Earth is sacred, whatever its state
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Map
Story & Experience
The “Earth Matters” ministry of Irvine United Congregational Church hosted this event early on Sunday morning. It was new and we were pleased that four of us showed up. We had originally planned to have a pleasant patch of lawn, but surprisingly, somebody else was setting something else up. So I did what I hadn’t had the nerve to do at first- set it up at a bare patch on the campus awaiting remodel. We began with prayer, acknowledging Earth as sacred, our gratitude and our desire to be in respectful and caring relationship with Her. Then we spoke about our experience of the parts of Earth we have called home and what was special about them. We asked forgiveness for our destruction of Her in our desire to make her over ifor our convenience. We created the bird, and then we finished with a prayer for healing of our relationship with the earth and wisdom in Her care.
The “Earth Matters” ministry of Irvine United Congregational Church hosted this event early on Sunday morning. It was new and we were pleased that four of us showed up. We had originally planned to have a pleasant patch of lawn, but surprisingly, somebody else was setting something else up. So I did what I hadn’t had the nerve to do at first- set it up at a bare patch on the campus awaiting remodel. We began with prayer, acknowledging Earth as sacred, our gratitude and our desire to be in respectful and caring relationship with Her. Then we spoke about our experience of the parts of Earth we have called home and what was special about them. We asked forgiveness for our destruction of Her in our desire to make her over ifor our convenience. We created the bird, and then we finished with a prayer for healing of our relationship with the earth and wisdom in Her care.
Why this Place?
Irvine United Congregational Church, Irvine, California
To make the point that sacred place is not jsut in parks and preserves but in the places we shape into our homes and churches.
Act of Beauty
Due to time limitations, I had gathered cuttings of native and introduced plants from near my home a few miles away. We took a patch of bare dirt waiting to be planted after a “landscape remodel” and made a bird. As we worked, we aquainted ourselves with the scents and textures of each of the types of plant cuttings.
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