Go Tell it on the Mountain
Blessing of Peace and Justice for the Mountains of Appalachia
Saturday, August 12th, 2006
Matthew Anderson-Stembridge is a member of the Lutheran Earthkeeping Network for the Synods.
God of Creation – may you bless the mountains and rocks, rivers and valleys,
animals and plants which daily sing your praises and remind us of your gracious
gift of creation.
God of Grace – may you forgive us our devotion to greed, destruction,
and selfishness so that we might be freed to truly see the other as ourselves and hold
the care of creation in our hearts.
God of Mercy – may you bless those who have lost their homes, families, or
livelihoods because of mountaintop removal. Be with them in their grief and
through your love give them hope for a new day.
God of Justice – may you bless those who strive to end mountaintop removal.
Give them perseverance, wisdom, and strength as they work for
peace and justice for all.
God of Peace – may you bless those that find employment in mountaintop removal.
May you give all of us insight and humility that will yield compassion
and mercy so that we might find understanding and reconciliation.
God of Love – We give you thanks for the love you have for the whole of the world.
We know that we are blessed so that we may be a blessing to others. May your
compassion and mercy guide all of us as we seek peace and justice for the
Mountains of Appalachia and those who call them home.
In the name of your son Jesus Christ, Amen
May 12th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Matthew, I am a member of the ELCA and will be using this beautiful prayer in a presentation I do tomorrow (Sunday, May 13th)for our adult Sunday School Class on Mountaintop Removal Mining.
May 26th, 2008 at 7:37 am
“Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth.”
John the Baptist
Luke 3:5
November 15th, 2009 at 1:04 am
Under the eminent domain law, why not try to build homes or wind turbines to generate jobs and alternative energy on tracts of land owned by the coal minig companies. The way the law has been interpreted is very loose. As long as there is a public good to come out, you can tie them up for years and make caol mining less profitable for them.
Another stategy to employ would be to have the mining companies have to install basic a desedimentation process to preserve the water downstream under the clean water act. I am no lawyer, but am sure there could be suits that could apply to mineral and sediment contamination of drinking water. With the production of sulphuric acid into the air , after electric power generation, if you could show the link to sulphuric dioxide to the contamination of places east of power stations that would be a great benefit to you as well.