Yesterday was Earth Day, centered within what some of us call “Earth Week.” I am lucky to be on retreat right now, listening to bird song and woodpecker drumming and wind. Gratitude for this moment and the greening trees draws my heart closer to God to see wonders in the smallest budding leaf.
Creator of the Universe,
who is making Heaven and Earth,
let all that lives tell out your glory.
Rocks and hills,
ocean depths and craggy peaks,
the wind that caresses them,
all join to sing out your Holy Name.
You planted your holy song, O Lord,
in laughing brook and rambling river
fed by rain before time.
Murmuring grass and field of wheat
whisper “Alleluia!”
as the beauty of the Lord passes by.
Thunder and rain, summer sun and shadow
work together with soil and seed
to prepare a table in the wilderness by your will.
The works of your Hand, O Mighty One,
testify to your steadfast kindness and mercy:
You crown all you see as good.
Forgive us for our trespasses against each other,
and against the Earth, our mother,
for seeking to hoard her riches
and denying her integrity.
May we walk gently upon this Earth,
that bears us like a chariot through space,
upheld by your wondrous Love.
May we care for all creation,
being dedicated and blessed by You,
called to serve its renewal and guard its unity.
By the power of the Holy Spirit,
she that moved over the waters of creation,
the waters of birth and life,
renew and recreate in us
a reverence for the Earth and all her inhabitants.
Lord Christ, center us in your wisdom,
and pour out your healing
over all we remember before You.
Amen.
The Rev. Leslie Scoopmire is a retired teacher and a priest in the Diocese of Missouri. She is priest-in-charge of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Ellisville, MO. She posts daily prayers at her blog Abiding In Hope, and collects spiritual writings and images at Poems, Psalms, and Prayers.