Bulletin – Sunday, September 5, 2021

Sunday, September 5, 2021

Season of Creation 1
Planet Earth / Communion

Approach

Lighting the Candle

In the name of God, who creates planets, the name of Jesus Christ, born on planet Earth and the name of the Spirit who envelopes our planet. We come to this place together knowing that to live in God’s creation is to be in a place that is filled with God’s presence. As we light this candle today, Christ, we come into your presence to worship in this sanctuary called Earth.

Response

O beautiful Gaia, O Gaia, calling us home.
O beautiful Gaia, calling us one.

Call to Worship

One:   Planet Earth, spinning silently through space:
All:      Celebrate your beauty and your grace, your special place in our solar system.

One:   Planet Earth, gleaming green and blue:
All:      Rejoice in your ocean currents as they dance and swirl with hope.

One:   Planet Earth, pulsing with life:
All:      Join in praise with all your fauna and flora as they sing their songs to the Lord.

One:   Planet Earth, enveloped in the breath of God:
All:      Bless all your creatures this day with the life-giving breath of God.

One:   Planet Earth, our precious, fragile home:
All:      Celebrate, with all your children, God’s presence in our planet home.

One:   Spin, Planet Earth, spin!
All:      Sing, Planet Earth, sing!

Hymn – “It’s a Song of Praise to the Maker”

It’s a song of praise to the Maker, the thrush sings high in the tree.
It’s a song of praise to the Maker, the gray whale sings in the sea,
And by the Spirit you and I can join our voice to the holy cry
And sing, sing, sing to the Maker too.

It’s a call of life to the Giver when waves and waterfalls roar.
It’s a call of life to the Giver when high tides break on the shore,
And by the Spirit you and I can join our voice to the holy cry
And sing, sing, sing to the Maker too.

It’s a hymn of love to the Lover, the bumblebees hum along.
It’s a hymn of love to the Lover, the summer breeze joins the song,
And by the Spirit you and I can join our voice to the holy cry
And sing, sing, sing to the Maker too.

It’s the chorus of all creation; it’s sung by all living things.
It’s the chorus of all creation; a song the universe sings,
And by the Spirit you and I can join our voice to the holy cry
And sing, sing, sing to the Maker too.

Prayer of Approach

God, our creator, as we reflect on the mystery of our fragile planet, we celebrate the wonders of Earth as our home.

Help us to discern how we have polluted our planet and to empathize with the groaning of creation beneath us. Teach us to sense the presence of God pulsing through Earth as a living green blue sanctuary. Teach us to love Earth as our home.

Yet, we know that we have not loved the Earth as you wanted us to love the Earth. We are sorry, God of all Creation. We have polluted Earth’s waters with toxins. We have turned our greed into global warming. We have helped cause Arctic regions to melt. We have loved progress more than the planet. We have loved consumption more than creation. We are sorry. We long to hear you calling us back into harmony with all that you have created.

Open our eyes that we might see the beauty of creation. Open our ears that we might hear the call to live in harmony. Open our hearts that we might see you in all that you have created. We ask this in the name of the one who came to teach us your ways your son, Jesus. Amen.

Words of Assurance

Hymn – “Big Beautiful Planet”

There’s a big, beautiful planet in the sky,
And it’s my home, it’s where I live.
You and many others live here, too.
The earth is our home, it’s where we live.

We can feel the power of the noon day sun
A blazing ball of fire up above
Shining light and warmth enough for everyone
A gift to every nation from a star.

There’s a big, beautiful planet in the sky,
It’s my home, it’s where I live.
You and many others live here, too.
The earth is our home, it’s where we live.

We can feel the spirit of the blowing wind
A mighty source of power in our lives
Offering another way to fill our needs
Nature’s gift to help us carry on.

There’s a big, beautiful planet in the sky,
It’s my home, it’s where I live.
You and many others live here, too.
The earth is our home, it’s where we live.

Time for All Ages

The Word

Scripture Reading:           Romans 1:19-20

¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse;

Scripture Reading:           John 1:1-14

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴ in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸ He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. ⁹ The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. ¹² But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God!

Meditation – “God in Creation!”

Anthem – “In the Garden”

The Response

Communion

One:   Jesus Christ, teach us to empathize with Earth. Make our spirits sensitive to the cries of creation, cries for justice from the land, the seas, and the skies. Jesus Christ, make our faith sensitive to the groans of the Spirit in creation, groans of longing for new creation. Jesus Christ, make our hearts sensitive to the songs of our kin, songs of celebration from the sea, the forest and the air. Christ, teach us to care.

One:   The Creator be with you and all creation.
All:      And also with you.

One:   Open your hearts.
All:      We open them to our Creator.

One:   Let us give thanks to our Creator.
All:      It is right to join creation in thanking God.

One:   It is right to give you thanks, loving Creator.

One:   Your Word is the impulse for all things to be, for space, stars and stardust to appear, for Earth to emerge from the deep, for life to be born on Earth and for humans to be born of Earth and the Spirit. You chose to be born a human being, to become a part of Earth, to suffer, die and rise from death to redeem humankind, renew creation, and affirm all born of Earth and the Spirit. Your presence is the living impulse in all things, the Christ deep among us, filling Earth—land, sea and air; filling every element and place; filling the grain and the grape we share with you this day.

One:   Therefore with angels and archangels, ancient voices in the forest, high voices from the sky, deep voices from the sea and the whole company of creation, we proclaim your presence among us.

One:   Holy, holy, holy, God of all life, earth and sea and sky are full of your presence and glorify your name. Amen.

One:   We come to your table aware that we bring the bounty of your creation. The bread made from flour ground from grain. The drink made from the fruits of the vine. Creation has blessed us with what you need to nourish our bodies. Your presence with, and among us, nourishes our soul. Today we lift up to you those whom we hope will truly feel your presence with them this day…

One:   On the night before he was betrayed, Jesus met with his friends to enact a centuries old tradition. Offering the gifts of creation Jesus took the bread, broke it, give it to his friends saying; “This bread is from Creation, kneaded by human hands, it is the bread of life, each time you eat this bread remember me and all that I taught.”

One:   After dinner Jesus too the cup, pouring out the wine, he gave it to his friends saying; “This drink is the fruit of the vice, pressed by human hands, it is the cup of the new covenant, each time you drink from this cup, remember me and all that I taught.”

One:   This bread and this cup remind us of the bounty of God’s creation and our new life in Christ. Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, in unity of the Holy Spirit all glory and honour is yours, God most High, now and forever.

One:   The table is ready, all are welcome at Christ’s table.

Prayer after Sharing

Now may the power of this meal, the power of Christ’s blessing today reach deep into your heart, your mind and your body to heal your wounds and through you to bring healing to Earth. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hymn – All Praise to You”

All praise to you, O God of all creation:
You made the world, and it is yours alone.
The planet earth you spun in its location
Amid the stars adorning heaven’s dome.
We lease the earth but for a life’s duration,
Yet for this life it is our cherished home.

With wondrous grace you clothed the earth in splendour,
With teeming life you filled the sea and land.
Instill in us a sense of awe and wonder
When we behold the bounty of your hand.
Then when we hear the voice of bird or thunder,
We hear the voice our faith can understand.

To tend the earth is our entrusted duty,
For earth is ours to use and not abuse.
O gracious God, true source of all resources,
Forgive our greed that wields destruction’s sword.
Then let us serve a wise and faithful stewards
While earth gives glory to creation’s Lord.

Benediction

Christ calls you to be his disciples, to serve him with love and compassion, to serve Earth by caring for creation. We are called to remember our planet home! As we remember might we groan when all creation groans! We are challenged to celebrate the Earth, to care for creation, to nurture our planet, and to celebrate life!

May the Spirit of God, who is above all and in all and through all, fill you with the knowledge of God’s presence in Earth and the pulsing of Christ within you. Go in peace! Serving Christ and loving Earth! Amen.

Response

Like a rock, like a rock, God is under our feet.
Like the starry night sky, God is over our head.
Like the sun on the horizon, God is ever before.
Like the river runs to ocean, our home is in God evermore.