PATRONS
GOVERNING BOARD
Environment Sunday Liturgy for 8 June 2003
“Pentecost and the Environment”
This year
Environment Sunday (the Sunday nearest World Environment Day, on 5 June)
coincides with Pentecost. This
collection of liturgical resources, selected from a variety of sources, and
adapted, focuses on both the Spirit and the Environment.
It has been prepared for use by local congregations.
In each section of prayers three options are provided.
You are encouraged to use the liturgy as appropriate in your local church
context. The readings, especially
the one from Romans, are appropriate for theme. Hymns and songs should be
included where appropriate.
Readings
from the Common Lectionary for 8 June:
Acts
2: 1-21
Ezekiel
37: 1-14
Romans
8: 22-27
Psalm
104: 26-36
John
15: 26-27; John 16:4b-15
Call
to Worship
In mystery and wonder
we see the face of God.
In earthiness and ordinariness
we know the love of Christ.
In heights and depths
and life and death
the spirit of God is moving among us.
Let us praise God.
***
Leader:
The Earth is Gods,
the world and all that dwells therein.
All:
We live in God’s world, we are not alone.
We
share this life with the heavens and the earth,
with the waters and the land,
with
trees and grasses,
with
fish, birds, and animals,
with
creatures of every form,
and
with all our brothers and sisters.
Leader:
God saw all that was made, and behold, it was very good.
***
Leader:
From before the world began
and after the end of eternity
All:
You are God
Leader:
From the sea bursting out of its womb
to the wind ceasing from its chase
All:
You are God
Leader:
In the constancy of created things
and in their fickleness
All:
You are God
Leader:
In the vastness of the universe
and in the forgotten corner of our hearts
All:
You are God
Leader:
The whole earth is alive with your glory
All:
And all that has life is sustained by you.
Leader:
The world of God surrounds us
All:
We respond with praise.
Penitence
Creator God,
breathing your own life into our being,
you gave us the gift of life:
You placed us on this earth
With its minerals and waters,
With flowers and fruits,
Living creatures of grace and beauty!
You give us the care of the earth:
Today you call
us: "Where are you; what have you done?"
(silence)
We hide in utter shame, for we are naked.
We violate the earth and plunder it;
We refuse to share the earth's resources;
We seek to own what is not ours, but yours.
Forgive us Creator God, and reconcile us to your creation.
O God of Love
You gave us the gift of peoples -
of cultures, races and colours,
to love, to care for, to share our lives with.
Today you ask us:
"Where is your brother, your sister?"
(silence)
We hide ourselves in shame and fear.
Poverty, hunger, hatred and war rule the earth;
The refugees, the oppressed and the vioceless
cry out to you.
Forgive us, O God of love, and reconcile us to yourself and
to one another.
Teach us, O Creator God of Love,
that the earth and all its fullness is yours,
the world and those who dwell in it.
Call us yet again to safeguard the gift of life.
***
All:
We are killing the earth:
Leader:
as mountains of garbage pile up,
as
uranium and nuclear waste threaten life for centuries to come,
as
we use trees faster than they can re-grow,
as
our precious agricultural land loses its fertility.
All:
We are killing the waters:
Leader:
as toxic chemicals and human waste
are
dumped into lakes, rivers and oceans,
as
fish and plants die from acid rain,
as
groundwater is poisoned.
All:
We are killing the skies:
Leader:
as the global atmosphere heats up from chemical gases,
as
the ozone layer is destroyed,
as
clean air is poisoned by car and truck pollution.
***
Leader:
Giver of Life,
In
the midst of a plundered earth we groan with creation:
All:
Have mercy on us.
Leader:
Giver of Life,
In the midst of polluted air we groan with creation:
All:
Have mercy on us.
Leader:
Giver of Life,
We who are made in the image of God have gone astray,
and creation groans with us:
All:
Have mercy on us.
***
God of creation, the earth is yours
with all its beauty and goodness
its rich and overflowing provision.
But we have claimed it for our own,
pundered its beauty for profit,
grabbed its resources for ourselves.
God of creation, forgive us.
May we no longer abuse your trust,
but care gently and with justice for your earth.
Reflection on the Reading from Romans
Leader :
The
sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is
to be revealed.
All:
I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former things have passed
away.
Leader:
The creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children
of God.
All:
I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former things have passed
away.
Leader:
The creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the
will of the one who subjected it in hope.
All:
I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former things have passed
away.
Leader:
The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain
the glorious liberty of the children of God.
All:
I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former things have passed
away.
Leader:
The whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and
not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruit of the Spirit,
groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons and daughters, the redemption of
our bodies.
All:
I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former things have passed
away.
Call to Commitment
(United Nations Environmental Sabbath Programmme)
We
join with the earth and with each other
To
bring new life to the land
To
restore the waters
To
refresh the air
We
join with the earth and with each other
To
renew the forests
To
care for the plants
To
protect the creatures
We
join with the earth and with each other
To
celebrate the seas
To
rejoice in the sunlight
To
sing the song of the stars
We
join with the earth and with each other
To
recreate the human community
To
promote justice and peace
To
remember our children
We
join together as many and diverse expressions of one loving mystery: for the
healing of the earth and the renewal of life.
Prayers for the Environment
Almighty God,
who on the day of Pentecost
sent your Holy Spirit to the disciples
with the wind from heaven and in tongues of flame,
filling them with joy and boldness to preach the gospel;
send us out in the power of the same spirit
that we may share in the labour of all creation
to give birth to your hidden glory,
through Jesus Christ.
Amen.
***
Come, Holy Spirit, renew the whole creation.
Send the wind and flame of your transforming life.
Call us forth into new harmonies of care
for all that lives and breathes and has its being.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen
***
God our creator,
We celebrate the gift of life and relationships,
we celebrate the diversity of life on this planet,
the oceans and lands, people and wildlife.
We open our hearts and minds
to hear the voice of your spirit in creation.
Amen.
Blessing
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
May the rains fall softly upon your fields until we meet
again.
May you be held in the hollow of God’s hand.
***
The blessing of the God of Sarah and Abraham,
the blessing of the Son, born of Mary,
the blessing of the Holy Spirit who broods over us
as a mother over her children,
be with us all. Amen
***
God of power,
may the boldness of your Spirit transform us,
may the gentleness of your Spirit lead us,
may the gifts of your Spirit
equip us and send us forth
to bring healing to the broken hearted
and fullness of life to all on earth
through Jesus Christ.
Amen.