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Interfaith Services
All of the religions represented here today have invaluable teachings and knowledge that can help us in our mutual struggle. With the aid of our inheritance we can work together to care for the world in which we all live. A world which for some of us is seen as God-given and as such special and holy, a world which for others among us is seen as part of everything that we are. Whichever world-view we belong to, we all now recognise the need to care for the Planet Earth. So, let us unite, look towards our table of offerings and say these words together :
All: This is our offering, we are united in caring for the world in which we live, as each petal takes its perfect form, we shall cradle it. Let these objects become for us a sign of our commitment and dedication to the world. No longer will we damage the Earth.
A short prayer will now be offered by a representative from each of the faiths present, followed by silence for individual contemplation. We shall then move to the grounds for the tree planting. Each world-view represented has brought a young tree to be planted in the grounds of the new centre, plants are also welcome. This allows us to show practically how we can help the environment.
Excerpts from Dharma Gaia: A harvest of Essays in Buddhism and Ecology, edited by Alan Hunt Badiner, are reprinted with permission of Parallax Press, Berkeley, California.
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