A Prayer for World Environment Day

World Environment Day is celebrated every year on 5 June. This year the theme is ‘accelerating land restoration, drought resilience & desertification’. This prayer is offered by Rev Gordon Scantlebury for your worship or personal prayer time leading up to World Environment Day, or at a time that suits your congregation.

Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel; for the LORD has an indictment against the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or loyalty, and no knowledge of God in the land. Swearing, lying, and murder, and stealing and adultery break out; bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns, and all who live in it languish; together with the wild animals and the birds of the air, even the fish of the sea are perishing. (Hosea 4: 1-3)

Let us pray:
Lord, our God,
Our human brokenness overflows into land, sea and sky.
Forgive us, O God.
Restore and heal us, we pray.
Our urban sprawl clears more bush land;
Our insatiable appetites mine and trawl, clear-fell and pollute, kill and destroy.
Forgive us, O God.
Restore and heal us, we pray.
And in all this we feel trapped.
Our modern human lifestyle has become an enemy to the planet we are part of. And it seems almost impossible to turn things around.
Forgive us, O God.
Restore and heal us, we pray.

(silence)

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and shouting.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool and the thirsty ground springs of water;
(Isaiah 35: 1,2,6,7)

We give thanks to you, O God,
That life is resilient and resurrection is always possible.
We give thanks:
for people replanting the lost places
Creating forest, bush and habitat.
For people saving animals from extinction
And re-introducing species back into their environments.
For those working for new ways in agriculture
To nurture the soil and the waters, and not poison them.
For community action in recycling and sustainable living.
For new technologies in renewable and sustainable energy.
For political leaders and others who value humanity and the life of this world
Above economies of greed and endless growth.
And we give you thanks for people of many faiths
Coming together in hope, prayer and yearning for a world that is good.
O Lord, may the deserts indeed blossom once more with new life And may your resurrection arrive within and without,
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.

Download the prayer as a pdf here, or click on the image below.