International Day of Disaster Risk Reducation (October 13 annually)

from UMCOR dot-org (United Methodist Committee on Relief): ________
Rev. Pat Watkins, missionary for the Care of God’s Creation, offers a prayer for mindfulness of all God’s creation. International Disaster Risk Reduction Day is October 13.

God, You are a creator God, the One who brought order out of chaos, who fashioned the earth and stars and galaxies throughout the universe, who formed humanity out of the dust of the earth and breathed into our nostrils Your breath of life. We thank You so much for the gift of life and for the gift of being able to live and flourish on such an amazingly beautiful and complex planet. And we thank You for assigning to us the vocation of tilling and keeping the garden. Forgive us for exploiting Your creation for our own selfish economic desires, for the mistaken belief that the earth belongs to us to do with as we please. Forgive us for forgetting that our vocation is that of caring for all that Your hands have made. Give to us the same vision that You have for Your creation, and give us the courage and determination to see to it that Your vision for creation will become a reality in our world. In the name of Christ, who joins with You in all of creation, we pray. Amen.