b'A E D I M O O R S S A L CWHEN DISASTER STRIKES, WE PRAYLEADER: We gather today to pray for victims of natural disasters. I inviteeach of you to recall a natural disaster you are familiar with. (pause)Imagine now all that people had to go through to recover, heal,and rebuild their lives. (pause) Let us pray.ALL: Dear Creator God,Planet Earth, our common home,is so large, and yet so fragile.When we glimpse the great needs of peopleimpacted by the destructive forces of nature, we can become overwhelmed.We may even want to turn away, but you call us back.LEADER: Take several minutes to refl ect on how you would complete the sentence, Inspire me to What kinds of things could we pray for inspiration to do? Be prepared to share your prayer with the class.Allow a moment of silence.LEADER: As we go around the room, please share your prayer for inspiration. Begin by saying, Inspire me toand complete the sentence with your personal prayer. (Allow time for everyone to share.)LEADER: And together, we close our prayer:ALL: Help usencounterour sisters and brotherswith open hearts.Give us ears to listen to their stories,Minds to learn and refl ect,And wills determined to act.Amen.Learn more about our Environmental Justice mini-course at elearning.smp.org This prayer service was adapted from the eLearning program Environmental Justice(Winona, MN: 2019). Copyright2019 Saint Marys Press. All rights reserved.42 AspireVolume 1//Winter 2020 Subscribe today!smp.org/aspire'