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New every morning is your love, great God of light, and all day long you are working for good in the world. Stir up in us desire to serve you, to live peacefully with our neighbors and all your creation, and to devote each day to your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

"A Liturgy for Morning Prayer," Upper Room Worshipbook

Used by permission from the Book of Common Worship, © 2018 Westminster John Knox Press. All rights reserved. This prayer appears in “A Liturgy for Morning Prayer” in Upper Room Worshipbook.

Earth Gospel

A Guide to Prayer for God's Creation

Sam Hamilton-Poore • January 2009

BUY Print $14.00

Do something for the environment—pray for the earth.

The icecaps are melting. The air we breathe and the water we drink are polluted. Forests are being cleared of oxygen-making trees and ecosystem-integral wildlife.

Our daily lives impact our earth—mostly leaving negative footprints. The environmental challenges we face are real and almost out of control. We're free to enjoy the earth's bounty and beauty, but along with that privilege comes responsibility.

How are Christians to respond as stewards of God's creation? Explore through prayer the interconnecting love that binds God, humankind, and creation—forming a sacred trust.

Earth Gospel offers four weeks of prayer (seven days per week with prayers for morning, midday, and evening) to encourage care of God's creation. Each daily reading includes scripture, hymn texts, beautiful poems and reflections from sages across time, and blessings. Featured voices include Emily Dickinson, Wendell Berry, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther, e.e. cummings, Julia Esquivel, Annie Dillard, Henry David Thoreau, Catherine of Siena, and many others.

Conveniently sized to tuck into a backpack for a field expedition or as a companion to your Bible during prayer time, Earth Gospel will deepen your appreciation and commitment to creation. Use it daily, and it will change your life.


Categories: Prayer, Social Justice
Samuel Hamilton-Poore is a member of the Winnebago Presbytery in north central Wisconsin. He was formerly director of the Program in Christian Spirituality at San Francisco Theological Seminary and has served Presbyterian, Lutheran, and United Church of Christ congregations in North Carolina, Missouri, Iowa, and Wisconsin.[updated 3/19/18 at]

ISBN: 978-0-8358-9943-7

Imprint: Upper Room

Pub Date: January 2009

Trim Size: 5.375 in (w) x 8.375 in (h) x in (d)

Page Count: 224

BISAC Categories: RELIGION / Christian Living / Prayer

BISAC1: REL012080

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A prayer guide like no other. Sam Hamilton-Poore has done Christians a great service. Open your eyes, open your spirit; pray with this guide and you will see the world with new eyes! Elizabeth Liebert Professor of Spiritual Life, San Francisco Theological Seminary Author of The Way of Discernment: Spiritual Practices for Decision Making Spirited humans celebrate and care for the good Earth; and Earth Gospel leads the way. A splendid resource—or, better, a profound probing of the deepest sources of both nature and spirit. Here is healing for those anxious for a planet in jeopardy. Holmes Rolston III University Distinguished Professor and Professor of Philosophy Colorado State University "This is a utilitarian book; you will use it daily, and by the time you've worked your way through it the world will look considerably different. You may too."
— Bill McKibben author of Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future, The End of Nature and editor of American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau This is a utilitarian book—you will use it daily; and by the time you've worked your way through it, the world will look considerably different. You may too. Bill McKibben Author of Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future In the seventh century, Maximus Confessor spoke of prayer as being intrinsically cosmic. Far from implying escape from this world, prayer involves kneeling on this earth as God's creation. This book reminds us that meditating on the heavenly kingdom cannot be disconnected from mending the natural environment. John Chryssavgis Author of Light Through Darkness, Beyond the Shattered Image and Soul Mending Churches of all denominations may raise a shout of joy for this timely and beautifully wrought book. Hamilton-Poore has gathered illuminating scripture texts, penetrating prayers, and stunning passages from sources ancient and modern to help us experience all creation as God’s profound blessing and our sacred trust. The author’s own prayers, interspersed throughout, gather up theme essences like fragrant offerings. I invite others to join my intention to make these daily prayers a staple of my spiritual diet. Marjorie J. Thompson Director of Pathways in Congregational Spirituality with Upper Room Ministries Author of Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life and several others