God of power and mystery,
Long we have stood in awe on your shores—
the endless expanse of sea and sky—
humbled by vastness in which we are held
and grateful to belong.
Ceaseless waves speak of eternity
with crashing surf, the pull of tides.
We walk through foam when the surge is spent,
restored in the refuge of the immense.
But now we are stricken
by our own reckless sovereignty.
The fathomless sea measures the reach of irreverence.
Oil-soaked wings and gasping mouths
indict our choices, our hubris, our sin.
Lost lives and wasted marshlands,
ruined livelihoods and filthy shores—
work of the small and sullied gods
that we have made,
who trade paradise for a golden calf,
untempered by humility,
risking life for the chance of gain.
We are caught in the spreading slick
of blindness and indifference.
We depend –
for food and shelter, travel and trade—
on a society in want of discernment.
We rely on patterns not of our making
and confess that we perpetuate
a culture in need of change.
Forgive us our thoughtlessness,
and foster in us the desire for wisdom
in those decisions that are ours to make.
Lord, we are not self-sufficient.
We need your help to be the stewards
you created us to be.
As we lament the carelessness
may we learn to care;
In our dismay at destruction
may we learn to protect.
Lord, hear our cry. We have sinned, we were wrong.
We have fouled our home and harmed your creation.
We confess, we repent. Please help us to change,
To heal, to cleanse, to learn, to pray.
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