The Green Devotional: Active Prayers for a Healthy Planet

Yes, there is something for everyone. The quotes that speak to me are the ones of faith and power. "Our faith imposes on us a right and duty to throw ourselves into the things of earth." "...love is the most powerful and still the most unknown energy of the world." de Chardin And Frederich Buechner "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." These quotes speak to me of hope and responsibility. The wide range of quotes speaks to each of us in language we can respond to of hope and responsibility. A lovely treasure to read and reread. Penny

I was originally going to rate this book lower than 4 stars because of the author's writing (more later), but I noticed that after putting the book down, I kept thinking about ways to improve my impact on the Earth and remained mindful of the effect of my actions. This is the goal of this book. The Green Devotional is written and its quotes collected from a clearly New Age mindset--there is something spiritual about all things and all faith traditions have something to contribute. It also falls into the 'Noble Savage' idea a few too many times. I think there must be something in here for everyone (at least, something for everyone likely to be attracted to a book like this). Some of the more stirring quotes.meditations for me include: "Blessed Goddess, hear the prayers of your children, and make the increase of the fruits and grains your constant care, with the fertile seasons your handmaidens, draw near, and bless your supplicants." -This was one of the few actual prayers included. "To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves." -Many quotes were more like this; thoughts that could serve as motivation or ideas upon which to meditate. There was also one I liked for my kids: "It really isn't garbage till you mix it all together. It really isn't garbage till you throw it away. Just separate the plastic, paper, compost, glass and metal And then you get to use it all another day." But far more seemed silly inclusions, pointless, or completely random inclusions (especially in the sections she created), such as: "An open bank account allows money to flow in. An open heart allows money to flow out. In the end, it's flowing love that counts." -Far too many quotes were random book extracts or illogical statements like this. I really like the idea of this book and have noted some of my favorite quotes in it, so that when I want something to turn back to, I can skip some of the less poignant quotes. I also wanted to skip the introductory texts at the start of each chapter. Some were well-written or thought through. Most were a bit banal and took away from the idea of a Green Book of Hours. It was also rather distracting to have the book separated into eight sections based on elements, then to have her not follow any kind of theme within them. Oh well. It's still a good addition to any environmentalist's library and could be very useful for Unitarian ministers looking for help writing sermons. As a random aside, for anyone who has read Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood: A Novel, this book struck me as something that the God's Gardeners would have used as their prayer book.

Though I generally agreed with the ideas of conservation and the world being fragile this book opened my eyes. While any page can be opened and can inspire I found Karen Speerstra's introduction to each section particularly informative and illuminating,as well as being well written.The amazing variety of people,known and unknown, in different times and cultures all speaking the same truth is a powerful stimulus to what we need to do as a planet. We seem to be in the 3rd phase of the great quote in the book from Gandhi"First they ignore you,then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." This book can help make sure we win.

This delightful book will assist anyone who is trying to improve the environment and make the personal and social changes necessary to do so. You will find within these pages the words of many people encouraging you in your efforts. The author begins each chapter with a story to bring home the point of the chapter (earth, air, fire, water, time, space, and essence) that are then followed by quotes from a variety of sources that support the premise of that chapter. The final chapter is prayers for the planet. The Green Devotional is meant to be an inspirational device for people who love the natural world and it hits the mark!