April 2023 WATERritual
“Invest in Our Planet: Earth Day”
Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 7:30 PM EDT
You can watch the recording of this WATERritual here on YouTube.
Preparation: Have near you spring flowers or herbs.
Welcome and Call to Gather
Earth Day, celebrated annually on April 22, is a reminder to Invest in Our Planet and to reflect on how we are caring for it so generations to come can live here. It provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate support for environmental protection and climate justice.
Today we gather to give thanks for Planet Earth. Scientific exploration and research of our universe has revealed that Earth is the only planet in our solar system that can sustain life, and all life on Earth is interconnected. Each life form relies on another within our solar system for life sustenance.
Humans need the basic food, shelter, clothing, and community to survive, and these are found on Earth. Yet human greed results in hoarding and taking much more than is needed for survival. As a result, some have taken more than they need while others are left without. Humans compulsion to stockpile more results in depletion of Earth’s abundant resources, which in turn causes us to create synthetic substitutes to mimic Earth’s natural resources and contaminate the ecosystems. We destroy the forests, contaminate the water supply, over-extract fossil fuel, and pollute the atmosphere in total disregard for the only planet that can sustain our life.
As the impact of our accumulative actions change Earth, we experience an adverse domino effect as the ozone layer is being destroyed, causing more of the sun’s heat to penetrate the atmosphere, resulting in climate change and global warming. As a result, Earth is losing land mass from land degradation, and wildlife is being displaced and becoming extinct. The Arawak and the Carib Indians, natives to the Caribbean, have almost become extinct by actions of the European colonizers. If we do not halt the speed at which our actions are destroying Earth, all life on Earth will soon be at the brink of extinction and this beautiful and magnificent Planet Earth will be destroyed.
We gather here to remind ourselves that we are stewards of this Earth and we must protect it. Even in this late hour, we can redirect our investment in Planet Earth to reverse the destructive path that we have created and ensure a future for ourselves and other generations as well as the life of other lifeforms that call Earth home. Let us look at the harm we have done, and work to undo it to save ourselves and our planet. Let us pray and work so that the children may play and live safely.
Song: “Where do the Children Play” by Cat Stevens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBCJhNiKhFE&ab_channel=YusufVEVO
Well I think it’s fine, building jumbo planes
Or taking a ride on a cosmic train
Switch on summer from a slot machine
Yes, get what you want to if you want, ’cause you can get anything
I know we’ve come a long way
We’re changing day to day
But tell me, where do the children play?
Well, you roll on roads
Over fresh green grass
For your lorry loads
Pumping petrol gas
And you make them long
And you make them tough
But they just go on and on
And it seems that you can’t get off
Oh, I know we’ve come a long way
We’re changing day to day
But tell me, where do the children play?
Well you’ve cracked the sky, scrapers fill the air
But will you keep on building higher
‘Til there’s no more room up there?
Will you make us laugh?
Will you make us cry?
Will you tell us when to live?
Will you tell us when to die?
I know we’ve come a long way
We’re changing day to day
But tell me, where do the children play?
Litany: Holy Is Your Creation from Stirring Waters: Feminist Liturgies for Justice by Diann L Neu
Climate change is real, and scientists have shown that humans are causing it.
All (muted and saying in our own space): Holy is your Creation.
We can make a difference and slow climate change down.
All: We are the stewards of your Creation.
Half of the world’s forests no longer exist.
All: Holy is your Creation.
We can use cloth instead of paper products.
All: We are the stewards of your Creation.
In the past forty years humans have directly or indirectly killed half of all existing wildlife.
All: Holy is your Creation.
We can visit a national or state park to remember the holiness of the natural and wild world.
All: We are the stewards of your Creation.
Sea levels are rising, and by 2100 the White House could have an ocean view.
All: Holy is your Creation.
We can choose public transportation and reduce our carbon footprint.
All: We are the stewards of your Creation.
We can reduce and reuse before recycling.
All: 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.
All: 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.
All: Holy is your Creation; we will be the stewards.
We can redirect our investment in Earth to reverse the destructive path that we have created. We can save ourselves, our children, and our planet.
All: Holy is your Creation; we will be the stewards.
Listen to Wise Words from Our Sisters
“There is only one path to survival and liberation for nature, women, and men, and that is the ecological path to harmony, sustainability, and diversity.”
—Vandana Shiva, in Thinking Green! by Petra Kelly
“Breaking the spirit of nature today through rape and violence done to the Earth, and breaking the spirit of nineteenth-century slave women through rape and violence, constitute crimes against nature and against the human spirit… This defilement of nature’s body and of black women’s bodies is sin, since its occurrence denies that black women and nature are made in the image of God. Its occurrence is an assault upon the spirit of creation in women and nature.”
—Delores Williams, “Sin, Nature, and Black Women’s Bodies,” in Ecofeminism and the Sacred edited by Carol Adams
“To think green is nothing less than to heal the human spirit and completely reallocate our resources and priorities. We need nothing less if we are to survive and flourish in the twenty-first century.”
—Petra Kelly, in Thinking Green!
Chant: “The Earth, the Air, the Fire, the Water” sung by Libana
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOyvkGXjRos&ab_channel=WiccaNoitaisBack
The Earth, the Air, the Fire, the Water
Return, return, return, return (2x)
Haye, haye, haye, haye
Hayo, hayo, hayo, hayo (2x)
“Is it not remarkable how we manage to live our lives in apparent normality, while, at every moment, human civilization and the existence of all forms of life on our planet are threatened with sudden annihilation? We seem to accept this situation calmly, as if it were to be expected… But soothing our anxiety by ignoring the constant danger of annihilation will not lessen the danger.”
—Helen Caldicott, in Nuclear Madness: What You Can Do!
“Our thoughts must be on how to restore to the Earth its dignity as a living being; how to stop raping and plundering it as a matter of course. We must begin to develop the consciousness that everything has equal rights because existence itself is equal. In other words, we are all here: trees, people, snakes, alike. …[B]eyond feeding and clothing and sheltering ourselves, even abundantly, we should be allowed to destroy only what we ourselves can re-create. We cannot re-create this world. We cannot re-create ‘wilderness.’ We cannot even, truly, re-create ourselves. Only our behavior can we re-create, or create anew.”
—Alice Walker, “Everything Is a Human Being,” in Living by the Word
“This Earth is my sister; I love her daily grace, her silent daring, and how loved I am, how we admire this strength in each other, all that we have lost, all that we have suffered, all that we know: we are stunned by this beauty, and I do not forget: what she is to me, what I am to her.”
—Susan Griffin, in Woman and Nature: The Roaring Inside Her
Chant: “The Earth, the Air, the Fire, the Water”
The Earth, the Air, the Fire, the Water
Return, return, return, return (2x)
Haye, haye, haye, haye
Hayo, hayo, hayo, hayo (2x)
Reflection | Small Group Sharing
What have you seen and heard? How will you invest in Planet Earth to keep it and us alive?
Song: “For the Beauty of the Earth”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aPN2bn-bgo&ab_channel=Lovemusic
For the beauty of the Earth
For the glory of the skies
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,
Refrain:
Lord of All to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise
- For the wonder of each hour
Of the day and of the night
Hill and vale and tree and flower
Sun and moon and stars of light Refrain: - For Thyself best gift Divine
To the world so freely given,
For that great, great love Divine
Peace on Earth and joy in heaven Refrain:
Prayers of the Faithful
Who needs our prayers and blessings? Tell us that we may pray.
Take Action to Invest in Earth. The Opportunities Are Endless!
- Use public transportation or bike for climate friendly alternatives to driving.
- Catch rainwater and use it to water the lawn and garden.
- Clean debris from the streets in your neighborhood, the beach, and other waterways.
- Save energy at home. Turn off lights and heating when you don’t need them.
- Be aware of your shopping habits:
- Avoid products with a lot of packaging.
- Use ecofriendly and environmentally safe products.
- Use cloth or paper shopping bags and in the event of plastic shopping bags always reuse before recycling.
- Use products that do not utilize fossil fuel.
- Support companies that use clean and renewable energy, and switch to solar, wind, and hydro power.
- Sign climate change related petitions.
- Take part in reforestation projects by donating or volunteering.
- As you become aware of the effects of climate change on our planet, be loud and spread your knowledge to get everyone’s attention on this important issue!!
Go Plant-based for Our Planet: Try a New Recipe
A recent study shows that the meat industry causes a lot of emissions, which is another argument for eating more vegetarian or vegan food. Cooking vegan is not that complicated. Especially different Spaghetti dishes are easy to cook without meat. Here is one example of how delicious it can be to go plant-based for our planet.
Spaghetti Aglio e olio
Time: 25min
Ingredients for 2 people:
- 250g Spaghetti
- 4 gloves of garlic
- 1 chili (or one small spoon chili flakes)
- 2 spoons parsley
- 50ml olive oil
- 1 spoon Italian seasoning
- ½ spoon salt
- 1 small spoon black pepper
First, cook the spaghetti according to the package directions. Then finely chop the garlic and parsley. Place both ingredients in a small bowl.
After the spaghetti is cooked, take a pan and heat it on the stove. Pour the olive oil into the pan and add the chopped garlic and parsley chunks from the small bowl.
Drain the noodles well and add them to the hot pan. Salt and pepper can be added while the noodles are in the pan. Then also add the chili flakes and the Italian seasoning to the pasta.
Finally, you can swivel the pan and turn the noodles in it, so that the spices are distributed. After all the ingredients have been distributed in the pan, a little olive oil can be added if necessary. The dish is now ready to serve. Bon Appetit.
Song: “Mother Earth” by Karliene
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caIo1UGSDgw&ab_channel=Karliene
Listen to the animals
Listen to the trees
Listen to the spirits of the Earth
Begging us please
Stop listening to greed
Listen to the rivers
Listen to the sea
Listen to the spirits of the deep
Begging us please
Stop listening to greed
She sent the drought to warn us
She sent the storm to scold us
But we don’t listen
We burn and we break
And we take and we take and we take
Till it’s too late
Oh, where did the beasts go?
Where did the trees go?
Where will man go?
When he has lost
The heartbeat beneath his feet?
Oh, this is our home
She gives us home
Mother Earth
Can you feel her heartbeat
Beneath your feet?
Heartbeat beneath your feet; Heartbeat beneath your feet
Listen to the animals
Listen to the trees
Listen to the spirits of the Earth
Begging us please
Stop listening to greed
Listen to the rivers
Listen to the sea
Listen to the spirits of the deep
Begging us please
Stop listening to greed
Listen to the animals
Listen to the trees
Listen to the spirits of the Earth
Begging us please
Stop listening to greed
Listen to the rivers
Listen to the sea
Listen to the spirits of the deep
Begging us please
Stop listening to greed
Sending Forth
I who am the source of all life,
I send you forth to manifest life for all the Earth.
Blessed be life.
I who am the beauty of all life,
I send you forth to manifest beauty for all the Earth.
Blessed be beauty.
I who am the power of all life,
I send you forth to manifest power for all the Earth.
Blessed be power.
I who am the truth of all life,
I send you forth to manifest truth for all the Earth.
Blessed be truth.
I who am the energy of all life,
I send you forth to manifest energy for all the Earth.
Blessed be energy.
© 2023 Diann L. Neu, dneu@hers.com, with Pamella Miller and Patrice Rupp
