Kids on a swing, hanging from a mighty oak tree.

April 22. Unitarian Universalism’s seventh principle: “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part” makes this a day to celebrate religiously. Themes can include: earth-centered spirituality; connecting to the divine through nature; caretaking of the environment; the interdependent web. Another day to celebrate these themes is Arbor Day, the date of which varies from state to state.

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The Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth envisions a world in which reverence, gratitude, and care for the living Earth are central to the lives of all people. Their purpose is to inspire, facilitate, and support personal, congregational, and denominational practices that honor and sustain the Earth and all beings. They affirm and promote the seven principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association, including: "Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part."

a very bright and elongated meteor in the night sky, over a dark horizon

From Tapestry of Faith Curricula

Unitarian Universalist Perspectives

Young woman holds plastic earth ball at rally for environmental justice in Louisville, KY, June 2011.

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  • Of course truth is hard. It is a rock. Yet I do not think it will fall upon me And crush me. I do not think they can hammer it to bits And stone me. Help me place the rock in the strong current Of these rushing waters. I must climb upon it. I must know how truth feels....
    Poetry | By Barbara Rohde | March 17, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Nature, Strength, Truth, Water Communion, Climate Justice
  • Nature provides ready metaphors for peace and justice. Jesus' peaceful kingdom is described as a mustard seed that grows into a large bush, providing shelter to all. the Hebrew prophet Amos cried for justice to roll down like water, and we sing, "I've got peace like a river" and "strength like a...
    Reading | By Stephen M. Shick | March 17, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Justice, Nature, Peace, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Vision, Climate Justice
  • I understand history as possibility...that could also stop being a possibility. —Paulo Freire The winds of extinction sing a mournful song in the rustling grass, where the bobwhite drums and the meadowlark's melody is vanishing. The winds of extinction sing a mournful song in the dark forest...
    Poetry | By Stephen M. Shick | March 17, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animals, Despair, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Interdependence, Nature, Unitarian Universalism, Climate Justice
  • Spirit of Life, God of Love, who are we to know how you moved over the waters when all was new? We were not there when you parted them and formed dry land. We didn't hear you cry with joy when earth gave birth to life, or when love began to grow in the human heart....
    Prayer | By Stephen M. Shick | March 17, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Humility, Nature, Responsibility, Stewardship, Climate Justice
  • Suppose you scrub your ethical skin until it shines, but inside there is no music, then what? —Kabir Suppose you cried a thousand years for a child who died when she drank bad water. Suppose you organized a great movement to clean the water. Suppose you carried the first filled glass to the...
    Poetry | By Stephen M. Shick | March 17, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Earth, Earth Day, Interdependence, International, Relationships, Service, Unitarian Universalism, Water Communion, Climate Justice
  • The earth. One planet. Round, global, so that when you trace its shape with your finger, you end up where you started. It's one. It's whole. All the dotted lines we draw on our maps of this globe are just that, dotted lines. They smear easily. Oceans can be crossed. Even the desert can be crossed.
    Poetry | By Mark Belletini | March 17, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Earth, Earth Day, Interdependence, International, Nature, Wholeness, Climate Justice
  • This is our earth. It falls through heaven like a pearl in a glass of plum wine. There are no other earths that I know of. There are no other skies that we have mapped. This is our earth. The Oneness who gave birth to it remains nameless. There was no midwife then to bring us word of the birth-cry.
    Poetry | By Mark Belletini | March 17, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Awe, Connections, Earth, Earth Day, Interdependence, Nature, Climate Justice, Worship
  • Spirit of Life, God of Love, I am entwined in your delicate web of mutuality. The life energy that makes me reach for the sun also moves me to become wrapped, like the strong bittersweet vine and the delicate sweet pea, around those I meet and love. Here in the tangle of my daily life I feel your...
    Prayer | By Stephen M. Shick | March 12, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Acceptance, Beauty, Connections, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Interdependence, Intimacy, Love, Nature, Climate Justice
  • Blessed is the Sky, And all that is warm and filled with light. Blessed is the Air, And all that is open and free. Blessed is the Earth, And all that is steady and firm. Blessed is the Sea, And all that is hidden and deep.
    Blessing | By Eric Williams | February 20, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Acceptance, Awe, Beauty, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Freedom, Immanence, Mystery, Nature, Paganism, Reverence, Summer Solstice, Vernal Equinox, Wisdom
  • Our time is short here on the earth. Around us swirl immensities of time and space, A universe infinite in all directions. How small our hopes and cares seem Amid the panorama of creation....
    Meditation | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Earth Day, Earth-Centered, God, Interdependence, Nature, Unity
  • We thank you sky for your blue, Also, breeze, for what you do: Everything simple, Undivided, And too ordinary to be tried as true. The sound of rain when we’re warm inside, Purple shadows on the mountainside, Help us to notice, Open our eyes, Give us grateful hearts, And unclinging minds. That we...
    Meditation | By Gary Kowalski | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Contemplation, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered
  • A tale of salvation, ecology, and sharing. Characters Narrator Noelle Voice in a dream Noelle’s sisters Jane, Rain, and Elaine Friendly farmer(s) Ship builder(s) Numerous animals: dogs, cats, mice, cows, horses, frogs, etc. Act 1 (Noelle at center stage, sitting, covered in blanket and appearing...
    Story | By Christian Schmidt | January 25, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Activism, Children's Sabbath, Christianity, Direct Experience, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Environment, God, Interdependence, Justice Sunday, Service, Water Communion
  • There was a Mystery. She was a great Mystery. And nobody understood or appreciated her mainly because there was no one else around to appreciate or understand much of anything.
    Story | By Thomas Rhodes | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Earth Day, God, Mystery, Playfulness
  • I pledge allegiance to the earth and all life: the fields and streams, the mountains and seas, the forests and deserts, the air and soil, all species and reserves, habitats and environments; one world, one creation, one home, indivisible for all, affected by pollution anywhere, depleted by any...
    Reading | By Vern Barnet | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Earth Day, Environment, Interdependence
  • You Birds of the Air, Hawk, Sparrow, and laughing Jay You embody freedom itself, delight us with your song, astound us with feats of migration Grant us your perspective, for too often our horizon is limited and we are blind to the full results of our actions....
    Meditation | By Thomas Rhodes | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), All Saints Day, Animal Blessing, Animals, Connections, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Humility, Love, Nature, Relationships
  • The Woman Who Outshone the SunThe Legend of Lucia Zenteno Characters Narrator Lucia Zenteno (older child or adult) Iguana (small child) Water (several) Fish (several) Otters (several) Townspeople-elders and children (several) Props Long, flowing, bright skirt with pinned on flowers and butterflie...
    Story | By Nancy Jilk | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Diversity, Earth Day, Forgiveness
  • Children of the earth and sky, we are nurtured, sustained, given warmth and light from above and below. Supported by earth's strong, firm crust, we build our homes, till the fields, plant our gardens and orchards....
    Opening | By Alice Berry | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Autumnal Equinox, Awe, Children's / Religious Education Sunday, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Meaning, Nature, New Child, Searching, Unitarian Universalism, Vernal Equinox
  • Once more, the earth has turned toward the light of the sun. As we are bathed in the light of a new day, So may we greet the dawning of fresh possibility. Once more, we awaken from our slumber....
    Opening | By Amy Bowden Freedman | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Earth Day, Vernal Equinox
  • As surely as we belong to the universe we belong together. We join here to transcend the isolated self, to reconnect, to know ourselves to be at home, here on earth, under the stars, linked with each other...
    Opening | By Margaret A Keip | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Connections, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Inclusion, Interdependence, Unity, Weddings and Commitment Ceremonies
  • In the hours before the birds stream airborne with chiming voice, a silent breath rests in the pines, and upholds the surface of the lake as if it were a fragile bubble in the very hand of God. And I think, this is how we are called....
    Meditation | By Kimberly Beyer-Nelson | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Awe, Calling, Direct Experience, Earth, Earth Day, Earth-Centered, Nature, Transcendence, Wonder