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An Ecological Lord’s Prayer
Our nurturing God, present in the entire cosmos, Blessed are your names: Life and Love. May your way of love and your desire for life be available to all creatures all lands, all waters, and skies. Provide for us all that we need for life, through healthy soil and water, abundant gardens, food forests, and regenerative agriculture. Forgive us when we exploit the earth, over-fish the seas, pollute the skies, and generally overstep healthy boundaries with our neighbours. Move us into living a way of peace that heals the heart of all creation and repairs the fabric of life. Lead us away from greedy ways: lives of consumerism and excess, and deliver us from apathy and inaction. For we want to be faithful to your vision of a life of kinship, reconciliation, and love. Today and each new day, amen. - Wendy Janzen
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September 1st marks the first day of the liturgical "Season of Creation." This prayer was written in honour of this season that highlights our relationship with the natural world and the importance of widening the circle of our worship words and practices to include all creation.
We give thanks this day for the sun, moon, and stars, lighting our way, illuminating beauty, energizing all life. We give thanks this day for the ground beneath us, solid rock and living soil, foundation and fertility, supporting and sustaining. We give thanks this day for the water of life, rain and rivers, oceans and glaciers, flowing and hydrating. We give thanks this day for sky, air, and wind, animating breath, sacred interchange, inspiring and connecting. For all four elements and the ways they work together, for all creatures, for all places, for life and death, we offer our deepest gratitude to Creator of all. Amen. - Wendy Janzen Last Sunday I went
to bird church, or maybe it was river church. Either way, I was greeted by gulls, mallards, heron, cedar wax wings, and approached by Mystery. There were flowers offering praise and beauty in purples and gold. The sky opened space for us, the constant flow of the river whispered ageless truths. I wandered prayerfully then returned and waited, wondering who would offer the benediction. I suspected it might be gull, perched proudly on a rock in the center of the river. But, no. Soundlessly, a single yellow leaf spun down from above, swirling to a resting place in front of my feet: Go in peace. - Wendy Janzen  Grounding Practice
In the spirit of knowing that everything can be a prayer or spiritual practice when we bring that intention to it, I will be posting some short, simple practices you can try anytime in your day to ground you and connect you with the Earth and with God’s sacred presence. Take off your shoes and allow your bare feet to connect to the holy ground you are standing on. Stand still. Wiggle your toes. Feel the earth and note its temperature, texture, etc. Imagine roots extending from your feet into the ground, connecting, rooting, grounding you, supporting you, anchoring you. Receive the gifts this place has to offer. Give thanks for your feet, and for the earth. Grounding Practice
In the spirit of knowing that everything can be a prayer or spiritual practice when we bring that intention to it, I will be posting some short, simple practices you can try anytime in your day to ground you and connect you with the Earth and with God’s sacred presence. Find a place outdoors to lay down, then do a quick scan of your emotions: what are you feeling right now? Next, do a quick body scan: where do you feel that emotion, or where are you holding tension? Be curious and compassionate with what you are feeling. Relax, release, and allow the earth to hold you and all you are holding. Stay there as long as you are able, or until you are filled with a sense of peace or contentment. End by offering a word or gesture of gratitude, or a prayer. ECO-SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
In her book Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer has a chapter called ‘The Gift of Strawberries.’ She writes, "Strawberries first shaped my view of a world full of gifts simply scattered at your feet. A gift comes to you through no action of your own, free, having moved toward you without your beckoning. It is not a reward; you cannot earn it, or call it to you, or even deserve it. And yet it appears. Your only role is to be open-eyed and present. Gifts exist in a realm of humility and mystery – as with random acts of kindness, we do not know their source." (p 23-24) Reading “The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:12 Practice During strawberry season, set aside some time to savour a locally grown strawberry. (This practice can be done with other locally grown fruit or vegetables in season.) If you can, pick it yourself. If not, enjoy one from the market or a friend's garden. Hold it gently and reverently in your hands. Pause to give thanks for it – thanks to God and thanks to the plant, the soil, the rain, the sun. Examine its shape and rich colour. Smell it. Feel its texture and delicate skin. Finally, take a bite and taste it. Savour it slowly, enjoying the juicy sweetness. Reflection Take time to reflect on and appreciate the gift of this strawberry. Consider how it connects you to the land on which it grew. Consider how it offers both nourishment and pleasure. Consider how, once you ate it, it became part of you. If you wish, spend some time journaling your reflections, or honouring the experience by offering a prayer, writing a poem, painting a picture, etc. Blessing Blessed be the earth for providing this gift. Blessed be the sun for helping it to grow. Blessed be the wind and birds for carrying its seeds. Blessed be the rain for watering its roots. Blessed be God, giver of all good gifts. - Wendy Janzen Outside the flimsy walls my body feels the chill of this new day. I could have stayed under the covers, cozy and comfortable, dozing and content. But out here, in the open, I awaken - here is a living world where flowers dot the forest floor, breeze makes trees dance, dew sparkles on grass - delightful and gracious hosts to us visiting guests, gifts so easily missed by us indoor beings. God of wild beings and wild places, thank you for the birds and their exquisite songs, the variety of green, refreshing mornings that make us feel alive, awed and amazed at the world beyond our sheltered lives. May our encounters with places of wild beauty and the creatures who call them home expand our hearts, minds, imaginations. May we be open to your expansive presence, and may it expand our love and care for all creation. May we take time to pay attention to and find delight in the lives of those with feather & fur, fins & scales, and learn their names, sounds, habitats, and needs. May we remember you created and blessed them, and that you made an everlasting covenant with the land, all wild creatures, and us. May we love the world in each small detail, and also in its wonderfully complex fullness. May we tread lightly and leave no trace. Bless our summer travels and encounters. May they transform us into new creations. Amen - Wendy Janzen  Blessed be the sun's warming power
energizing all that exists. Blessed be the joyous flowers raising their beautiful faces to the sun. Blessed be the the nesting birds singing in each morning. Blessed be the vernal ponds nurseries of new life. Blessed be my place within this beloved community, giving and receiving the gifts of life. - Wendy Janzen On April 29, Burning Bush Forest Church became a provisional church in Mennonite Church Eastern Canada. For the occasion, I shared a prayer that I wrote. Here are some excerpts:
Creator of the Cosmos, Christ Incarnate, Spirit who inspires: Like trees in a forest, grains of sand on a beach, birds in a flock, and cells in a body, help us remember that we are a part of something much bigger than ourselves. In your wisdom and love you designed us and all that exists for connection and interdependence. We give you thanks for watersheds and solar systems, microclimates and biomes, congregations and area churches, among whom we find community... I invite you to take some time while out on a walk, in a park, or in your yard, to reflect on being part of something bigger than yourself. Consider the ways your life is connected to the earth, water, and sky. Reflect on your place in our watershed/ecosystem, and your interdependence within the web of life. Contemplate how your faith and soul is nurtured by being part of a faith community. Give thanks for the blessings that come from these connections. - Wendy Janzen Easter sunrise prayer
Divine Presence, Midwife of spring: Awaken us to your presence within and around us this holy morning. May we be alive to the mystery and wonder of this new day, and be reminded that each sunrise is a proclamation of resurrection. Amen. - Wendy Janzen |
AuthorReflections, poetry, prayers, and resources written by Wendy Janzen and occasional guests. Archives
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