Grandfather Great Spirit,
All over the world,
The faces of living things are alike.
With tenderness, they have come up out of the ground.
Look upon your children that they may face the winds
And walk the good road to the day of quiet.
Grandfather Great Spirit,
Fill us with the Light.
Give us the strength to understand and the eyes to see.
Teach us to walk the soft earth as relatives
To all that live.
~Sioux Prayer
When I walk through thy woods,
may my right foot and my left foot
be harmless to the little creatures
that move in its grasses; as it is said
by the mouth of thy prophet,
they shall not hurt nor destroy
in all my holy mountain.
~ Rabbi Moshe Hakotun
“All creatures are created from the same paternal heartbeat of God. Not to hurt our
humble brethren is our first duty to them, but to stop here is not enough. We have a
higher mission – to be of service to them wherever they require it.”
St. Francis of Assisi
All species and the Earth itself have interdependent roles within Creation. Humankind is
not the species to whom all others are subservient, but one among many. All parts, all
issues, are inextricably intertwined. Indeed, the web of creation could be described as of
three-ply thread: wherever we touch it we affect justice and peace and the health of all
everywhere. So all our testimonies, all our Quaker work, all our Quaker lives are part of
one process, of striving towards a flourishing, just and peaceful Creation – the Kingdom
of God.
Quaker Faith & Practice 25.04
Audrey Urry, 1994.
