EarthAbbey calls for day of prayer and fasting on Dec 5th

On Dec 5th the eyes of the world will turn to the Climate Change talks in Copenhagen. Some say it is the last chance for the world as we know it to respond. Every type of eco activism will be played out. Some are going by train, others by ship, many more will gather in London’s Hyde Park and other capitals around the world.

But maybe there is another way to approach this…

We live in a world of hype. It sometimes seems like everyone is screaming for attention and our eco campaigns can feel just like another part of this over-branded and ultimately, superficial reality. Most of us know that there is an internal dimension to the environmental challenges that we face. They are about ‘me’, as much as they are about ‘them’.There is an internal struggle to be engaged with as well as a political one. There is a spiritual dimension to our need for change.

We could acknowledge all that by taking a rather different course on Dec 5th. To stop and pray for the earth.

We are suggesting that people take this day to ‘pray and fast’ wherever they are, at home, in Hyde Park, out and away somewhere…take time to stop and pray.

Whoa, you may say, ‘I am not sure that I do pray, or even know how to pray?’  Well, perhaps that does not really matter. An open, intent and listening silence, a mourning for the earth, the cries and groans of our soul before the divine. Surely these are prayer?

What is this fasting thing? Doing without food can concentrate and simplify the heart.

Maybe just leave off food (not water) until dark and try to take three moments in the day to recall your purpose and pray.

Invite your friends, EarthAbbey members or not, to join in prayer on this day, wherever they are and whatever they are doing.

Our latest booklet Developing your EarthAbbey Rule of Life has various exercises relevant to this type of reflective day.

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