Climate crisis Christmas Appeal - Prayer ideas for your church - Tearfund
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Christmas Appeal Christmas prayers for the climate crisis ‘In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.’ John 1:4-5 Prayer ideas for your church
Light in the darkness
At Christmas, we celebrate light coming into
the darkness. Jesus’ birth was an emphatic
statement of hope – and the ultimate
declaration of love.
Today, the climate crisis is plunging many
people into darkness.
The situation can seem hopeless, but it is not.
There is always hope.
If possible, turn off the lights in your
church service, or wherever you are.
Remain here for one minute, thinking
about the situations around the world
that are weighing heavily on your heart.
After a minute, turn the lights
back on. Think of how easily the
darkness is extinguished by light.
And remind yourselves that there
is always hope.
Juliet’s (48) local church gave her knowledge and
training in disaster risk reduction, which she shares
with her community.
Photo: Shahadat Hossain/Tearfund
Strength in the face of disaster
You will need pens and paper for this
prayer exercise.
Ask your congregation/group to draw or,
if they prefer, write down what it means
to have ‘strength’.
Allow a few minutes for this.
Afterwards, ask everyone to hold their
creation in their hands, then ask them
to say a prayer petitioning God to give
strength to people facing the challenges
of poverty and the climate crisis.
Tusher (42), with the loudspeaker, demonstrates an
early warning announcement with fellow volunteers
Ador Baroi and Xavier Baroi in Sadarpur village.
Photos: Shahadat Hossain/Tearfund
A prayer for creation
Use this prayer in your service or small God of creation,
group in whatever way suits it best – God who declared over the world ‘it is good, it is good, it is good’,
either one person reading it, everyone Thank you for the gift of this Earth.
reading it aloud together, or just For its wonder and its beauty.
quietly to themselves. For the way it sustains us.
For all the diverse life upon it.
Encourage people to adopt whatever Thank you, thank you, thank you.
prayer stance they feel comfortable
with: on their knees, sitting, standing, At this time of great need and urgency,
arms held out or raised upwards. we pray for your kingdom to come.
We pray for world leaders to wake up
You can download this prayer and see the need for immediate action.
as a PowerPoint slide at We pray that industries that are polluting the world
tearfund.org/churchchristmas will start to put people before profits.
And we pray that we will all recognise the need
to care for this amazing Earth.
Most of all, we pray for all those who are suffering now
because of the climate crisis –
bring comfort, bring protection, bring relief.
In Jesus’ name, amen.Thank you
‘And his name shall be called
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’
Isaiah 9:6
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Photos: Shahadat Hossain/Tearfund and G.M.B. Akash/Panos Pictures 00362-(0921)You can also read
