Rogationtide Blessing

Traditionally, rogation days were a time to "beat the bounds" of the parish, walking around its boundaries and praying over the fields for a good harvest in the fall. While we can't walk the boundaries of our parish or Saint Andrew's Campus right now, I think this is a time when our world needs all the blessings it can get! Here is a simple prayer service you can say either around the dinner table or walking around to different parts of your home (for example near the garden hose or bathtub for the prayer about water, the kitchen or garden for the part about food, the front door or an external wall for the part about shelter, etc.)

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Let us pray:

God, we thank you for the earth and everything on it, and especially for this place that we call our home.  Help us to see your love in creation, and to use what you have made well, in service of others. 

We thank you for the gift of water and for the life that it supports.  Bless us with just the right amount of water.  Help us to use the water wisely and to protect it. 

We thank you for our home.  May it continue to bless us with shelter and warmth, and may we take good care of it and make it a place of kindness and welcome. 

We thank you for the bugs and creepy crawly things on the earth.  Bless the ground and air with them so they can bless us with healthy soil and pollinated plants. 

We thank you for the wonderful foods the earth produces for us to eat.  Bless the people who grow and raise our food.  Bless us as we enjoy it, and help us to remember to be thankful. 

We thank you for all the blessings in our lives. Bless us with strong, healthy bodies, minds ready to learn, and hearts full of joy.  Strengthen us to love and serve others as you have loved and served us.  Amen.