Notes on the Notes – September 15, 2019

Season of Creation

All Creation Groans!

This week’s scripture readings:

Job 39:1-12, 26-39              Luke 12:22-31

This week’s music:

“Each Blade of Grass” (MV #37)

“Each blade of grass, ev’ry wing that soars,
The waves that sweep across a distant shore,
Make full the circle of God.
Each laughing child, ev’ry gentle eye, a forest lit beneath a moon-bright sky,
Make full the circle of God.

Each silent paw, ev’ry rounded stone, the buzz that echoes from a honeyed comb,
Make full the circle of God.
Each fire-brimmed star, ev’ry outstretched hand,
The wind that leaps and sails across the land,
Make full the circle of God.

Each icy peak, ev’ry patterned shell, the joyous chorus that the dawn foretells,
Make full the circle of God.
Each cosmic hue, ev’ry creature’s way, all form the beauty of this vast array,
Making full the circle of God.”

This hymn by Keri K. Wehlander was written in 2005.  It is a simple list of everyday things in God’s Creation that we sometimes miss or forget to be thankful for, yet which when joined together complete the circle of creation.  The melody, RHODE ISLAND, is taken from The United States Sacred Harmony and was adapted by Linnea Good in 2005.

“Sing Your Praise to God Eternal” (VU #244)

“Sing your praise to God eternal, sing your praise to God the Son,
Sing your praise to God the Spirit, living and forever One.
God has made us, God has blessed us, God has called us to be true.
God rules over all creation, daily making all things new.

Join the praise of every creature, sing with singing birds at dawn;
When the stars shine forth at nightfall, hear their heavenly antiphon.
Praise God for the light of summer, autumn glories, winter snows,
For the coming of the springtime and the life of all that grows.

Praise God on our days of gladness for the summons to rejoice;
Praise God in our times of sadness for the calm, consoling voice.
God our Maker, strong and loving, Christ our Saviour, Leader, Lord,
Living God, Creator Spirit, be your holy name adored!”

As we begin our time of worship, we will be singing this hymn of praise to the trinity.  The words remind us of God’s presence with us always – through all times and all places.  God is not only with us in the good times, but also walks with us during times of trial. This hymn, by R.B.Y. Scott, was first published in The Hymn Book in 1971.  The tune, ARFON, is derived from a Welsh folksong dating from at least the 18th century with possible French origins.

Hear the hymn sung in worship at Trinity United Church in PEI (the hymn occurs at minute 17, but feel free to enjoy “visiting” another church – love the choir gowns!) https://youtu.be/LQSKmuNJGBw

“God in His Love for Us”

“God in his love for us lent us this planet,
Gave it a purpose in time and in space:
Small as a spark from the fire of creation,
Cradle of life and the home of our race.

Thanks be to God for its bounty and beauty,
Life that sustains us in body and mind;
Plenty for all, if we learn how to share it,
Riches undreamed of to fathom and find.

Long have the wants of man ruined its harvest;
Long has earth bowed to the terror of force;
Long have we wasted what others have need of,
Poisoned the fountain of life at its source.

Earth is the Lord’s:  it is ours to enjoy it,
Ours, as good stewards, to farm and defend.
From its pollution, misuse, and destruction,
Good Lord deliver us, world without end!”

Fred Pratt Green wrote the words for this hymn in 1973 for a competition for hymns about the environment.  The music was written by David Ashley White in 1991.

“With Respect in Creation”

“All creation groans as earth, our fragile home,
Turns in paths that lead to devastation,
Fish and bird and tree, threatened until we
Will live with respect in creation.

Skies and seas and land, created for God’s plan,
Not for our own selfish domination,
Drought or rising sea threaten until we
Will live with respect in creation.

All creation sighs, we hear the Spirit’s cries,
Calling for rebirth and restoration,
Warmth for every heart, healing of each part
That lives with respect in creation.

All creation sings, let fields and forests ring
As we make this holy declaration,
Mountains, lakes, rejoice, joining every voice
To live with respect in creation.

We’ll live with respect in creation.”

This week’s anthem was written by David Kai in 2012.  It is based on the United Church “A New Creed” and Romans 8, calling for the care of creation. This song received an honourable mention for the United Church’s Earth Day Sacred Song Contest and Pax Christi Chorale hymn competition.

“The Earth and All Who Breathe” (VU #295)

“The earth and all who breathe exist through love divine,
Who formed the sea, the flowering tree, the wren, the fragrant pine.
Each woman, man, and child created from the dust
Is called to share creation’s care, a sacred, living trust.

The good, abundant earth is ours to tend and keep,
Yet land lies waste, consumed in haste, and hungry children weep.
The nations proudly build new Babels to the sky.
Their bombs destroy creation’s joy; their missiles terrify!

Creation now awaits humanity’s rebirth
At last to claim one common aim: to nurture life on earth.
Awake, all humankind, the challenge now embrace;
Apply your strength, your voice, your means, as stewards of God’s grace.”

This hymn by Ruth Duck was written in 1983.  All three of the above hymns emphasize our role as creations of God and stewards of Creation.  The hymn writers encourage an awakening and realization of our role in the destruction of our planet and a movement toward accepting the challenges ahead as faithful people.