Two prayers for secondary schools

We inhabit a universe that is truly amazing.
We people a globe that circles in space.
We share this planet with other creatures of wondrous variety.
We live within bodies so intricate and complex, yet so soft to the touch.
May we always remember and appreciate the wonder of our existence and the true magnificence of being alive.

(Invite students to sit silently for one minute and to think about, picture, imagine something that they love about life on this planet earth - it could be something that seems very special and important to you - maybe someone you love, or it could be something that seems wonderful,like the sound of wind in the trees, or of birds singing, or it could be something quite simple but which makes life better for you - like the taste of an ice-cream on a hot day. Spend just a minute or two thinking about something that you love about life on earth.)

Let us give thanks for all the wondrous gifts that we have been given and for everything that makes life a joy and a delight for us. This is indeed a wonderful world. (Play a recording of Louis Armstrong's Wonderful World)

Amen.

When we look up at the sky on a clear and starry night,
We know for a moment that we are tiny beings
living on a planet that is spinning in space.
We see the distant stars and know that they are in fact suns in galaxies far from our own,
Similar to our sun that brings us warmth and light each day.
What an immense universe we live in.

When we look down at the ground, we see the amazing richness that is life.
Between the green blades of grass, it we look closely we can espy so many little creatures
Busily living their own existences.
When we look into a microscope we can see the complexity and intricacy of life itself.
Each cell is complete in itself, yet part of the whole.
What a varied universe we live in.

When we look at our friends and our families,
or at faces of strangers whom we pass in the street,
When we hear the news and feel compassion for people who suffer through war and famine,
When we feel our feelings and cherish our hopes and dreams,
We may start to realise
What a loving universe we live in.

And may we dedicate ourselves each day to the task of making this universe a better place to be for everyone and everything.

Blessed be.

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