Friday, April 25, 2014

Sunrise Earth Day Labyrinth Walk

Our first event of the year was a sunrise Earth Day Labyrinth Walk, held at the Carleton Place Community Labyrinth on Tuesday April 22nd at 6:04 AM.  Our gathering was small, the weather was cool and rainy, but the opening readings set the tone for a peaceful and introspective walk.
Walking in a protected bubble under our umbrellas - surrounded by lovely birdsong!
One of our committee members selected two beautiful Earth Day poems to share with us before the walk, here they are:

EARTH DAY
We join with the Earth and with each other
To bring new life to the land,
To restore the water,
To refresh the air.

We join with the Earth and with each other
To renew the forests,
To care for the plants,
To protect the creatures.

We join with the Earth and with each other
To celebrate the seas,
To rejoice in the sunlight,
To sing the song of the stars.

We join with the Earth and with each other
To recreate the human community,
To promote justice and peace,
To remember our children.

We join with the Earth and with each other,
We join together as many and diverse expressions of one loving mystery
For the healing of the Earth
And the renewal of all life.
Anonymous
(From: Side by Side  Fulfilling a Dream, edited by Ray Drennan,  Canadian Unitarian Council, Montreal, Quebec, 2001, 2002)
Daffodils enjoying the Spring rain...

PRAYER FOR VILLAGE EARTH (FOR SEVEN GENERATIONS)
O Mother Earth, we pray today to link our spirits with all
our brothers and sisters who share this web of life with us
and to honor those who once walked upon this land.

Rest quiet, Ancient Ones, we only seek to honor you and
to respect  the land. We will not take from it lightly, nor
do harm. We will respect those creatures with whom we
share this sacred space.

Eagle, Snake, Coyote and Lizard, we honor you! Bless us,
please you Flying People, Crawling People, the Swimmers,
Plants and Tree People, and all our four –legged brothers and
sisters!

Father Sun, we beseech you to shine down your love
and light upon us!

Sister Rain and Brother Wind, walk softly here, for we are small
beneath your mighty power!

Sister Moon, shine gently as you guide us into dreamtime, and
when you journey across the world, send your stars to light
our way home!


O Mother Earth, accept our prayers, bless us with your energy
and healing. Help us to remember that we are connected to all
who share your sacred web of life… past, present, and future,
that in divinity and grace, we may exist as one!  

By: Sharon Auberle                                                                       
(From: Woman Prayers - Prayers by Women from Throughout History and Around the World, Mary Ford-Grabowsky,  Harper SanFrancisco, 2003.)


We are so thankful for this beautiful walk on Earth Day - for we share the love of the Labyrinth - and the peace it brings to our lives.

We hope you can join us for our next event on World Labyrinth Day, Saturday May 3rd at 1:00 pm. 

2 comments:

  1. Just a warning, Christine, do you have permission to post the full text of these poems? There are bloggers being sued for this. I just thought you should know. I've done a lot of work in the area of copyright and internet safety.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Jennifer - thanks for your helpful comment. The first poem is from a publication organized by the brother of one of our committee members - and we have contacted Sharon Auberle about the use of her poem in our blog post.

    ReplyDelete