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Inspiration
Thoughts, prayers and other resources to encourage us from many faiths and across the ages.
See also our page of
Prayers and Meditations.
The Seven Stages of PilgrimageAll major faiths have pilgrimage, as well as protection of the environment, as part of their teaching and tradition. ARC has drawn together seven stages of pilgrimage from the experience of the faiths. If all your business meetings included these seven stages - including especially the notion of transformation at the end - how much more powerful they would be.
1. Think about being a pilgrim rather than just travelling from A to B.
2. Recognise that journeys are entities in themselves and they can—if you allow them—take on a life of their own. They are not just a means to an end.
3. Become aware of the people with whom you are travelling and of why you are together, discovering what each of you brings as well as being honest about some of the tensions.
4. Understand the story that has brought you there: your story.
5. Lose your role as an observer and become part of the landscape and part of somebody else’s story.
6. Look at what you are passing through.
7. Recognize that at the end of the journey you should be different from the person who set out. If every business meeting, every overseas trip, and every project were to use these ideas they would be so much more effective and enjoyable.
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Pilgrim, Finistere: photo by Graham Stanley |
Inspirational texts you can download from this siteHearing the Voices of Creation This booklet was produced for ARC's 2009 event in Windsor Castle and includes poetry, prayers and stories from all the major religious traditions celebrating creation and the natural world.
Hearing the Voices of Creation (teachers pack) A teachers pack prepared for ARC by Victoria Fletcher that provides lesson plans drawing on the inspirational content of the 'Hearing the Voices of Creation' booklet.
The Sacred Life of Trees A short but very informative article written by Martin Palmer for the magazine Faith Initiative that looks at the spiritual and metaphorical significance of trees and forests in the major religious traditions.
Climate Change Handbook Prepared for ARC by Paola Triolo this handbook draws together theology and science about climate change and then offers a treasure trove of practical and imaginative ways in which the day-to-day life of individuals, families and congregations can change to help address the problem.
Green Lenten Pathway Compiled by the pupils and teachers of a British primary school, this 'pathway' suggests a whole range of ideas of how to make a positive contribution to the environment on a daily basis.
More places for inspiration on this website
Stories and quotations from the faith traditions:
Buddhist
Christian
Daoist
Hindu
Islamic
Jain
Jewish
Sikh
A sweet world and verdant green: faith quotes for Bali.
Blessings, prayers and meditations on forests.
Harvest festival liturgies
Advent liturgies
How to work in partnership with faiths
Liturgical, graphic and other resources from the US Catholic Climate Covenant
Inspirational speech on climate change by Bishop William Skylstad from Spokane, WA, USA
Faith in Conservation: a World Bank book by ARC's Martin Palmer and Victoria Finlay on how this movement started, and some of the challenges and adventures in its first 15 years. Read the preface and link to the full text.
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