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As the deer pants for cooling streams, we too seek the clear waters of life.
We give shouts for joy and thanksgiving for the fruits of this earth - the bounteous gifts of nature we too often take for granted.
We pray for the wisdom and ability to make the most of this miniscule period on earth, and that our journey will be safe, not alone, dedicated and fulfilled.
(The Favourite Prayers of Hinckley Unitarians)
We, the dependents of nature, bless the earth for the character of life, for the instincts she has given us, for the satisfaction that comes to our senses, and the learning she offers.
We feel thanks for the natural order itself in the sea and the air, the fire and the earth; for the work of the human race with its poets and prophets, its makers and servers.
We feel thanks for our birth, our growing and our ageing, within our homes, so that we enjoy the fullness of life upon this earth.
And we trust that we are never far from those who value us and we promise to reciprocate value to others in return, so that all may receive great benefits.
To the glory of the potential of humanity and the beauty of holiness in the name of the God of our values and beliefs.
Let us express thanks for the foundations of life:
For the sun and stars, for the depths of the earth, the mountains, the sea and the dry land.
Let us express thanks for all of life:
For the ways of seeking good and rejecting of evil, for harmony between peoples and the ecology of all living things.
Let us express thanks for people:
For the mothers and fathers that made us and brought us up, for our wider families, for friends and for those we meet in work and leisure.
We all express praise, wonder and awe at what we see, and know is possible.
It is as though the sun and moon, the stars and the heavens, the water and the land, the cold and the warmth, the nights and the days, the hills and the valleys, the animals and humanity are all joined together in praise for the whole of life itself. Amen.
We must feel thanks for the potential of humanity.
Our hearts can be uplifted because of known heritage:
The heritage of sound upbringing,
Of custom about what is good and what is wrong,
Of innate feelings of solidarity with humanity and creation all around.
But this is fragile, and easily broken.
All over there is crime and evil.
But our task is to strengthen life's potential
And hope that good things may succeed over bad
And it is in the experience that good is here
That there is hope for more
And we can give thanks that this potential exists
And that the salvation of humanity is there for the taking.
We desire strength and detachment when these things come upon us!
When matters turn out as we would not have wished leaving us all at sea.
When everything goes slowly and idleness takes over with its seduction.
When what we want to do and what we must do face different ways.
When the mind grows tired and we cannot think and act.
When what we do looks weak and our work seems obscure.
When the wild goose has sent us the wrong way and we have missed the real.
When we feel unable to love the one who is nearest.
When people have changed and appearances are not as they used to be.
When we are lost in memories and feel dislike for the way things seem.
Our real strength ceases destructive attachment, and we rise above these ephemeral concerns. Our task is to shine above and then give thanks for the inner fortitude of humanity.
O let us give thanks unto the earth:
let us heartily rejoice in the cradle of our living.
Let us awe before creation with thanksgiving:
and praise loudly unto all with song.
The earth is of the universe:
and the universe is ever being.
In its palm sits the vast but delicate features:
where the heights of the mountains are of noble work.
The level sea surrounds and is everpresent:
and creation prepared the flat land.
O come let us worship and be humble:
and kneel before all the elements.
For here is one life, and we are its people and shepherds of the pasture:
today if we hear the earth we know its fragility:
For much calls upon our judgement:
in our care will it continue, but depends on our own faithfulness.
Glory to the creation, and to the earth:
And to all the universe;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and must ever be: time unto end.
(Using the Venite)
In the name of all compassion and goodness:
We are thankful for our lives, health and strength;
For its charities and affections,
For its means of knowledge and practical usefulness -
So to develop trust in the beauty of our lives.
Let us be thankful for:
The Growing knowledge of communication
The cradle of the family
The caring of society
We thankfully appreciate our envionment of:
Our fellow creatures
The wonder of the land and sea
The solidity of the hills
and also let us be thankful for
The harmony and coherence of our values, our God
And from these, loving charity
Selflessness and neighbourly love
Faithfulness
Devotion
Our God, consecrate and accept these offerings of gratitude and adoration brought forward in the spirit of all the noble prophets and those unseen devoted deeds of goodness throughout the world.