Praying for the earth: remembering the environment in our prayers of intercession

Abstract

Rob Kelsey has written a resource book, Praying for the earth, for all those who lead intercession in the churches and for those whowish to pray forGod’s creation in their personal prayers. The book is divided into four parts: prayers for the earth throughout the week; prayers for the earth throughout the month; the times and seasons of the Church year; and finally, prayers for the earth at other times. In the forward Bishop Nicholas Holtam writes: ‘praying for the earth is central to the Christian vocation to care for God’s creation’ (p. v). He sees the climate change and environmental crises as different to the crises of Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter. He sees it as an ‘altogether bigger and more existential threat’ (p. v). Bishop Nicholas suggests that the role of the Church in this environmental crisis is clearly set out in the Anglican Communion’s five marks of mission and consequently a ‘missionary imperative’ (p. vii). While the Church’s role is to act, he also sees the role of the Church to pray, so the driver for change is spiritual. Kelsey, in his opening sentence, sets the scene of why we should pray by saying: ‘the Bible is clear that God’s plan of salvation is for the whole earth, not just human beings’ (p. xi). He then sets his argument in the context of the Genesis narrative of creation. This is further developed through other biblical texts including Job, the Psalms, the Gospels, and the book of Revelation. In this opening section the author also offers a way of using the prayers he has written and offers a collect for the earth. After this introduction the author offers prayers and readings for the earth throughout the week. He begins on a Sunday with the first day of creation and works through to Saturday when God rested. Within this structure there is also a monthly cycle offering alternative prayers on related themes. These alternative monthly themes can be found in the next section of the book. The final two sections offer prayers that reflect the Church’s times and season and prayers for other times in the year. The prayers are beautifully written and well themed. The language of the prayers enables people to enter deeply into the ecological threats facing the world. The volume of prayers reveals the different individual concerns thatmake up the overall concern for the environment. The book is a rich source of diverse themes and offers a comprehensive set of prayers. It is, however, not clear how the prayers are to be used in a weekly and monthly cycle, the instructions are complicated. This should not distract people, as the book offers a rich resource of prayers for private prayer and for intercessory prayer in public worship. I will use the resource within my context as part of Morning and Evening Prayer and in my own personal prayer life.