(Jan 17, 2013) Note: For media coverage of the Pray-In for the Climate,  in front of the White House, see At a Climate Protest, Science and Religion in The New York Times (green blog) or Climate change activists turn to plans, persuasion, prayer in Obama’s second term in The Miami Herald. You can participate virtually by spending a few moments in prayer or reflection guided by this prayer written by UU minister Rev. Terry Ellen, one of the leaders of the Pray-In. 

“Spirit of Life, called by so many names and yet beyond all names, known by each of us in our truest, most authentic minds, fullest, most compassionate hearts, and spontaneous thanksgiving for the exquisite majesty and beauty of this cosmos we have emerged from, embodying its whole history in ourselves, we know that this planet is in very serious trouble. We know that we are in a climate crisis of our own making, and that the elders among us are now breaking the age-old moral imperative to pass on to the young a better place than we found and that we who have profited most from the use of fossil fuels are visiting the direst consequences on those who have profited the least from them and who are the most vulnerable in the world. We did not intend to create this reality, but now we do know what the consequent greenhouse gases are doing. So we first pledge ourselves to do what we each individually can to live responsibly and sustainably.

But we also know that public policy on energy usage must change as well if we are to meet this crisis with anything near the effort it requires, and so we also pledge to act in accord with the urgent moral imperative upon us to change such policy. So today, gathered together in prayer with others of many faith traditions and many outside those traditions who know the preciousness of being alive upon this planet and our consequent moral responsibilities, we ask that our President use all of his powers to address this crisis with the urgency it deserves. This is a pivotal moment in the earth’s history, in human history, and in our nation’s history. We pray for leadership as courageous and dedicated as the time deserves, and we pray that we be more than equal to it.

For the least of these our sisters and brothers, for the voiceless of all species, for future generations and for ourselves we pray. Amen.”