Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Earth Day

It’s an Earth Day unlike any other.
But it’s Earth Day nonetheless.

On this 50th anniversary of the annual day
that we show worth to Mother Earth,
we are sheltering in place
and observing this tradition at home.

Long-anticipated rallies have been canceled.
A global pandemic has masked our joy
and silenced our celebrations.
But this virus cannot devalue
the virtues of creation for which we are grateful.

For the glory of nature,
we take pause and reflect.
For the beauty of the Earth,
we sing hymns.

Flowering bushes and blossoming trees
join Spring’s lilies, daffodils and tulips
trumpeting their praise of the Creator.

In light of our responsibility
to care for what has been entrusted to us,
we confess our neglect.

In sorrow for the endangerment of species
we have unwittingly allowed,
we own our grief.

In disbelief of the consequences
climate change has brought about,
we shiver at what global warming will mean
for our children’s children.

With gratitude for the blessings
Mother Earth has bequeathed us,
we renew our commitment to protect life
in all its forms and recognize
our interdependence to survive.

With passion to preserve clean air,
pure water and organic soil
by which Mother Nature has nurtured our growth,
we pledge to recycle, reuse and compost.

With humility grounded in an awareness
that we are stewards and not owners of creation,
we confess a sense of pride and unwarranted arrogance
that has contributed to our planet’s plight.

With praise for our Creator
by Whom all life has been birthed
and in Whom all life coexists,
we voice an anthem of worship
all the while listening for the harmony
from honking geese, laughing dolphins,
bugling elk and surging seas.

“The earth is the LORD’s and everything in it…” Psalm 24:1