We gathered despite the smoky/hazy day from the continued fires throughout the PNW!
Reading: Job 12:7-9 (The Message)
But ask the animals what they think—let them teach you; let the birds tell you what’s going on.
Put your ear to the earth—learn the basics. Listen—the fish in the ocean will tell you their stories.
A Blessing of the Animals
By Thomas Rhodes
You Birds of the Air, Hawk, Sparrow, and laughing Jay
You embody freedom itself, delight us with your song, astound us with feats of migration
Grant us your perspective, for too often our horizon is limited
and we are blind to the full results of our actions.
You Worms of the Earth, Ants, Beetles, Spiders and Centipedes
You are the essential but oft-forgotten strand in nature’s web.
Through you the cycle is complete; through you new life arises from old.
Remind us of our humility.
For the wheel of live does not turn around us; we are not the axle, but merely spokes
no less than unseen, unknown and shunned companions such as yourselves.
You creatures of the field and wood and field, marsh and desert—
Bear and Bison, Skunk and Squirrel, Weasel and Wolf
Too often we have sacrificed your homes in the name of progress,
clear cutting the forests to fill our desire,
or covering the earth with tarmac, cement, and suburban lawns.
Pray that we may remember that the earth was not given for our needs alone,
and what we do to you, we eventually do to ourselves.
You animals of the farm— Horse and cow, pig and fowl
Willingly or not, you give your very lives for us,
your milk for our nourishment, your flesh for our sustenance,
Yet too often we forget that the meat on our tables was once as alive as we are.
Forgive our willful ignorance, and remind us constantly to give thanks for your sacrifice.
You Dearest Companions in our lives
Dogs and Cats, Hamsters and Goldfish
You who are with us today and you who always be present in our memories
You have enriched our lives in so many ways endured our shortcomings with calm acceptance
taught us something of our humanity
taught us how to love.
May we hold you in our hearts throughout the days of our lives.
