7  I brought you into a plentiful land to eat its fruits and its good things. But when you entered you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination. (Jeremiah 2.7)

Taking care of the earth is one of the first commandments that God gives humankind. God tasked Adam to name creation as well as take care of it. However, today we grow increasingly out of touch with God’s creation and are disconnected with how our actions impact the earth and generations to come.

Below are ideas for interactive prayer stations focusing on our impact and responsibility to take care of God’s creation. The interactive prayer stations are meant to be intergenerational. There are also stations designed for ages 2-4. (For more specific instructions on layout, purpose, design, and more ideas, you can view previous posts tagged under “Interactive Prayer Stations.”) You can see more pictures of these prayer stations here.

Interactive Prayer Station #1: Comprehend Our Provisions

Materials: Bowl filled with water, Fruit, Candles

Take time to consider where in your life, the life-giving springs are that God has provided you for refreshment, support, sustenance, or whatever you value. Then remind yourself of what fruit that has born in you. Place a piece of fruit in the water as a sign of remembering God’s provision and its consequence for you.

Take a few moments to allow this to become part of you.

Invite God to keep this alive in you in your faith journey.

Adaptation for kids: God has given us many gifts. We call this fruit of the spirit: love, joy, patience, goodness, faithfulness, self-control, peace, gentleness, and kindness. Place a piece of fruit in the water to remind yourself that God wants us to have these qualities.

Interactive Prayer Station #2: Discover Our Wandering

Materials: Candle, Drinking Straws, Glass Vase, Sand

Reflect upon your own wandering, your quest to be self-sufficient and setting aside God’s provisions in our world and your life. Take a straw, inserting it in the sand, and be reminded of how you have dug your own wells in your life, which in the end offer nothing substantial, instead of relying upon God’s ample provisions.

Take time now to let this find a home in you.

Invite God to keep this alive in you in your faith journey.

Adaptation for kids: Sometimes we try too hard to do things ourselves, but God wants us to rely on God because God provides what we need. Take a straw and insert it in the sand reminding us that God’s supports us like the sand supports the straw.

Interactive Prayer Station #3: Recognize Our Impact

Materials: Candles, Pencils, Paper, World Map, Random Items such as light bulb, toy car, plastic bottle, etc.

Think about where you are called these days to take action in our world so that God’s created provisions may be cherished, honored, and shared with all from generation to generation. Make a note of what you will do to plant, reduce, buy, enforce, protect, invest, conserve, demand on behalf of others.

Reflect for awhile now on the significance of this.

Invite God to keep this alive in you in your faith journey.

Adaptation for kids: Think of ways you could do better in taking care of God’s creation. Write them down.

Interactive Prayer Stations for Toddlers:

Activity one: God created the world. God created us. Look through a book and read about how God created this world and everything in it. What did God create? How did God make you special? How can you help take care of God’s creation?

Materials: A variety of Children’s Books on Creation, such as God Created  by Mark Francisco Bozzuti-Jones and Jui Ishida, Creation by Gerald McDermott, God’s Paintbrush by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, The Greatest Name on Earth! by  Joel Anderson and Kristi Carter

Activity two: God created us to be creative people! Using the playdoh, create something!

Materials: Different colored Playdoh, a variety of playdoh tools, such as cookie cutters, rolling pins, etc.

Activity three: God wants us to take care of the earth. One way to care for the earth is to recycle or reuse things. Practice recycling by putting the items in the proper bin.

Materials: 3 trash cans, LANDFILL, RECYCLE, COMPOST Signs, a variety of washed out or clean trash, recyclable items, and fake food