Reading for four voices and unison response

(From the East:)
Brothers and sisters in creation, we covenant this day
with you and with All creation yet to be;
With every living creature
and All that contains and sustains you;
With All that is on the earth
and with the earth itself;
With All that lives in the waters
and with the waters themselves;
With All that flies in the skies
and with the sky itself;
We establish this covenant,
that All our powers will be used
to prevent your destruction.

All: In wilderness is the preservation of the world.

(From the South:)
Brothers and sisters in creation, we covenant this day
with you and with All creation yet to be;
With All of humanity that has come before
and will come after us in future generations;
With the human heart as it opens time and time again
to the wondrousness of love;
With each new child
and the promise that sparkles in their eyes;
With the shining stars of hope and love
in the eyes of those around us;
We have felt the joy of living,
and we covenant that our love will be dedicated to others
that they may also feel such joy.

All: In love is the preservation of the world.

(From the West:)
Brothers and sisters in creation, we covenant this day
with you and with All creation yet to be;
With the great unity of All sentient beings,
and All that exists;
With the unending cycles of birth and growth,
death and rebirth,
of which we are a part;
With the peaceful knowledge brought us
though sages and children
of our belonging and our grace;
With the universal weaving of destiny and creation,
weaving patterns of magnificence and music;
We covenant to remember our membership in the family universal,
and to be with one another in the spirit of connectedness.

All: In wisdom is the preservation of the world.

(From the North:)
Brothers and sisters in creation, we covenant this day
with you and with All creation yet to be;
With the cry of despair which reaches our ears
from the furthest corners of the earth;
With the last breath of the starving child
and the tortured woman and the hunted man;
With hopes dashed and dreams drowned we covenant:
We will not forget you,
nor let the torch of your most cherished vision be extinguished forever;
We will remember and we will continue to fight on.

All: In justice is the preservation of the world.

First verse, England, author unknown