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Call to Worship
One: The Earth
is God’s alone, the world and all that dwells in it.
All: We
live in God’s world; we are not alone.
We share this life with all of
creation,
our brothers and sisters,
the waters, the deserts, the
trees and the fields,
the fish, the birds, and
creatures of every kind.
One: God saw
all that was made, and it was very good.
Opening Prayer
All: We come
before you now seeking to be reconciled with all of creation.
We confess that we have not
loved the Earth as you love it.
We have neglected to give the
land rest,
and we have misused the gift
you gave us.
Teach us to care for all of
creation,
by giving rest to the Earth and
to each other.
Hymn
Touch the Earth Lightly (Voices
United, 307)
Wind Upon the Waters (Common
Praise, 408)
Readings
Leviticus 25:1-12
Psalm 104
Romans 8: 19-25
Reflection: Rest and Renewal for
the Earth
In addition to using these notes,
you may also wish to draw on "A Meditation on Earth" (p. X).
A time of rest and renewal for
the land has been built into the rhythm of created life by the creator of life.
God instructs the people to give
the land an opportunity to recover from the endless round of sowing and harvest.
God shows concern for the health of the land, and builds into religious law a
respite for the land.
In modern society, consumption
and production proceed at full pace, day after day, year after year. We are
discovering that this eventually becomes counter-productive. Our use of the land
and other resources —fisheries and tropical rainforests, for instance— soon
taxes them beyond their ability to sustain themselves or us.
How do we build this period of
rest into our daily and yearly relationships with creation?
Offering
Replace or supplement the usual
monetary offering with a symbolic offering where each person places a broken
twig, representing acts we have committed against God’s creation, in the
offering plate or on the altar. In offering the twigs, we are seeking God’s
help to restore our relationship with the Earth.
Offertory Prayer
All: O God,
We bring these gifts like red
raspberries in a cup,
like dandelions in a bouquet
brought by a 6 year old.
We bring ourselves and our
world
in brokenness and in hope.
We offer them all to you,
confident in your grace,
which makes raspberries a
feast,
dandelions a fragrant garden,
and the world a new creation.
Hymn
Pray for the Wilderness (p. X)
Commitment to Action
Whether or not you hold this
service in planting season, plant some symbol of your commitment to care for the
Earth in the soil of your church community. For outdoor planting in the fall,
try bulbs or a dormant tree or bush. In the winter, you could pot bulbs inside,
and then replant them in outdoor beds later in the season. In the spring or
summer, let the beauty of God’s creation inspire you! Follow the planting with
the declaration below.
Declaration
One:
Recognizing that the Earth and the fullness thereof is a gift from our gracious
God, and that we are called to cherish, nurture and provide loving stewardship
for the Earth’s resources, and recognizing that life itself is a gift, and a
call to responsibility, joy and celebration:
All: We declare
ourselves to be world citizens.
We commit ourselves to lead
ecologically sound lives.
We commit ourselves to lead
lives of creative simplicity.
We commit ourselves to join
with others in reshaping institutions
so as to bring about a more
just global society.
We will seek to avoid creation
of products which will cause harm to others.
We affirm the gift of our body,
and commit ourselves to its
proper nourishment and physical well-being.
We commit ourselves to examine
continually our relations with others,
and to attempt to relate
honestly, morally and lovingly to those around us.
We commit ourselves to personal
renewal
through prayer, meditation and
study.
We promise responsible
participation in a community of faith.
Hymn
All Things Bright and Beautiful (Common
Praise 415, 416; Voices United 291)
Blessing
All: May gentle
spring rains soften the tensions within us,
And powerful ocean waves steady
and strengthen us.
May the wisdom in the Earth
open us to mystery.
Let the music of forest streams
delight us,
and simple wildflowers
captivate our hearts.
May our ever-creating God
continue to bless us.
Amen.
Credits:
The offertory prayer is adapted
from For All Who Minister: A Worship Manual for the Church of the Brethren,
1993. The declaration is an adaptation of the Shakertown Pledge. The blessing is
adapted from a prayer in More Than Words by Janet Schaffran and Pat Kozak,
1986.
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