A Prayer Service for Earth Day - Education for Justice

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ENVIRONMENT
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A Prayer Service for Earth Day, 2006
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Leader: Come, let us praise God for the gift of Creation.
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All: Creator God, we praise you for the grandeur of the universe.
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We praise you for the gift of this Earth.
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We praise you for the land, and we praise you for the seas.
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We praise you for the great miracle of teeming life on our prolific planet.
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We praise you for the cycle of growth and for the beauty of bursting blooms in the Spring time.
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We praise you green growth of summer and for the holy harvest in the Fall.
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We praise you for the infinity of different creatures on the land and in the sea, each unique in its own way, each
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fitting into the complex ecosystems you have gifted us with, each dependent on each other and the whole.
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We praise you, our Creator.
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Grace us with a sense of our responsibilities to preserve and protect your precious gift,
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This Garden, this Earth.
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We praise you, Creator God, and we offer you our hearts and hands for the preservation of your Creation.
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Reflections:
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Because the earth was entrusted to human stewardship, the natural world is not just a resource to be exploited
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but also a reality to be respected and reverenced as a gift and trust from God. It is the task of human beings to
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care for, preserve and cultivate the treasures of Creation. . . The natural resources of Creation need to be
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protected against the harmful policies of some industrialized nations and increasingly powerful transnational
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corporations which can lead to deforestation, despoliation of the land, pollution of rivers by mining, over-fishing
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of profitable species, or fouling the fishing-grounds with industrial and nuclear waste. We must respond to the
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concerns of scientists about the warming of the global commons; the world’s countries must work together,
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taking the necessary and responsible steps to curb this trend, for the good of all peoples and of Creation itself.
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Pope John Paul II, November 22, 2001
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At its core, global climate change is not about economic theory or political platforms, nor about partisan
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advantage or interest group pressures. It is about the future of God’s creation and the one human family. It is ○
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about protecting both “the human environment” and the natural environment. It is about our human stewardship
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of God’s creation and our responsibility to those who come after us. With these reflections, we seek to offer a
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word of caution and a plea for genuine dialogue as the United States and other nations face decisions about
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how best to respond to the challenges of global climate change. . .All nations share the responsibility to address
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the problem of global climate change. But historically the industrial economies have been responsible for the
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highest emissions of greenhouse gases that scientists suggest are causing the warming trend. Also, significant
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wealth, technological sophistication, and entrepreneurial creativity give these nations a greater capacity to find
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useful responses to this problem. Energy resource adjustments must be made both in the policies of richer
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countries and in the development paths of poorer ones.
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U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, June, 2001
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1 / 4 February 2006

2. ○
ENVIRONMENT
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Litany for a Changing World
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Reader One: The Earth’s climate is changing and around the world we see the signs of the times.
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The seas are weeping and the land is in grief.
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Response: God, give us the grace to help heal this world and to reverse the effects of climate change.
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(Repeat Response after each reader.)
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Reader Two: Everywhere on Earth, ice is changing. The famed snows of Kilimanjaro have melted more than 80
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percent since 1912. Most central and eastern Himalayan glaciers could virtually disappear by 2035.
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Reader Three: Arctic sea ice has thinned significantly over the past half century, and its mass has declined by about
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10 percent in the past 30 years. NASA’s readings show the edges of Greenland’s ice sheet shrinking.
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Reader Four: Spring ice breakup in the Northern Hemisphere now occurs 9 days earlier than it did in the last century,
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and autumn freeze-up 10 days later, causing the thawing of permanent frost in places such as Alaska.
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Reader Five: From the Arctic to Peru, from Switzerland to the equatorial glaciers of Irian Jaya in Indonesia, massive
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ice fields, huge glaciers, and sea ice are disappearing, effecting animals and humans.
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Reader Six: In the Antarctica, the sea ice has shrunk by a fifth, making it more difficult for penguins and birds of
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the region to survive. In Canada, the winter ice melts 2-3 weeks earlier than usual, and polar bears are
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having difficulty finding enough food.
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Reader Seven: In the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, as in many other reefs, the warmer ocean water is destroying
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coral and other organisms. In the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, the sea turtles are being effected by
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the warmer weather and their birth patterns are changing.
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Reader Eight: In Argentina and other countries, rising temperatures and water shortages have sparked massive
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wildfires in the last decade. In Utah, and in other areas in western U.S., the weather has been increas
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ingly dry and local water sources are lower than normal
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Reader Nine: In poor countries in Africa, such as Kenya and Tanzania, warmer weather has increased mosquitoes
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which carry malaria. Poor countries and people in poverty will have to bear much of the burden of
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climate change, as they live in vulnerable areas and have few if any resources to cope with its effects.
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Closing Prayer: The seas are weeping and the land is in grief. But we are called to be signs of hope in this world,
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to be co-creators with God of a global community where the earth is respected and cherished.
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We ask our Creator to give us discernment and to guide us as we become active members of the
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human family, working with our sisters and brothers to change the destructive trends that are
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causing global warming. We have been given a great gift, the richness of Creation, and as we
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celebrate the earth on this day, we pledge to protect this gift of God. Hear us Creator,
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and be with us every day as we seek to restore and preserve your Creation. Amen.
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Factual Data from National Geographic web site articles, www.nationalgeographic.com
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2 / 4 February 2006

3. ○
ENVIRONMENT
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Frequently Asked Questions About Global Warming
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What causes global warming? neath them. But even the richest continent is threatened.
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That is because one of the results of protracted global
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Here’s how the greenhouse effect works: The sun’s rays warming would be more violent and frequent weather
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arrive in the atmosphere as ultraviolet radiation, which disturbances, including hurricanes, cyclones, and tornados.
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comes in short waves so it slips right through the atmo- North America, the continent with the greatest frequency
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sphere to the surface. When the rays hit ground and water, of severe weather, can expect to be ravaged. As well, the
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they turn into heat, or infrared radiation, which reflects heat stresses that accompany hot spells now would
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back out into the atmosphere as long waves. Those waves become greater and affect more people. The kind of heat
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are caught by greenhouse gases, which are all composed waves that killed hundreds of people in Chicago in 1995
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of molecules that have three or more atoms. will become more frequent. Those same stresses affect
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food animals and food plants as well, and would disrupt our
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efforts to feed ourselves.
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Over ninety-nine percent of the atmosphere is composed
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of smaller molecules. These “big” three-atom molecules
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catch the “big” waves of infrared rising into the atmo- Drought and flooding are already on the increase and
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bringing their disruptions to human populations, plants, and
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sphere, trapping the heat and warming the planet. The
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problem now is that human activities are releasing too animals. Global warming stresses also lower the resistance
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many three-atom molecules into the atmosphere, enhanc- of all living beings to disease and infections. Mosquitoes
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ing the natural greenhouse effect. especially would love the increase in their hot humid
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habitat. Disease-carrying mosquitoes and other parasites
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What are the greenhouse gases and where do they would thrive. They are already climbing to higher altitudes
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come from? and latitudes under the current warming.
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The major greenhouse gas that humans are adding to the Can we stop global warming?
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atmosphere is carbon dioxide, CO2, which remains in the
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atmosphere a century or more. The second largest green- The best science indicates that to stabilize the climate, we
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house gas being emitted by humans is methane, CH4, must rapidly reduce human greenhouse emissions on the
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order of 70%. Because the climate resembles a speeding
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which is around twenty times more powerful than CO2.
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Much of this comes from agricultural sources such as train that takes a long time to slow, the longer we wait the
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farm animals and rice paddies. Roughly three-quarters of greater the risk that we will set in motion natural forces
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we cannot stop. We can slow and then stop the train of
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human-caused greenhouse warming comes from the
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burning of fossil fuels – coal, oil, and gas. Most of the global warming by transforming our energy system from
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remainder comes from deforestation, primarily of the one based on fossil fuels to one based on natural, renew-
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able energies including sun, wind, tides, plant growth, and
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tropical rainforests.
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geothermal energy.
Why is global warming harmful? Wouldn’t it be ○
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We have the technology, but applying it will take a large
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pleasant to have milder temperatures, especially
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in the temperate and frigid zones? investment by government and business. In shifting to
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clean energy, we will also eliminate much air pollution, and
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build new industries and a new basis of sustainable pros-
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Global warming will have winners and losers, but most of
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us will be losers. Some of the hardest hit regions will be in perity. If we move quickly to clean energy, stop deforest-
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the developing nations of the tropics, particularly in Africa, ing the tropics, and move to more sustainable agriculture,
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we will eliminate most greenhouse gases, and avert
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and since this is primarily a result of gases emitted by the
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rich nations, this is a global justice concern. Other big climatic catastrophe. We are well up to the task. We just
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losers will be inhabitants of tropical islands who could lose have to recognize its critical importance to our future, and
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we have to work as a united force for the common good.
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their homes to rising seas and the Inuit peoples of the
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Arctic whose environment will melt right out from under-
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Excerpted from Climate Solutions: www.climatesolutions.org.
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3 / 4 February 2006

4. ○
ENVIRONMENT
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A Continuum of Actions: Do What You Can
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St. Elizabeth Roman Catholic Church:
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Stewards of God’s Creation
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Simply start with where you are to reduce Global Warm-
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ing. Consider your transportation. Where are you on the The parish of St. Elizabeth Church, in a community just
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continuum of driving alone wherever you go, to not owning
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south of Detroit, has truly exemplified what it means to
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a car? Can you imagine taking one step (in the direction of care for Earth and address the problems of climate change
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driving less) along the continuum? Perhaps car pool to work and energy use. Their congregational “Stewards of God’s
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once a week. Or, offer the Earth a Sabbath – rest your
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Creation” group began in 1994, with the enthusiastic sup-
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automobile by carpooling, biking, or walking on Sundays. port of their pastor, the Rev. Charles Morris. Initially, they
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focused on environmental fairs and other programs to raise
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Or, take food choices. Can you consider eating one less
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awareness in the parish at large.
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meal of meat every week--or even two? Try purchasing
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locally grown produce, or locally raised meat: the average
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In 1997, they carried out an energy audit of their facilities
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piece of food today travels 1,200 miles simply to reach
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(church, school, and rectory) and the congregation com-
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your plate. For a very helpful article which fully describes mitted to various efficiency measures, ultimately saving them
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steps along an actual “food choices continuum,” see
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thousands of dollars in utility bills. After attending the 1999
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www.earthministry.org/food_and_farming.htm and click on kick-off conference for the Michigan Interfaith Climate
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“The Great Hunter-Gatherer Continuum.” Or check out Change Campaign, Rev. Morris led a Bible study based on
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the book Food and Faith: Justice, Joy, and Daily Bread,
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the National Council of Churches’ resource “It’s God’s
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edited by EarthMinistry’s Michael Schut. World: Christians, Care for Creation and Global
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Warming.”(see http://www.nccecojustice.org)
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The Center for a New American Dream’s website,
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www.newdream.org, features a program called “Turn the The actions of the parish were also featured during a “Liv-
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Tide,” which highlights 9 personal actions to protect the ing on Earth” National Public Radio segment later that year.
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environment, with web-based calculators that tally and
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What stands out about this parish is that they didn’t stop
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track individual and collective impact, giving feedback on there, but moved on to promote alternative energy sources
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efforts to be a good steward of the earth.(See the follow- by installing a small wind turbine and solar panels on the
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ing websites for information on reducing emissions:
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rectory’s roof. During a interfaith press conference in June
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www.zedfactory.com; www.rmi.org .) 2001, Rev. Morris climbed a ladder to the rooftop and
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blessed both the solar panels and windmill, with special
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Speak Out for Environmental Justice
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prayers composed for the day. No one there will soon for-
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Just as important as individuals adjusting their consumer get how the blades of the wind turbine caught a puff of
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behavior is the need for individuals to work together to wind and began to move at the very moment they were
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advocate for the kind of society where consumer choices
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blessed!
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are not environmentally damaging. We must not overlook
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the importance of political activity leading to systemic Since that time, the blessings and example of St. Elizabeth
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change. When we speak out as advocates, we join the
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have continued: the congregation has received grants from
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the State of Michigan to add to their clean energy and effi- ○
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the voiceless, addressing those who hold power. The proph- ciency capabilities as a demonstration site for schools and
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ets of the Hebrew Bible and Jesuse voiced their dismay
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other civic groups. The media attention they have received
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over those lands polluted and harmed under human greed helps to spread the message and raise awareness well be-
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and warfare. We who hold power (as consumers) and yond the religious community. The parish members have
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have access to power (via political leaders or corporations)
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become active in advocating for state and national legisla-
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must join our voices with those human and nonhuman voices tion to protect the environment. This parish is an example
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that have been overpowered or silenced. Vote carefully, of people of faith doing the work of justice.
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write letters to elected officials, support and join with or-
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ganizations advocating for the kinds of systemic changes What can your parish, school, or faith community do
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justice demands. Take responsibility for Creation. to safeguard the precious gift of Creation?
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4 / 4 February 2006