"God said, 'See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the
face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have
them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air,
and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of
life. I have given every green plant for food.' And it was so."
All things in the sky and in and on the earth are part of the
intricately and beautifully women fabric of life within which we, God's people,
live. We are a part of creation. God created us inextricably connected to this
one earth, while also giving us the responsibility of dominion over it.
But dominion expressed as a human-focused approach to the
environment fails to honor God's created balance. A human-focused approach to
creation sees all other life forms as having a lesser claim on life within God's
order, when in fact the passing of a species from this earth is a precious loss.
Many women are deciding that convenience does not supplant
personal responsibility. Our call to stewardship and discipleship connects us to
the care of creation. Women of the ELCA are learning to be better stewards of
all of creation, and have a particular focus on stewardship of water. Your
financial support helps further our advocacy and increase awareness of important
environmental issues.
Offering prayer: Creator God, stir up your people to
protect the gifts of creation for future generations. So that people will always
enjoy the bear that sleeps with her cubs, the salmon that swim upstream, the
birds that fly in the air, and the fish that swim in your lakes, grant us the wisdom and
will to care for your creation. Amen.
Offering focus: Your offerings support Women of the
ELCA programs and advocacy on issues and concerns for the care of creation.
Inez Torres Davis, AIM, is an associate for programs in the areas of
anti-racism, cross-cultural awareness, and commercial sexual exploitation for
Women of the ELCA.
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Bible,
copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education
of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright ©
2007Women of the ELCA. All rights reserved.
May be reproduced for use in congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America provided the copyright information above appears on every copy with
these words: Used with permission.
For all other purposes
contact Women of the ELCA.