Father of Creation,
God of Compassion,
We thank you for the fragile gift of life,
And the beautiful world that you made.
To you be all praise, honour, and glory.
Father of Creation,
God of Justice,
You call us to love our neighbours,
And to tend and keep your cosmic temple.
Yet we have fallen short.
We have failed to care,
And done what is evil in your sight.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
In pursuit of progress,
We have plundered and ravaged your world,
Driven by unchecked capitalism and relentless consumerism,
On the foundations of historic injustice toward the global south.
Now, we find ourselves at the edge of catastrophe.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
The clock strikes midnight,
And with each passing moment, we face catastrophe.
Yet we remain distracted, hesitant, and in denial at this critical hour.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Global temperatures rise,
We edge past 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
Sea levels surge,
Extreme weather intensifies,
Migration swells,
And climate breakdown amplifies every challenge.
We know that without immediate action,
We face a future of 3-degree warming:
Mass displacement,
Widespread famine,
And societal collapse.
What have we done?
Lord, have mercy.
What have we done?
Christ, have mercy.
Father of Creation,
God of Justice,
With tears in our eyes,
And heaviness in our hearts,
We lift up COP 29 in prayer.
We ask for a spirit of compassion,
For bold decisions,
And for the tables of injustice to be overturned.
Father of Creation,
God of Justice,
We pray that world leaders act with urgency,
That they halt the trajectory toward climate disaster,
That they work to prevent the worst outcomes,
And respond with justice and mercy to what is already inevitable.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Father of Creation,
God of Compassion,
We thank you for the fragile gift of life,
And for the beauty of your world.
To you be all praise, honour, and glory.
Amen.
Swales, 2024
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