We breathe the common wind of the earth
no matter where we live, who we love,
what language we speak.

We drink the common water of the earth
no matter our skin color, how long we live,
the coverings we drape on our forms.

We follow the common paths of the earth
no matter our beliefs, how far we move from home,
the gold that we carry, or its lack.

May we live from these truths:
our hearts open to the holiness all around us,
and our hands turned always toward the common good.

Rev. Kathleen McTigue is the Director of the UU College of Social Justice and serves on the Commit2Respond Steering Committee.

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Today’s practice is to reflect on what “the common good” means to you as a person of faith and/or conscience. How are you called by your beliefs or by that which is greater than yourself to act on the common good, and what does that call require of you?

Today’s resource for deepening this message is the brief history of environmental justice recounted by the UU Environmental Justice Collaboratory on their new website. “Environmental justice” is a specific framework for working for change, grounded in “the common good.” Learn more from Robert Bullard in the 3-minute video “The Genesis of Environmental Justice” (below).

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Commit2Respond's Climate Justice Month intends to take you through a transformative spiritual process leading to long-term commitments to climate justice. At the end of the month you will be asked to SHIFT to a low carbon future, ADVANCE human rights, and GROW the movement. Learn more and start thinking about how you will #commit2respond to climate change.