Earth Day Liturgy: A Green Litany

A Green Litany

A litany is a collection of statements and responses that we offer to God.  The Green Litany was modeled on the Great Litany found in The Book of Common Prayer, page 148.  This litany may be reproduced for local use.

O. Lord, have mercy upon us.

R. Christ, have mercy upon us.

O. Lord, have mercy upon us.

O. God the Father and Mother of the universe,

R. Have mercy upon us.

O. God the Son, redeemer of the whole world,

R. Have mercy upon us.

O. God the Holy Spirit and inspiration in our daily lives,

R. Have mercy upon us.

O. Holy Trinity, One God,

R. Have mercy upon us.

O. That we may live as faithful stewards of the gifts of the earth,

R. We beseech you to hear us Good Lord.

O. That we may be faithful in recycling and reusing everything that we share,

R. We beseech you to hear us Good Lord.

O. For better use of our water, our soil, and the air we breath,

R. We beseech you to hear us Good Lord.

O. That the government of this and every land will seek to promote innovative ways to produce clean and renewable energy,

R. We beseech you to hear us Good Lord.

O. That we may show love to those who cause damage and pollute the Earth for profit,

R. We beseech you to hear us Good Lord.

O. That we may reduce our burdens and demands upon this Earth,

R. We beseech you to hear us Good Lord.

O. That we may be free from consumerism and coveting more than we need to live,

R. We beseech you to hear us Good Lord.

O. That we may stand upright to speak the truth in love about those things that continue to plague and harm our Earth,

R. We beseech you to hear us Good Lord.

Morning Prayer Reflection: Christ of the Pow-Wow

Friday, March 27, 2009  

Daily Office Year 1, Romans 8: 29-39

Chapel of the Apostles  

'Christ of the Pow-Wow'  

Dancing with the sun in the azure sky,  

Dancing in the dark nights where no moon or stars shine,  

Dancing amid the pain and exhaustion of suffering our history,  

Dancing the red path that God calls our people to walk,   

Dancing on the prairie grass as the Spirit blows in the hot, dry wind,  

Dancing our way of life into freedom and peace,   

Dancing in death,  

Dancing in life.  


Nothing can separate us—no arrows, no bullets, no land, no water, no treaty, no  

reservation, no nothing.  

Nothing has ever separated us.  

The nations are bound together in love, Christ’s love—Cheyenne and Mandan,  

Lakota and Shoshone, Arapahoe and Blackfoot.  


In the Great Circle of the Spirit   

every nation, every tongue, every people  

gather to keep our traditions breathing and balm our wounds.
In the circle we dance, we laugh, we cry, and we rejoice in life.  

The beat of the drum, the heart beat of mother earth,   

the calling of the Chief of Peace unites us.  The sage smoke  

lifts up our prayer of praise, our hopes and our dreams for our children,
and blesses us in His presence.


The drum bids us to let go of our loss,   

to let go of our anger,   

to let go of ourselves and be united   

as one in love, inside the circle…dancing.    

Join with me and my great family,  

today shall be our dancing day!  

Come into the circle and dance.  

Come into the circle and know the Christ of the Pow‐wow. 

___________

N.B.  This is an American Indian exegesis of the famous Romans text. 

Morning Prayer Reflection: The Mirror of Christ

Monday, March 9, 2009, Feast of Gregory of Nyssa 

Daily Office Year 1

Chapel of the Apostles

The Mirror of Christ

Each night I sit in silence, in darkness, waiting. . .  

Each night I pray: ‘Lord Jesus, may I share in my body the pain 
you suffered on the cross; but even more may I know in my heart 
the love that brought you there.’

Never did I dream that this yearning would happen.    

Lent has always been too painful for me;   

everyday seems like Ash Wednesday.  

I don’t need the ashes to remind me that my twilight is harrowing.


But on this night, I woke to find myself stripped and barren,   

laden in the wasteland of exile.  

For what seemed like one long, never‐ending night   

would be driven into my soul for forty interminable days.


Pain, yes, pain was there.  He became my friend, my shackle,   

and my constant companion—  

never letting me forget him.  

Tears became like sandpaper to me.  

Never mind the cross whose splinters stick through me.  

Water was the mirage that kept me moving,   

yet that image could never quench my deepening thirst.  

The dark sky kept me warm and safe, but always alert.  


Here, in the desert of my mind, I admit my failures,  

my sin, my temptation, my human‐ness.  

I failed to live up to that which I thought I should be;  

the image in the mirror looked so beautiful, so perfect, so happy.
And now, that image fades away each day.  

I feel the pain, but where is your love?  


Why have you abandon me?  Save me!  

Give me a rope, pull me up please!  

Where are you?  

Was this whole thing a ruse?    

A cruel prank at my own expense?  


Where were you when my heart broke?  

Where were you when my life split wide open,   

and left me vulnerable to the world?  

Where were you when my burdens crushed me?


And silence. . . and darkness. . . and shadows moving.  

Somehow, through my numbness, I could feel the wind   

beginning to blow and voice whispered from the East:  


‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.  

In the darkness of your advent I called you by name.  

You are mine, and you are loved!   

I have never abandoned you.  

I send you your daily bread!  

You think suffering and pain is darkness,   

but I say it is also light.  

'Can’t you see it?    

In your darkness you’ve regained your vision.  

In your darkness, I can turn your embers into bright flames of holiness,
flames that the daylight cannot reveal.  

Darkness is indeed light.  I am in the darkness too!  

In the shadows you learn your truth, my truth, and ours together.  

There you learn to walk with integrity,   

there you can soar over mountain tops into the clouds of the unknown.
But those scars will never go away,   

see mine and know their healing power!  

'The desert is a by‐way to your salvation.    

I am there.  I am there in the mirror.  

I have always been there.  

So come, come down now from the cross.  

A new day is rising.  

The dawn from on high is upon you.  

The best is still to come.’     

Blessed Charles, King and Martyr

Here is one of my latest icons, Blessed Charles King and Martyr.  I chose Charles because of my affiliation with the Society of King Charles the Martyr--a group of Anglicans around the world who advocate putting Charles back on the Anglican Calendar of Feasts.  He was canonized in 1660 by his son, Charles II in the Restoration of the Monarchy.

His feast day is January 30th.

For more information concerning membership into the US Branch of the Society of King Charles the Martyr, please

click here to go to the Society's website.

Collect for Blessed Charles Stuart 

from Celebrating Common Prayer

King of Kings and Lord of lords, whose faithful servant Charles prayed for those who persecuted him: by his example, give us the will to love and bless our enemies; through the power of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

"Why We Honour King Charles"

from the UK SKCM website

King Charles the Martyr was the last saint to be canonised by the Church of England.

He is honoured as a martyr because he died for the Church. He was offered his life if he would abandon episcopacy but he refused for this would have taken the Church of England away from being part of 'the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church’ and made Her into a sect.

So we venerate him for his sacrifice and see in it inspiration for us today.  

In the words of Dr. Mandell Creighton, Bishop of London 1897-1901 and a noted ecclesiastical historian: ‘Had Charles been willing to abandon the Church and give up episcopacy, he might have saved his throne and his life. But on this point Charles stood firm: for this he died, and by dying saved it for the future.’

Immediately upon the Restoration of Church and King on 19th May, 1660, the Convocation of Canterbury and York, now being free to assemble and act, canonised King Charles and added his name to the Kalendar of Saints at the revision of The Prayer Book (see example on main SKCM page).

It came into use with the authority of Church and State in 1662 and since that time parish churches and chapels have been dedicated under the title of S.Charles (often as King Charles the Martyr).

His reign saw the beginning of a revival of the Religious Life in the Church of England and the first attempt at Community Life (after the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII), which began at Little Gidding and was encouraged by S.Charles.

He oversaw many schemes for the Church: the restoration and adornment of churches and cathedrals, the founding and advancement of charities, the improvement of the liturgy and the re-introduction of the episcopacy in Scotland. His reign witnessed, albeit briefly, a Golden Age for Anglicanism especially in spiritual and devotional writing which is still much appreciated today.