Salal + Cedar’s Prayer with Endangered Species
In the past 50 years 60% of the world’s vertebrates have been wiped out. Fresh water ecosystems have been reduced by 83%.
We pray in this place, this watershed, this holy ground, this Coast Salish territory, remembering its creatures in danger and asking them respectfully, humbly to be with and rise up with us. Please stand up, raise a hand or lift your heart as you are able. Rise up to remember our stories together. Rise up to be in conscious, respectful relationship. Rise up to resist commercial interests at creation's expense. Let's join with creation in pledging ourselves to live to praise God's holy name.
murrelets, band-tailed pigeons, western screech owls, spotted owls, horned lark, and short-tailed albatross (leave silence for worshippers to name other birds) and all you birds
pray for us, rise with us
basking sharks, humpback whales, orcas and blue whales, black right whale, steller’s sea cows (leave silence for worshippers to name other sea creatures) and all you sea creatures
pray for us, rise with us
california sword fern, old growth specklebelly lichen, phantom orchid, prairie buttercup, spurred lupine… (leave silence for worshippers to name other plants) and all you plants
pray for us, rise with us
salish sucker, chinook salmon, fraser eulachon, fraser sturgeon, nooksack dace… (leave silence for worshippers to name other fish) and all you fish
pray for us, rise with us
coastal giant salamanders, oregon forest snails, Northern Red legged frogs, pigmy short-horned lizard…(leave silence for worshippers to name other reptiles and amphibians) and all you amphibians and reptiles
pray for us, rise with us
pacific water shrews, woodland caribou, long tailed weasels, roosevelt elk, western harvest mouse… (leave silence for worshippers to name other mammals) and all you land mammals
pray for us, rise with us
western bumblebees, magnum mantleslugs, island blue butterflies, threaded vertigos... (leave silence for worshippers to name other invertebrates) and all you invertebrates
pray for us, rise with us, AMEN