Honoring Earth - UU Ministry for Earth

Honoring Earth

A Worship Resource

Prepared by Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth 1034 SW 13th Ave., Portland, OR 97205



? Copyright 2004, 2013 Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth

First Edition June 2004; Reformatted for CD delivery, 2007 Reformatted for Web delivery, 2013

Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth 1034 SW 13th Avenue Portland, OR 97205 503-595-9392

Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth is an independent organization related to the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Our mission is to facilitate and support the work of Unitarian Universalists, by affirming and promoting the seven principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association, including the seventh: "to affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are all a part." We do this by focusing on the theological, spiritual, and ethical aspects of human values and activities that affect the health and sustainability of living Earth.

Our vision is that Unitarian Universalists recognize and embrace the moral imperative to live in covenant with the web of life through personal, congregational, and denominational practices.

As you use these materials, we hope that you will make an opportunity to educate yourself and others about the important mission and work of Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth. Please feel welcome to contact us at office@ for information about our current programs.

This resource is made possible by the generosity of individual donors and congregations. Please consider making a donation today. Your gift will help UU Ministry for Earth develop additional resources. You may donate online or send your contribution to Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth, 1034 SW 13th Ave., Portland, OR 97205.

Thank you for your commitment to Earth ministry. Working together, we will transform our individual and congregational lives into acts of religious witness, discarding our harmful habits for new behaviors and practices that will sustain life on Earth.

This resource and additional materials are available on the UU Ministry for Earth website at . You are welcome to adapt the materials in this Manual to make it as easy as possible for you to design a curriculum for your congregation. If you use or adapt the materials, please credit the original authors when applicable and reference UU Ministry for Earth in any reprints or adaptations. We encourage you to print sparingly, using recycled paper and soy ink.

NOTE: Some URLs in the 2007 edition are not accessible in 2013. The URLs that are not currently found are shaded in the text. Links to similar websites are provided.

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Table of Contents Forward .......................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 7 Words for Opening & Lighting the Chalice ............................................................... 10 Closing Words............................................................................................................. 12 Prayers and Meditations............................................................................................. 14

Prayers .................................................................................................................................................... 14 Manitongquat's Prayer ......................................................................................................................... 14 A Closing Prayer to Follow Joys and Concerns .................................................................................. 15 Prayers for All Living Creatures ........................................................................................................... 16 Prayer of St. Basil ................................................................................................................................ 16 A Jewish Prayer of Praise for God's Creation ..................................................................................... 16 Prayer of Commitment, U.N. Environmental Sabbath Program .......................................................... 17 Taken from Black Elk's Prayer............................................................................................................. 17 An Ojibway Prayer ............................................................................................................................... 18 A Prayer of Thanksgiving & Blessing................................................................................................... 18

Meditations .............................................................................................................................................. 19

Drum, Dance, Chant and Song................................................................................... 21

Earth Jam ................................................................................................................................................ 21 Music Resources ..................................................................................................................................... 21 Circle of Song: Songs, Chants, and Dances for Ritual and Celebration ................................................. 22

Chanting............................................................................................................................................... 22 Musical Accompaniment for Chants or to Use Alone .......................................................................... 22 How To Work with Chants ................................................................................................................... 24 The Power of Dance................................................................................................................................ 24 The Sacred Circle Dance..................................................................................................................... 24 Chain/Line/Snake Dance ..................................................................................................................... 25 The Sacred Spiral Dance..................................................................................................................... 25 The Elm Dance ........................................................................................................................................ 25 New Words to Traditional Songs ............................................................................................................. 27 Sing Out for Creation ........................................................................................................................... 27 Been in the Storm So Long.................................................................................................................. 27

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Noah's Cargo ....................................................................................................................................... 29 Wade in the Water ............................................................................................................................... 28

Readings ...................................................................................................................... 30

We Are Part of the Earth ......................................................................................................................... 30 The Four Elements .................................................................................................................................. 31 The Island Within..................................................................................................................................... 31 Water Dance............................................................................................................................................ 32 There Is Religion in Everything Around Us ............................................................................................. 33 Deeply Woven Roots............................................................................................................................... 33 The Image of a Tree as Religious Icon ................................................................................................... 34 Let Us Plant Dates................................................................................................................................... 34 From the Poetry of Gwen Frostic ............................................................................................................ 35 Deep Ecology Platform............................................................................................................................ 36 From "Tintern Abbey" .............................................................................................................................. 36 Isaiah 24:4-5 ............................................................................................................................................ 37 The History of the Universe in 200 Words or Less.................................................................................. 37 Among the Stars ...................................................................................................................................... 37 How Lightly Might Earth Bear Man Forever ............................................................................................ 38 Wild Healing ............................................................................................................................................ 39 Connecting Wildness to Wildness ........................................................................................................... 40 We Are In This Together ......................................................................................................................... 40 Preamble to the Earth Charter................................................................................................................. 42 UUA General Assembly Ecological Resolutions, 1961-2012.................................................................. 43

Sermons....................................................................................................................... 44

Earth: Aspiring to a New Relationship ..................................................................................................... 44 Earth or "the earth" - What's in a Name? ................................................................................................ 48 REPENT!!! Excerpts from a Message for Advent.................................................................................... 49 The Environment and War....................................................................................................................... 52 The Living Water ..................................................................................................................................... 55 Tree of Life Sermon................................................................................................................................. 60 Earth Spirituality is a Many Splendored Thing ........................................................................................ 63 The Comforting Whirlwind: God and the Environmental Crisis Sermon ................................................. 67 Reverence for Life ................................................................................................................................... 72 The Body of God ..................................................................................................................................... 76 Wake Now, My Senses: The Religious Imperative for Earth Stewardship ............................................. 79

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Making the Earth Sacred Again............................................................................................................... 82 Two Homilies ........................................................................................................................................... 87 Mother in Green....................................................................................................................................... 90 Thinking About Nature: Do Environmental Ethics Matter?...................................................................... 93 The Mud and Dirt of Things ..................................................................................................................... 97 Fire and Emptiness: Unitarian Universalism and the Universe Story.................................................... 101

Worship Service Sampler ......................................................................................... 111

The Earth Our Mother............................................................................................................................ 111 The Man Who Planted Trees................................................................................................................. 118 An Apple To Keep ................................................................................................................................. 118 The Earth Is Our Mother........................................................................................................................ 119

Celebrations and Rituals .......................................................................................... 124

A Maypole Dance from Alaska .............................................................................................................. 124 We Are Made of Stardust ...................................................................................................................... 125

The Stardust Ritual - Outline of Content for One Person Leading the Stardust Ritual ..................... 125 The Stardust Ritual - Outline of Content for Six Persons Leading the Stardust Ritual ..................... 126 The Universe Story as Unfolding of the Triple Goddess and Her Seasonal Celebration ..................... 128 Blessing of the Animals ......................................................................................................................... 136 Service Outline................................................................................................................................... 136 Homily - Learning from Our Animal Companions .............................................................................. 137 Alternative Participatory Animal Blessing .......................................................................................... 138

Small Inspirations: Quotations on the Environment and Environmental Justice 139 Bibliography .............................................................................................................. 148

Books..................................................................................................................................................... 148 Periodicals ............................................................................................................................................. 153

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