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This week in Canada we move toward Thanksgiving weekend.  This meditation by Janice MacLean from Prayer Bench sums up my very thoughts.

“I’ve been noticing trees for the past weeks, so I am holding special gratitude for “the standing nation” (Carolyn McDade) especially after the losses created by hurricane Fiona in the Atlantic provinces. 
You’ll find a picture of a tree above, the words of an ancient poem, “Prayers of the Woods,” written from the point of view of trees. It is usually presented as “author unknown” but there is evidence that Alberto de Veiga Simoes, a Portuguese writer and diplomat may have written the first version in 1914. 

A Tree & Breath Prayer

Spend time with this photo of a wise tree or sit in gratitude under one of your own trees.        
(Photo: Janice MacLean)

Let us be conscious of the breath of life. (pause)
We breathe out what the trees breath in. (pause)
We breathe in what the trees breathe out. (pause)
Together we breathe each other into life. (pause)    
- Brendon O’Malley, adapted
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Prayers of the Woods

“I am the heat of your hearth on the cold winter nights, 
the friendly shade screening you from the summer sun, 
and my fruits are refreshing draughts quenching your thirst as you journey on.
I am the beam that holds your house, the board of your table, 
the bed on which you lie, and the timber that builds your boat.
I am the handle of your hoe, the door of your homestead, 
the wood of your cradle, and the shell of your coffin.
I am the bread of kindness and the flower of beauty. 
Ye who pass by, listen to my prayer: Harm me not.”
(Author unknown)

Here is a sung version of the Prayer of the Woods
 Tony Dekker - Prayer of the Woods (Official Music Video) - YouTube
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This closing litany reminds us that we do not own the earth.

The Earth is the Lord’s

This we know: the earth does not belong to us. 
The earth is the Lord’s and so are all its people. 
This we know: we did not weave the web of life. 
The earth is the Lord’s and so is all that breathes on it. 
This we know: we are called to till and work the earth. 
The earth is the Lord’s and so are all who work the land. 
This we know: that we are called to take care of creation. 
The earth is the Lord’s, yet we have polluted and abused it.
This we know: that whatever befalls the earth, Befalls the sons and daughters of the earth 
This we know: that the earth is the Lord’s. And so, we will serve Him in it. 
Amen 
Source: Bishop Eric Pike, Diocese of Port Elizabeth (South Africa): adapted from various sources including Ray Simpson