Heatwaves and Forest Fires : A Prayer for the Climate and Ecological Emergency (Draft)
Father of Creation,
God of Compassion.
Our world warms,
Your world burns,
Our hearts ache,
As heatwaves and wildfires rampage and ransack,
Leaving a trail of
sweat and sorrow
death and destruction.
Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy.
Heatwaves and new record temperatures ,
A Conflagration of Chaos
We reap what we sow.
Fire and Flames
Through unrestrained capitalism
We reap what we sow
Father of Compassion,
God of Creation,
We know not how to pray,
Yet we pray,
And look to you,
Help us!
Father of Compassion,
God of Creation,
We lift up to you
the heatwaves in the UK,
forest fires in Europe,
Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy.
In the heatwave,
We lift up to you those who are vulnerable as temperatures rise,
We lift up to you those who dwell in housing which cannot keep cool.
We lift up to you emergency services who will face extra pressure.
Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
For those experiencing forest fires,
We lift up to you those whose homes have been destroyed,
We lift up to you those feeling scared.
Christ have mercy,
Lord have mercy.
We lift up to you those who are fighting the fires,
We lift up to you local and national leaders,
Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy.
We grieve the rise in temperatures,
The risk it poses and the deaths it will bring.
We grieve the loss of forests,
Destroyed by the flames.
We lament the death of wildlife
Destroyed by the wildfire and rising temperatures.
Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy.
Father of creation,
We reap what we sow,
May these heatwaves and fires wake us up to our direction of travel,
May these heatwaves and fires expose the dark forces that put their foot on the pedal of climate breakdown,
May these heatwaves and fires lead to sustained action from those in power to adapt to what will be and avoid the worst of what may be.
Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy.
Father of Creation,
God of Compassion,
Calm the raging fires,
Cool our soaring heat,
Calm our anxious hearts,
Renew in us a commitment to justice and peace,
Until that day when death will be no more.
Amen
-Swales , July 2022
