This weekend we are watching Hurricane Harvey along the Texas coast. We offer prayers in response to this storm.
Almighty God, in giving us dominion over things on earth you made us fellow workers in your creation: Give us wisdom and reverence so to use the resources of nature, that no one may suffer from our abuse of them, and that generations yet to come may continue to praise you for your bounty; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Collect For the Conservation of Natural Resources (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 827)
Please pray for:
People in the path of Hurricane Harvey.
The helpers and first responders working during and after the storm.
A compassionate response from the rest of our nation. Officials predict that some areas along the Texas coast may be uninhabitable for weeks or even months. Residents of those areas will need to go someplace else, as some residents of New Orleans did after Katrina. Pray for open hearts and welcoming communities.
Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart and especially the hearts of the people of this land, that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for Social Justice (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 823)
Wisdom for our leaders to acknowledge and apply what we know about the effects of climate change on severe storms. Climate change affects the severity of storms; warmer air holds more moisture, increasing rainfall in storms, and warmer ocean waters give hurricanes more energy. [See The Relationship Between Hurricanes and Climate Change.] We have known both that anthropogenic global warming is happening and that it will have an effect on severe weather for some time, but our leaders more often than not either ignore or deny the facts. As a consequence, we are not doing what we could to mitigate the effects of climate change or to adapt to these changes, and our denial has left us less well-prepared than we could be. Pray that this storm might open our eyes to the reality before us.
O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for Guidance (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 832)
