Church has always had such powerful images for connectedness – Body of Christ, people of the table, covenant, communion of saints, for example. They transcend both time and space. They’re who we are.
This reading celebrates and affirms our connectedness to all creation, and offers another image for our reflection and action: web of life. I went to the all-powerful Google to see what definitions were out there for “web of life.” Here’s one I particularly like:
“Web of Life” is described as a succession of organisms in an ecological community that are linked to each other through the transfer of energy and nutrients.
That pretty well defines Church – and our relationship to all Creation. We are linked to each other. Thanks be to God!
The entire reading is below. It is also in a PDF document for consistency of formatting.
Leader: We are not alone. This reality is both a comfort and a calling. People: Because we are not alone, we will go forward to work again and always for the sake of the earth and all her children. Leader: All creation is connected in the web of life; we humans are not outside of this but a living part of it. This reality is both a comfort and a calling. People: Because we are all connected to each other, we will listen to, work with, and fight for the web of life. Leader: This is who we are: People: We are creatures, water, air, earth. We are rainbows of color, gender, orientation, belief. Our bodies move, see, hear, communicate, and understand differently and diversely, all in the same dance. Leader: This is who we are; this is our comfort and our calling. People: We are not alone. We are connected. We will work, love, struggle, create, laugh, and hope. Together. ALL: In the presence of all that we each call sacred, we will rise and go forth for the sake of the earth and all her children! So be it!