updated halloween liturgy for the U.K.

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Oct 31, 2005

Ekklesia reports that a new ecological Halloween liturgy, "developed by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC)," will be celebrated for the first time today. From context, it appears that "the Church" that helped develop the liturgy is the Church of England, or some organized members thereof. As part of the service, The "minister" reads a number of exhortations, seemingly taken at random from the harangues printed on green paper you find on those student center bulletin boards, among the "roommate wanted" and "missing cat" notices.

In the past, our fears found expression through demons and devils, witches and ghosts. They represented the reality that the balance and harmony of life is threatened. Today, we have new forces. Forces which are of our own making. For we have unleashed new powers upon God’s world. Powers that are eroding Creation’s balance and poisoning the very fabric of life. Most of these forces were originally designed to make life better. But we have allowed them to go beyond our control.

Ninety percent of the chemicals currently on sale in Europe have never been assessed for their wider environmental and health impact. Which means that we do not know for sure what they do. But we do know that their impact stretches far beyond our own communities and generations.

PCBs, which are chemicals that were banned in most countries in 1977, have been found in the tissue of Polar Bears in the Arctic, and in other animals living far removed from any human settlements.

... world without end, Amen.