Focus Issue: Eco-Spirituality

The living tradition we share as Unitarian Universalists draws from many sources, including “Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.” The following sections provide earth-centered spiritual resources for use in worship services, religious education, and private meditation.

Books and Resources for Children
Honoring Our Mother Earth: Experiences in Native American Spirituality — Lessons on Power Animals, the Medicine Wheel, and The Buffalo, and activities such as dance, ceremonies, and art help convey the timeless wisdom of our Native American heritage.
Make Way For Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey
McElligot’s Pool, by Dr. Seuss
The Wilderness Box, A K-8 Curriculum, by David Cockrell
Crafts for Kids Who Are Wild About Rainforests, by Kath Ross
Ecoart!: Earth-Friendly Art & Craft Experiences for 3-to-9-Year-Olds, by L. Carlson
Why Do We Recycle?: Markets, Values & Public Policy, by Frank Ackerman
Recycle: A Handbook For Kids, by Gail Gibbons

Eco-Spiritual Websites
Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth 
(formerly The Seventh Principle Project)  http://www.uuministryforearth.org
Earth Ministry  http://www.earthministry.org  To inspire and mobilize the Christian Community to play a leadership role in building a just and sustainable future
The Simple Living Network http://www.simpleliving.net  
Since 1996 The Simple Living Network has been providing resources, tools, examples and contacts for conscious, simple, healthy and restorative living. …Simple living is not about living in poverty or self-inflicted deprivation. Rather, it is about living an examined life – one in which you have determined what is important, or “enough,” for you, discarding the rest.

Song books
UU Hymnal, Singing the Living Tradition,
(available from the UUA bookstore http://www.uua.org/bookstore.) 
Some examples are listed by title and hymn number:

I Am That Great and Fiery Force — 27
Morning Has Broken — 38
Color and Fragrance — 78
In the Branches of the Forest — 173
Earth, You Are Surpassing Fair — 174
We Celebrate the Web of Life — 175
All Creatures of the Earth & Sky — 203
Earth Was Given as a  Garden — 207
The Earth Is Home — 310
To See the World — 398

Other Eco-spiritual Music
Earth and Spirit Songbook, compiled and edited by Jim Scott. Available for purchase from http://www.uuministryforearth.org.
The Earth I am, by Ken Langer

Other Earth-centered Collections of Meditations, Poems, and Prayers
Meditations & Readings from the UU Hymnal, Singing the Living Tradition Hymnal
“This we know. The Earth does not belong to us; we belong to the Earth…” (# 550)
All of the following reading selections from the UU Hymnal are excellent:

Blue Mountain: A Spiritual Anthology Celebrating the Earth, by F. Lynne Bachelda (ed).
John Muir in His Own Words: A Book of Quotations, by John Muir, P. Browning (ed).
Earth and All the Stars: Reconnecting With Nature Through Hymns, Stories, Poems, and Prayers from the World’s Great Religions and Cultures, by Anne Rowthorn (ed).

Books
The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher, by Lewis Thomas
The Tao Te Ching,  by Lao Tsu
The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos: Humanity and the New Story,  by Brian Swimme

Secular Environmental Websites
Houston Audubon Society http://www.houstonaudubon.org — great for kids’ activities
Environmental Education Resources http://www.eelink.net — a wealth of classroom materials and projects

Eco-Spiritual Education Materials
The Wilderness Box, A K-8 Curriculum, by David Cockrell
Crafts for Kids Who Are Wild About Rainforests, by Kath Ross
Ecoart!: Earth-Friendly Art & Craft Experiences for 3-to-9-Year-Olds, by L. Carlson
Why Do We Recycle?: Markets, Values & Public Policy, by Frank Ackerman
Recycle: A Handbook For Kids, by Gail Gibbons