Winds of Change, an autumn equinox reflection and prayer

Prayer for the Autumn Equinox
September 23, 2019

As I met with two different forest church groups on Sunday, September 22, my attention kept returning to the wind. It was stronger than a breeze: it made the treetops sway, and sometimes drowned out my voice as I spoke. It was the last day of summer, the day before the autumn equinox, and the temperature was downright hot with a serving of humidity to go with the sunshine. But the wind was not a summer wind. It was the kind of wind one experiences in autumn. It was the wind of change blowing in a new season, new weather patterns. 

We are, right now, in the middle of a week of climate action. A week when climate change is on the forefront of the news and of our minds. There was a Global Climate Strike last Friday, and another coming this Friday. There is the UN Climate Summit happening in New York. And there are countless smaller events happening all over to highlight the issues that we have for far too long pushed to the back burner. 

I hope the winds of change are blowing through our towns and cities, and through the halls of power. I pray that these winds of change are bringing with them new patterns of being and a new season of action. The equinox is a liminal space, a threshold between what was and what is yet to come. Liminal spaces are pregnant with possibility. May we have the courage to heed the winds of change. To let go of our unhealthy past, so that we are unburdened to embrace a new future that is not only sustainable for all, but regenerative for so much of what is broken. 

Here is my prayer for today:

God of the seasons, 
We come to you on this liminal day: 
The day that marks the balance 
between light and dark, 
And the turning from 
From summer’s fullness to autumn’s surrender.
We stand at this threshold, 
Full to overflowing with the goodness of summer,
Ready, yet not ready to let go of what was,
And to embrace what lies ahead.
As hard as it can be, teach us to surrender.
In this age of climate crisis and mass extinction
Help us to let go of our dependence on fossil fuels.
Help us to let go of our rampant consumerism. 
Help us to let go of our disposable lifestyle.
Help us to let go of our illusions of control.
May we surrender to your love for all the earth. 
May we trust in enough rather than
Grasping for more.
In our letting go, may we know the freedom
Of abundant life. 
Amen.

​- Wendy Janzen