O God, our Creator and Redeemer, we come to you perplexed, contrite, worried, searching, tired, in need of your presence to restore our hope. We struggle to take the steps necessary to face the threat of climate change to your creation, both human and non-human. Yet even with all we have done, we fall short of what we must do.
Around us we see the impact of climate change upon the world community and your beautiful earth. Already our planet is changing and our neighbors are imperiled. We lift up those who face displacement by rising sea levels and storm surges: the island peoples who face loss of their homes, their sense of place and culture; the coastal peoples who must relocate before their communities are washed into the sea; the peoples confronting drought who can no longer grow sufficient crops to feed themselves; the peoples vulnerable to heat waves, particularly the elderly and children; the peoples sickened by vector-borne diseases as the warming climate expands the territory of insects; the peoples of the forests susceptible to fires; and all others whose lives have been altered negatively by climate change.
We lift up the people in our governments, civil society, corporations and labor unions, women’s organizations, universities and colleges, and all those wrestling with all we must do to transform our societies and economies. Grant them boldness of vision, audacity of spirit, and commitment to equity to move rapidly into a low-carbon future.
We lift up ourselves who must change our lifestyles and, in some cases, how we earn an income. In some of our communities, the scale of needed change will be daunting, and will require solutions drawing upon all our resources: spiritual, moral, social as well as economical. Grant us a spirit of solidarity and common purpose that will galvanize us to embrace what we must do. Amen.
