A Lament for the Summer of 2022: Heatwaves, Water Shortages and Forest Fires

Send us Fan MailWords by Rev'd Jon SwalesMusic from Gavin Luke 'Beyond Imagination' https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/2gLylp09Qi/ A Lament for the Summer of 2022: Heatwaves, Water Shortages and Forest Fires (Draft)Father of Creation,God of Compassion,In the beginning,The earth was formless and void,And your Spirit Hovered over the waters of the deep. In love you spoke,And light and life came into being. To you be praise, honour and glory.    [Gen 1:1-3]Father of Creation, God of Faithfulness,You have shown your love to us,In providing and sustaining, The seasons, The weather, and The rain.As a tender shepherd,You have led us byStill waters, &Green Pastures. To you be praise, honour and glory.Yet, We have moved East of Eden,And have opened the door to unrestrained capitalism,It has overwhelmed us.Yet,In our arrogance and greed we have  built Babel,And take up a place that only belongs to you.We now reap what we have sown.We have plundered,Now temperatures rise.Lord have mercy,Christ have mercyWe have pillaged,Now sea levels rise,Lord have mercy,Christ have mercy.And so in the summer of 2022,We have been weighed on the scales and found wanting,The writing is on the wall.The earth mourns,The rivers grieve,The land laments. Lord have mercy,Christ have mercy.The fields wither,The forests weep,The land laments Lord have mercy,Christ have mercy.Father of Creation, God and Father of our Lord Jesus ChristWe ask that within this unfolding nightmareWe may dream a kingdom dream, &Hope a hope-filled futureThat would cause us to repent,Change Course,And avert the worst of what may be.Empower us O Lord so that we would be those who,Seek good, and not evil, That we would be those who Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate.   [Amos 5:14-15]Father of Creation,God of Compassion.The time will come when you will sit as judgeAnd set the world to rights.Glory to you who made the heavens,Glory to you who made the earth,Glory to you who made the sea and all springs of water.Amen.