With thanks to Dr Byron Smith and Common Grace for offering this prayer for use or adaptation in your devotions and church worship.

Beauty

Creator of life, this beautiful land cries out.

For the disfigured splendour of charred forests, blackened soil, ashen skies, we grieve.

For the hundreds of millions of creatures that perished in smoke and flame, for the millions more who emerge after the inferno to starvation or predation, for the twisted, frayed and torn strands of ecosystems that may never recover, we mourn.

For sacred sites incinerated we lament.

For smoke-filled lungs, dread-filled hours, anxiety-filled evacuations,

for ruined livelihoods, broken communities, smouldering homes,

for bereaved families, inflicted trauma, gutted dreams, we weep.

     Lord have mercy.

    Lord have mercy.

Generosity

Jesus our brother, all generosity echoes your own.

For the dangerous labour of firefighters, for the kindness of strangers, for neighbourly bonds reforged in calamity, we offer thanks.

For sandwiches made, shelter provided, funds donated, we are grateful.

For accurate reporting, insightful forecasts, skilful logistics, we acknowledge our debt.

    Christ have mercy.

   Christ have mercy.

Justice

Spirit of truth, your justice flows like water onto parched soil.

For too long, our notions of prosperity have been dominated by theft, destruction and fire: stolen land, poisoned rivers, dirty fuels. May we rediscover true wealth in mutual trust and care, in treasured stories and places, in clean water and air.

May justice fall like rain, pouring like grace on the tongues of the poor, settling like ash in the mouths of those who profit from lies.

Let ancient wisdom be respected, careful science heeded, the worship of money rejected.

May we truthfully embrace our full history, honestly acknowledge our present crises, humbly nurture a shared future.

    Lord have mercy.

   Lord have mercy.

Written by Dr Byron Smith
Posted on Common Grace on 7th January 2020