2010 oraciones por Africa y biodiversidad

As 2010 was the International Year of Biodiversity we especially encouraged organizing prayers around this theme. At the same time, churches were encouraged to pray for and with people in Africa, where biodiversity and human welfare are…

Tiempo para la Creación 2010

Al celebrarse en 2010 el Año Internacional de la Biodiversidad invitamos especialmente a que se organicen oraciones sobre este tema. Al mismo tiempo, las iglesias están invitadas a orar por y con los pueblos en Africa, donde la biodiversidad y la situación humana están amenazadas por el cambio climático.

Oraciones de Africa

Oración por el medio ambiente

Dios bondadoso,
te damos gracias por los dones de tu creación:

por nuestro mundo,
los cielos hablan de tu gloria;

por nuestra tierra, su belleza y sus recursos,
por el rico patrimonio del que disfrutamos.

Oramos:

por aquellos que toman decisiones sobre los recursos de la tierra,
por que utilicemos tus dones de forma responsable;

por aquellos que trabajan en la tierra y el mar, y en la industria,
por que puedan disfrutar los frutos de sus esfuerzos
y maravillarse de tu creación;

por los artistas, científicos y visionarios,
para que a través de su trabajo puedan ver la creación con ojos nuevos.

Silencio

Te damos gracias por darnos vida;
por todos aquellos que enriquecen nuestra experiencia.

Te damos gracias por habernos llamado a celebrar tu creación.
Ayúdanos a venerar la vida en tu mundo.

Te damos gracias por tu amor redentor;
que tu palabra y sacramento
nos den fuerzas para amar como tú nos amas.

Silencio

Señor, Creador, danos vida nueva.
Jesús, Redentor, renuévanos.
Espíritu Santo, fortalécenos y guíanos.

Bendición

Que Dios, que estableció la danza de la creación,
que se maravilló ante los lirios del campo,
que convierte el caos en orden,
nos lleve a transformar nuestras vidas y la Iglesia
para que reflejen la gloria de Dios en la creación.

Por Andrew Warmback y Brian Wilinson, Network of Earthkeeping Christian Communities in South Africa.

Call to Worship

Come Holy Spirit
Inspire us

Come people of the earth 
We will worship together

You made the earth and the gifts of your creation
We praise you God

For the smiles of your children and the beauty of your people
We praise you God

For the chance to share with others
And to celebrate your glory
We praise you God

Litany for the Planet

Grasses multiply and wild flowers proliferate 
Because you God in Christ set the earth free

Vegetables colour the garden and herbs give aroma to the spiral 
Because you Spirit led us into the new creation

The lion and the lamb are making friends; the worms love the lettuce 
Because you Wisdom inspired new natural companions

The insects live in diverse croplands with birds sharing the spoils 
Because you Lord of Love taught us to share

Every part of the creation is significant from flies to mosquitoes 
Because you Creator of all, reasoned everything into being

Now teach us triune God to transcend ideology to sustainability 
Because Christ you are the peace between us

By Andrew Warmback and Brian Wilinson, Network of Earthkeeping Christian Communities in South Africa.

Great Spirit, piling up rocks into towering mountains,
when you stamp on the stone,
the dust rises and fills the land.

Father, you sew the heavens like cloth:
knit together what is below.

Caller-forth of the branching trees,
you bring forth the shoots that stand erect.

Wonderful one, you live in the midst of the sheltering rocks.
You give rain to humankind.

Hear us, O Lord!
Show mercy when we beg you.

Gracious One, you are on high with the spirits of the great.

You raise the grass-covered hills above the earth and create the rivers.

Shona prayer, Zimbabwe. The Prayers of African Religion, John Mbiti, © 1975, SPCK, London, UK, [in the United States, Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY, USA] pages 148-49.

Prayer from Nigeria

God of Heaven and earth,
you have blessed us with the works of your hands,
The tall mountains and deep blue seas
Even wonderful creatures to adorn it
And have given us dominion over all of them
Help us to preserve and appreciate this gifts that others may benefit
Even generations to come, this we pray
through Jesus Christ, our Lord and the Holy Spirit
one God now and for ever.
Amen.

By Chukwuemeka Roderick Oji, Preach Water Foundation

Prayers for Biodiversity

Being 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity, please see below some prayers around this theme. Please do share any prayers you may write with us.

Creator God,
we pray for our brothers and sisters of the air: chickadees, cardinals, blue jays, owls, crows, seagulls…
Give us a sign through them to decrease the pollution in the air we breathe.
Creator God, let us pray.

Creator God, we pray for our brothers and sisters of water: shells, algae, salmons, trouts, frogs…
Wake our compassion at the sight of their wounds so that we cease polluting the water.
Creator God, let us pray.

Creator God, we pray for our brothers and sisters of the earth: squirrels, deers, maples, the pine trees, the tomato plants and the worms…
May their humility and simplicity inspire us to live according to your will.
Creator God, let us pray.

Creator God, we pray for the leaders and ministers, for mayors and presidents of companies. May they hear the call from God through other creatures and make sustainable, wise decisions.
Creator God, let us pray.

Creator God, we pray for our community.
We ask you the courage to act regarding our environment and not to succumb to the temptation of wasting.
Creator God, let us pray.

By the Green Church Project, Montréal, Canada

God of wisdom,
showing us your love in the rising sun and waning tide,
you grace Earth with life in all its variety.
Every thing has meaning, is blessing;
every one is charged with care
for the smallest creature
to the ocean’s depth.

Grant us wisdom
to know your ways of love and gentle kindness.
Give us the mind to learn what we do not know
but long to understand
so that we may honor and nurture
all that makes us one with you.

Amen

By Diane Lopez Hughes, Franciscan associate of the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis