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Amanda Gorman recites "Earthwise"

On Christmas Eve, 1968, astronaut Bill Anders

Snapped a photo of the earth
As Apollo 8 orbited the moon.
Those three guys
Were surprised
To see from their eyes
Our planet looked like an earthrise
A blue orb hovering over the moon’s gray horizon,
with deep oceans and silver skies.

It was our world’s first glance at itself
Our first chance to see a shared reality,
A declared stance and a commonality;

A glimpse into our planet’s mirror,
And as threats drew nearer,
Our own urgency became clearer,
As we realize that we hold nothing dearer
than this floating body we all call home.

We’ve known
That we’re caught in the throes
Of climactic changes some say
Will just go away,
While some simply pray
To survive another day;
For it is the obscure, the oppressed, the poor,
Who when the disaster
Is declared done,
Still suffer more than anyone.

Climate change is the single greatest challenge of our time,

Of this, you’re certainly aware.
It’s saddening, but I cannot spare you
From knowing an inconvenient fact, because
It’s getting the facts straight that gets us to act and not to wait.

So I tell you this not to scare you,
But to prepare you, to dare you
To dream a different reality,

Where despite disparities
We all care to protect this world,
This riddled blue marble, this little true marvel
To muster the verve and the nerve
To see how we can serve
Our planet. You don’t need to be a politician
To make it your mission to conserve, to protect,
To preserve that one and only home
That is ours,
To use your unique power
To give next generations the planet they deserve.

We are demonstrating, creating, advocating
We heed this inconvenient truth, because we need to be anything but lenient
With the future of our youth.

And while this is a training,
in sustaining the future of our planet,
There is no rehearsal. The time is
Now
Now
Now,
Because the reversal of harm,
And protection of a future so universal
Should be anything but controversial.

So, earth, pale blue dot
We will fail you not.

Just as we chose to go to the moon
We know it’s never too soon
To choose hope.
We choose to do more than cope
With climate change
We choose to end it—
We refuse to lose.
Together we do this and more
Not because it’s very easy or nice
But because it is necessary,
Because with every dawn we carry
the weight of the fate of this celestial body orbiting a star.
And as heavy as that weight sounded, it doesn’t hold us down,
But it keeps us grounded, steady, ready,
Because an environmental movement of this size
Is simply another form of an earthrise.

To see it, close your eyes.
Visualize that all of us leaders in this room
and outside of these walls or in the halls, all
of us changemakers are in a spacecraft,
Floating like a silver raft
in space, and we see the face of our planet anew.
We relish the view;
We witness its round green and brilliant blue,
Which inspires us to ask deeply, wholly:
What can we do?
Open your eyes.
Know that the future of
this wise planet
Lies right in sight:
Right in all of us. Trust
this earth uprising.
All of us bring light to exciting solutions never tried before
For it is our hope that implores us, at our uncompromising core,

To keep rising up for an earth more than worth fighting for.


Tags: Outreach

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4033 SE Woodstock Blvd. · Portland, OR 97202
(503) 777-3829
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Service Times

Currently we offer an 8am Call-in Morning Prayer (Rite I) and a 10:15am streamed Holy Eucharist (Rite II) service.

For call-in information for the 8 o'clock service, email [email protected].

To participate in the 10:15, simply visit the Live page or watch directly from our Facebook page.

Location

All Saints Episcopal Church
4033 SE Woodstock Blvd.
Portland, OR 97202

Contact Us
(503) 777-3829

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Welcome Who We Are Online Worship

Welcome to All Saints – we are a community desiring to transform our lives through following Christ’s healing example of gentleness, humility, compassion, forgiveness, and peace toward all. If you are visiting Portland or if you are looking for a church home with an active intergenerational community, All Saints is a church where you will find a place of quiet reflection, or joyous celebration and fellowship. No matter where you are on your journey of faith, you will find there is a place for you here—just come as you are.

The Rev. Andria Skornik, Rector

The purpose of All Saints Church is to celebrate God’s love, to seek and to serve Christ in all persons, and to go forth into the world rejoicing in the power of the Spirit. Your presence is a blessing regardless of your background, sexual orientation, gender identity, race or ethnicity, age or family structure, abilities or limitations or wherever you are in life’s journey.

All Saints Episcopal Church is a Believe Out Loud Congregation. Click here this link for more information.

Until we can gather in person, we will gather together for Online Worship

We cannot face large-scale crises as individuals; we cannot carry the pain of this reality on our own, nor can we only look out for ourselves. The pain is communal and so too must be the response.
~ Richard Rohr

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