Earth Hour has grown to become much more than switching your lights off, but that iconic switch-off moment is still an important part of Earth Hour. Millions of participants around the world will switch off their lights at 8:30 pm local time on Saturday 23rd March for an hour to demonstrate their support of the environment. It is a symbolic gesture that brings millions of people together to promote climate action – and, of course, much more needs to happen. Earth Hour has been uniting people all over the world, in more than 190 countries, since 2007.
EARTH HOUR VIGIL Download the vigil here.
(prepared by the Roman Catholic-United Church Dialogue in Canada)
The vigil is intended to help congregations, parishes, and other groups observe, in prayer and worship, international Earth Hour on the fourth or fifth Saturday of March. The purpose of Earth Hour is to call attention to the beauty and fragility of our living planet. The point of worship is to call people together in thanksgiving and prayer to God, united in a living faith. We hope that these Earth Hour prayers help the faithful to celebrate creation while committing to compassionate action for its well-being.
A PRAYER FOR EARTH (originally published here)
All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe
and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of those who are poor,
help us to rescue those abandoned and forgotten across Earth, so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect Earth and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain
at the expense of those who are poor and Earth herself.
Teach us to discover the worth of each created being,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
and to recognise that we are profoundly united with every part of Earth as we journey towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
AND SO WE PRAY – in the words of Pope Francis – “that we may come to respect all of creation and care for it as a gift of God.”
- We give thanks for First Nations peoples and pray that we may learn from them the sacredness of land and the interconnectedness of all of life.
We know, Creator God, that you hear us.
God, you hear our prayer. - As we realise more and more the enormity of our ecological crisis, we pray that all of us will respect creation and care for it as a gift of God.
God, you hear us.
God, you hear our prayer. - For those who are poor, who are most vulnerable at this time, that their rights may be recognised and respected. God, you hear us.
God, you hear our prayer. - For the whole of life, including the life of generations to come, that the human family will take action to hasten the transition to a more sustainable Earth.
God, you hear us.
God, you hear our prayer. - For our Church, that it may raise its prophetic voice in view of the moral crisis of this time, and stress the urgency of ecological justice in communities throughout the world. God, you hear us.
God, you hear our prayer. - For all nations in this time of Covid-19, that we will take action to protect and care for creation and all people, and set our lives on new and life-giving paths.
God, you hear us.
God, you hear our prayer.Creator God, you walk with us on our journey. Open us to see the revelation of your presence in all of creation that we may safeguard and protect the beauty of Earth. We ask this in the name of your Son, who taught us about the sacredness and interconnectedness of all of life, Jesus Christ. Amen.
