Pastoral Prayer for April 24, 2022

Please allow the words of this prayer to become your own.

Loving God,

on this Sunday closest to Earth Day,

I find myself deeply disturbed at our world’s

having to put battling climate change on the back burner

because of the war in Ukraine.

How ironic that broken humanity has chosen to engage in another war

when war is the greatest polluter of them all.

If humanity as a whole, and each of us individually,

stands in need of your coming into our present,

and walking back in time with us to heal hurtful memories,

then our planet stands in need of the same kind of healing.

The “catch” here is that you have called humankind

to be the stewards of your good creation,

your trusted representatives acting for you.

You’re not going to magically step in and do the work for us.

So until we get ourselves together,

and learn to renounce war. . .and revenge. . .and greed –

this planet is going to suffer the consequences of human brokenness.

So my prayer is that you inspire us individually and collectively

to allow ourselves to be healed by you, Loving God,

so that we may, in turn, become a powerful force

for the healing of our broken planet.

Amen.