Today we are to re-awaken our consciousness to our earthly surroundings close by and well beyond our mere location to learn and more deeply know this great gift of our Creator ~ Our Living Planet, Earth. We re-examine its lushness, its highest peaks and deepest depths, the fragrances and the freshness; re-discover our companion creatures, wild and tame, and the extraordinary interconnections of life among the plants and organisms that support us. We marvel at the vastness of the oceans, the rhythm of the tides, the flow of rivers. We must look and see what has gone before, where we are now, and discover again our world's potential. Most importantly, we are to discover ways to maintain and expand protections against industrial waste, general pollution, the loss of precious water resources, and especially the vast impact of our own everyday thoughtless actions individually, collectively, and globally. This Earth and her resources feed our bodies and provides oxygen for our breath, and breath-taking beauty in which we know the wonder of God.
We are called to be a servant to humanity as in Christ’s teaching and example, and God has given us charge over all Creation. Let us protect and prosper the gift we have been given.
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ O Lord our God of all that is, seen and unseen, grant us the humility to understand our true place in, and responsibilities for Your Creation, to learn from every living creature and life form, and to be voice and champion for the protection and preservation of this Earth that you lay at our feet.
RESPONSE: We bless You by our faith and action
~ O Lord our God of all that is, instill within us and all who lead the Governments of our Planet, our Nation, and our Community, the urgency to feed all people, remove causes of violence, be rid of material greed, and to stop wasting this planet, through assuring the well-being of eco-systems and environments that sustain the life and existence of Your whole Earth. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O Lord, Breath of our Being
We bless You by our faith and action
~ O Lord our God of all that is, surround the hearts of all who live with chronic illness, or critical need, with Your peace and healing; and endurance for those who give them care. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions
O Lord, Breath of our Being
We bless You by our faith and action
~ O Lord our God of all that is, keep us in the knowledge that love never dies and that those we have sent ahead, have new life in the holy grandeur of Your Eternal Kingdom. We pray especially for… add your own petitions
O Lord, Breath of our Being
We bless You by our faith and action
~ O Lord our God of all that is, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions
~ O Lord our God of all
that is, set alight the spirits of those called by You to lead us in Your
Church, who guide us to make our destination to You clear, and join us to love,
honor, and serve as Christ has taught and shown us by His example. We pray
especially for: add your own petitions
O Lord, Breath of our Being
We
bless You by our faith and action
The Celebrant adds: O
God of Glory, awaken us each day with the renewed desire to restore and cherish
Your precious gift of this living, breathing planet, the literal ground that
supports every earthly being. Kindle our fervor to actively engage in and
assure its health and wholeness for all who live and breathe on this planet,
now and always. We ask through Jesus, our Teacher and Redeemer; and the Holy
Spirit, the Divine and Limitless Energy of our souls; who together with You are
One God, forever and ever. Amen.
*A reading from the Prayer of Azariah: Let the earth bless the Lord, praise and exalt God above all forever! Mountains and hills, bless the Lord, Everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord, You springs, bless the Lord, Seas and rivers, bless the Lord, You dolphins and all water creatures, bless the Lord, All you birds of the air, bless the Lord, All you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord, praise and exalt God above all forever.
-Even the babble of infants declares your strength, your power to halt the enemy and avenger.
-I see your handiwork in the heavens: The moon and the stars you set in place.
-What is humankind that you remember them, the human race that you care for them?
-You treat them like gods, dressing them in glory and splendor. You give them charge of the earth, laying all at their feet: cattle and sheep, wild beasts, birds of the sky, fish of the sea, every swimming creature.
-Lord our God, the whole world tells the greatness of your name.
[From The Psalter: A faithful and inclusive rendering, Liturgy Training Publications (International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc.),
*** A Reading from Chief Seattle: Every part of
this earth is sacred to my people. Every shiny pine needle, every sandy shore,
every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect. All are holy
in the memory and experience of my people. We know the sap which courses
through the trees as we know the blood that courses through our veins. We are
part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters.
The bear, the deer, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests,
the juices in the meadow, the body heat of the pony, and humanity, all belong
to the same family. The rivers are our brother. They quench our thirst. They
carry our canoes and feed our children. So you must give to the rivers the
kindness you would give to any brother. The air is very precious to us, the air
shares its spirit with all the life it supports. The wind that gave our
grandfather his first breath also receives his last sigh. The wind also gives
our children the spirit of life. Will you teach your children what we have
taught our children? That the earth is our mother? What befalls the earth
befalls all the children of earth. This we know: the earth does not belong to man,
man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites
us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it.
Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. One thing we know: our God is
also your god. The earth is precious to god and to harm the earth is to heap
contempt on its Creator. Continue to contaminate your bed and you will one
night suffocate in your waste. Excerpts from a speech to the President of
the United States, Attributed to Chief Seattle, Duwamish Tribe, 1855
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