September 1 is the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. It also marks the beginning of the Season of Creation (September 1 to October 4), a period during which Christians around the world celebrate creation through prayer, action, and advocacy.
To mark this day, and this season, CPJ offers this prayer for the care of creation. We are also hosting a national prayer chain, Prayers for Creation, September 20-27, 2019. We hope you’ll join us.
All of creation belongs to You, God.
We come before you in humble gratitude for the sustaining abundance of the Earth.
And yet we mourn the calamity and chaos that has befallen creation as a result of human greed and selfishness.
On this, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation,
We pray for the Earth and all that inhabit it; for the atmosphere and the oceans and all that have life. We pray for our brothers and sisters in the North, South, East, and West. For the creatures that roam the earth, swim in the seas, and soar through the skies. We pray for the plants too, those upon which we rely for food, shelter, and indeed the air that we breath.
We pray for leaders in society – politicians, as well as diplomats, activists, and business and community leaders. We pray especially for those convened for the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit later this month and ask that by your grace they will respond with urgency, resolve, and resources to halt the devastation of runaway climate change.
With broken hearts for the harm we have caused, we pray especially for the children of the world. For the youth leading the call to preserve the livability of your wondrous creation. Grant them courage and wisdom and help us to meet them with the ambition necessary to ensure their future, and the future of generations to come.
We lay our grief and our fears before you. For in you, we have hope and we have faith. Guide us, oh God, as we continue to work for love, justice, and the flourishing of all creation.
Amen.
