. Return Blessings: Eco-feminist Liturgies Renewing the Earth. Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press, 2002.

Roberts, Elizabeth, and Elias Amidon. Earth Prayers: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1991.

Sayre, April Pulley. Thank You, Earth: A Love Letter to Our Planet. New York: HarperCollins, 2018.

© 2022 Diann L. Neu, dneu@hers.com, adapted from Stirring WATERS: Feminist Liturgies for Justice.