Liturgy: Time of Lamentation and Unburdening based on Isaiah 65:17-25

(Please feel free to use this resource.  Credit:  Rev. Murray Speer.)

For one or two voices.

With congregational sung response – Voices United 370

Sung Response:

Send your Holy Spirit on your gathered people,

merciful and loving God, hear us, as we pray.

Reading:

For I am creating new heavens and a new earth;

the former troubles shall not be remembered or come to mind.

Be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating;

for I am creating a city of peace and joy,

and creating its people as a delight.

Prayer:

O God of love, we are in need of your creative power within and among us.

Our urge to destroy has always been larger, stronger, and easier to listen to,

than your call to peace and harmony.

Help us to see your city of peace and joy, not as a future promise,

but as a present reality.  Help us to live in your new earth even as we struggle with the challenges and troubles of our lives.

Sung Response:

Send your Holy Spirit on your gathered people,

merciful and loving God, hear us, as we pray.

Reading:

I will rejoice in the holy city,

and delight in my people;

no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,

or the cry of distress.

No longer will there be in it an infant that lives but a few days,

or an elder who does not live out a lifetime;

for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,

and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered unfortunate.

Prayer:

O God of love, we are in need of your compassion within and among us.

Sometimes the pain of living seems a burden too heavy to bear,

and we lose our ability to rejoice and take delight.

We long for a time when tears will not be necessary,

but in the meantime, help us to see through your eyes

and delight in the wonders of creation,

and rejoice in the miracles of birth and growth,

and thus dispel the shadows of death and suffering.

Sung Response:

Send your Holy Spirit on your gathered people,

merciful and loving God, hear us, as we pray.

Reading:

They shall live in the houses they build;

they shall eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant.

They shall not build homes for others and yet be homeless;

they shall not plant for others and yet remain hungry;

for the days of my people will be like the days of a tree,

and my beloved people shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

Prayer:

O God of love, we are in need of your divine justice within and among us.

We know that some have gathered to themselves so much wealth

as to make it meaningless to measure it,

while others toil for no reward and struggle to acquire the basics of life.

Too often we have benefited where we have not laboured,

and too often we have seen others abused and not spoken out.

Too often we have taken the resources of your created world

without regard for balance, harmony, or sustainable relationships.

Help us to seek more and more each day

a way of being in which those who have much do not have too much,

and those who have little do not have too little,

and all our relations are given space

to thrive and grow as you would have them do.

Sung Response:

Send your Holy Spirit on your gathered people,

merciful and loving God, hear us, as we pray.

Reading:

They shall not labor in vain,

or bear children doomed to suffer;

for they and their descendants shall be people blessed by God.

Even before they call on me, I will answer,

while they are still speaking I will hear.

The wolf and the lamb shall eat side by side,

the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

Serpents will be content to live on the ground,

and shall not do any harm on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.

Prayer:

O God of love, we are in need of your presence within and among us.

In Christ you are at work reconciling all things to yourself.

We long to see the day that we and all of creation are reconciled,

each to the other,

so that none will know fear, hunger, or despair,

and then none will suffer injustice, abuse, or neglect,

and then all will be able to open their hearts,

and then all will be transformed in the divine image,

and then the peaceable kingdom will be realized.

In the meantime, help us to love as we have been loved,

to give as we have received,

and to live as though we have been born to eternal life.

Sung Response:

Send your Holy Spirit on your gathered people,

merciful and loving God, hear us, as we pray.

Liturgy: Litany of Creation Based on Genesis 1:1-24

(Please feel free to use this liturgy.  Credit:  Rev. Murray Speer.)

(For one or two voices, congregational responses in bold.)

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the world was formless and fluid, and darkness covered the face of the deep, while the spirit of God brooded over the face of the waters. Then God said,
     ‘Let there be light.’
And there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
     And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Help us to remember that you are the source of life, and are intimately connected with all living things.  You bring form out of chaos, and call all things into being.  Everything that we have is thanks to you, O God.

     (sung: Voices United #370)
     Send your Holy Spirit on your gathered people,
     merciful and loving God, hear us, as we pray.

And God said,
     ‘Let there be a dome that separates the waters below from the
     emptiness above.’
And it was so. God called the dome Sky.
     And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

The air that we breathe is yours, O God.  Too often we have befouled it with radiation, acidity, and toxic fumes.  Forgive our neglect.

     (sung: VU 370)
     Send your Holy Spirit on your gathered people,
     merciful and loving God, hear us, as we pray.

And God said,
     ‘Let the waters be gathered together, and let the dry land appear.’
And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said,
     ‘Let the earth produce plants and trees.’
And it was so.  And God saw that it was good.
     And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

The ocean and the land are yours, O God.  Too often we have treated them as a means to an end or an unlimited resource, without realizing the delicate balances of nature.  As we pave over farmland and pour oil into the ocean, forgive our over-reaching ways.

     (sung: VU 370)
     Send your Holy Spirit on your gathered people,
     merciful and loving God, hear us, as we pray.

And God said,
     ‘Let there be lights in the sky to give light to the earth.’
And it was so. God made the sun, the moon, and the stars, in order to shine light upon the earth. And God saw that it was good.
     And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

Your dominion is not limited to our globe, O God.  As our technological presence extends to other globes, and our biological presence follows, help us to be mindful of your call and respectful of the integrity of your created universe.

     (sung: VU 370)
     Send your Holy Spirit on your gathered people,
     merciful and loving God, hear us, as we pray.

And God said,
     ‘Let the waters teem with countless living creatures, and let birds fly
     across the sky.’
So God created the sea creatures of every kind, and all the winged birds. God blessed them, saying,
     ‘Bear fruit and be many, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds be
     many on the earth.’
And God saw that it was good.
     And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

The animals of the sky and the sea belong to you, O God.  As we hunt and fish species to extinction and destroy their natural habitats, help us to feel your outrage and your compassion.  Forgive our disregard for “all our relations.”

     (sung: VU 370)
     Send your Holy Spirit on your gathered people,
     merciful and loving God, hear us, as we pray.

And God said,
     ‘Let the earth teem with countless living creatures of
     every kind.’
And it was so. God made the wild animals and the livestock and everything that creeps on the earth.
     And God saw that it was very, very good.

We call on your mercy and your grace, O God, to carry us into a new communion with the created order.  Pour your compassion and your forgiveness over us.  Give us a vision of healing and togetherness for your entire world.  We know that, with Christ as our helper, we can restore justice and balance and live in harmony with all that you have made.

     (sung: VU 370)
     Send your Holy Spirit on your gathered people,
     merciful and loving God, hear us, as we pray.

Liturgy: Communion Prayer for Creation Time in the Season of Pentecost

(Please feel free to use this liturgy.)

(Credit:  Rev. Murray Speer, adapted from "Prayer D" and other resources in Celebrating God's Presence, and "A New Creed")

In the sacrament of communion the ordinary things of life
—water, bread, wine—
point beyond themselves to God and God’s love,
      teaching us to be alert
      to the sacred in the midst of life.

This is not the table of (local) Church, or (denomination), or the worldwide church.  It is Christ’s table, and all are welcome at the table of the Lord.  If you do not wish to partake, please stay and watch so that you can tell others what we do here.

Come, not because you are strong but because you are weak.  Not because you are blessed but because you are hungry.  Come because you know God a little and want to know God more.  God is present in the act of communion.

We are not alone.
      We live in God’s world.
Open up your hearts.
      We open our hearts in prayer.
Let us give thanks to God.
      It is good to give our thanks and praise.

Let us pray.
Loving God, Source of all,
we praise you with our lips and with our lives,
that, having created all things through your Word,
you enter into intimate closeness with us.
For the goodness of creation,
and the glory of your redeeming love,
we praise you.
For your holiness which calls us to follow you,
and your justice which calls us to repent,
we praise you.
That you have created and are creating,
that you have come in Jesus,
the Word made flesh, to reconcile and make new,
that you work in us and others by the Spirit,
we praise you.
We trust in you.
Therefore, with all the faithful of every time and place,
we join the song of all creation
to proclaim your goodness:
                               
      Holy, holy, holy God,
      power of life and love!
      All of creation glows
      with your glorious light!    
      Hosanna through the ages!      
      Blessed is the one       
      who comes in the name of God.           
      Hosanna through the ages!    

On the night before he died,
Jesus took bread, gave you thanks,
broke it, and said: “Take, eat.
This is my body, given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way he took the cup, saying:
“This is the cup of a new covenant,
poured out for the sake of many.
Whenever you drink it,
do this in remembrance of me.”

Loving God, Creative Parent,
blessing your name, we seek your Spirit.
Come to us and bless these gifts of bread and wine,
fruit of the earth and of our labour,
that they may be for us the sacrament of Christ,
sign and seal of our participation in his ongoing life
and our adoption as children of One Parent.
You call us to be the church,
to celebrate your presence,
to love and serve others,
to seek justice and resist evil.
As we eat and drink together,
make us one with Christ and with each other,
a sign of your eternal reign in all creation.

      We proclaim Jesus,
      Crucified and risen,
      Our judge and our hope.

This offering of praise and thanksgiving
we make to you, loving God
through Christ your Word made flesh,
and in the creative power of your life-giving Spirit,
now and forever.

      We are not alone
      Thanks be to God.

Now as Jesus taught, let us pray together, saying:

    Our Father who art in heaven,
    hallowed be thy name.
    Thy kingdom come.
    Thy will be done
    on earth as it is in heaven.
    Give us this day our daily bread,
    and forgive us our trespasses,
    as we forgive those who trespass against us,
    and lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.
    For thine is the kingdom,
    and the power, and the glory,
    for ever and ever.
    Amen.

Come, for all are welcome at the table of our God.
Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life.
      Amen.
Jesus Christ, the Cup of Blessing.
      Amen.

Gracious God, may your gifts of love move us
      to live lives of thankfulness.
May your presence among us move us
      to seek you in other times and places.
May your justice, your peace, and your love move us
      to live with respect in creation.
      Amen.

Psalms: Responsive Reading of Psalm 8

 (Please feel free to use this adaptation.  Credit:  Rev. Murray Speer.)

O Lord, our God,
how majestic is your name throughout the universe!
   Even newborn infants declare your glory!
The vastness of the heavens is your refuge,
   making even the angriest soul fall silent.
When I look at the vast sky, the handiwork of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you arrange,
   I think, what are we that you are mindful of us?
   That in our smallness you will care for us?
Yet you have gifted us with divine awareness,
   and anointed us with light and spirit.
You give us responsibility for the works of your hands;
   you make us stewards of creation.
Not only the livestock and house animals,
   but the wild creatures, the birds and the fish,
   and all the inhabitants of the earth.
O Lord, our God,
   how majestic is your name throughout the universe!

Psalms: Responsive Reading of Psalm 19:1-6

(Please feel free to use this adaptation of Psalm 19:1-6 - Credit: Rev. Murray Speer.) 

(Responsive reading with sung refrain – Voices United 740, ref. 2)

Glory and praise to God, whose word brings life!

The daytime sky announces the glory of God!
     The night sky proclaims God’s handiwork!
Day by day and night by night they speak,
     Though their voices are not heard,
Yet their message travels throughout the earth,
     And their words to the end of the world!

Glory and praise to God, whose word brings life!

God has made an abiding place for the sun,
     which emerges like a wedding party ready to celebrate,
and which runs its course with joy,
     like a youngster with strong legs.
There is no end to its rising and falling,
     and nothing is hidden from its warmth.

Glory and praise to God, whose word brings life!

Prayers: Prayer of Lamentation and Unburdening In Response to Jeremiah 4:23-28

For Creation Time - Via Negativa
(Please feel free to use this prayer.  Credit:  Rev. Murray Speer.)

Jeremiah 4:23-28
I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains, and lo, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro. I looked, and lo, there was no one at all, and all the birds of the air had fled. I looked, and lo, the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins before the Lord, before his fierce anger. For thus says the Lord: The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end. Because of this the earth shall mourn, and the heavens above grow black; for I have spoken, I have purposed; I have not relented nor will I turn back.

The prophet Jeremiah looked on the earth, O God of love,
and saw the undoing of creation.
What had been formless and fluid in the beginning,
called by you out of chaos and given form,
Jeremiah saw as once again an empty void.
Where in the beginning you had placed light in the heavens,
Jeremiah saw once again only darkness.
Where you had in the beginning made solid ground,
Jeremiah saw shaking mountains and quaking hills.
Where in the beginning you made the trees and flowers,
the birds and creatures,
Jeremiah saw nothing, nothing at all.

The prophet assumed that you were responsible for what he saw,
for who else could destroy the world that you created?
Who else could have the power to undo life, and unleash chaos?

The prophet didn’t know, O God of love,
what we would one day be capable of.
The fall of the great forests.
The melting of cities in an instant.
The release of 800 million litres of crude oil into the ocean.
The loss of biodiversity through habitat destruction.

Help us to believe that this future is not set.
For if we believe that it is, then we will be set.
Set in our ways; set in stone; set for destruction.
Help us to turn aside from the path that Jeremiah saw.
Lead us, more and more each day,
to move ourselves out of the centre of our worldview.
Through your word all things were made.
It is your word that is the centre of creation.
Send your word to cleanse our hearts,
and renew our faithful relationships
with your creation.  Amen.