Passcode: Z%d!^s6P
In Celebration of our Beautiful Earth
Focus: “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.”
—Jane Goodall
Threshold Moment: Earth Day 2020 Breath of Fresh Air
Welcome:
Gathering Music: Breathe (by Graham Moore/Jordan Sarmiento)
-Michelle Currie
Call To Worship:
(L) Let us hear God’s call to cherish the earth. Let us dream of our world where the species are infinite
(P) and our dreams will be delicate.
(L) Let us sing in a world with all voices in harmony
(P) and our song will be delicate
(L) Let us walk in our world of warm light and fragility
(P) and our tread will be delicate.
(L) Let us go gently into a delicate world.
(P) Let us worship God.
Opening Hymn: God of the Sparrow (by Jaroslav J. Vajada)
-Michelle Currie
Opening Prayer:
O God, we thank you for this earth, our home;
For the wide sky and the blessed sun,
For the salt sea and the running water,
For the everlasting hills
And the never-resting winds,
For trees and the common grass underfoot.
We thank you for our senses
By which we hear the songs of birds,
And see the splendor of the summer fields,
And taste of the autumn fruits,
And rejoice in the feel of the snow,
And smell the breath of the spring.
Grant us a heart wide open to all this beauty;
And save our souls from being so blind
That we pass unseeing
When even the common thorn bush
Is aflame with your glory,
O God our creator,
Who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
– Walter Rauschenbusch
Lord’s Prayer:
Readings and Scripture: Ute Prayer, Psalm 65 -Peter McPheeters
Sermon: Grounding To Mother Earth Joyce Morrisette
Music: Meditative Instrumental ~ For the Beauty of the Earth/What A Wonderful World -Michelle Currie
Musical call to Prayer: (two times) Hush now in quiet peace, be still your mind at ease. The Spirit brings release, so wait upon the Lord.
Prayers of the People:
Closing Music: Pass It Down (by Alabama) -Michelle Currie
Benediction:
As we go forth from this sacred space,
May we celebrate Earth and our shared lives,
May we recognize our connections to all that is in and on Earth,
May we truly and deeply value the inherent worth of all
In this awesome interconnected web of existence,
May we commit ourselves to a new way,
And may we hold our commitments and each other
Gently yet firmly. Blessed be and Amen.
Postlude: Go In Peace
Our Readings for Today
Ute Prayer
Earth teach me stillness
as the grasses are stilled with light.
Earth teach me suffering
as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility
as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth Teach me caring
as the mother who secures her young.
Earth teach me courage
as the tree which stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation
as the ant which crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom
as the eagle which soars in the sky.
Earth teach me resignation
as the leaves which die in the fall.
Earth teach me regeneration
as the seed which rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself
as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness
as dry fields weep in the rain.
Psalm 65: 1-2, 5-13 Thanksgiving for Earth’s Bounty
1 Praise is due to you,
O God, in Zion;
and to you shall vows be performed,
2 O you who answer prayer!
5 By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas.
6 By your strength you established the mountains;
you are girded with might.
7 You silence the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples.
8 Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and water it,
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide the people with grain,
for so you have prepared it.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
11 You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.
An Additional Resource:
Prayers of the People: U.N. Environmental Sabbath Service, Earth Day 1990
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 recall our destiny To renew our spirits To reinvigorate our bodies
-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 with the earth and with each other.
We join together as many and diverse expressions of one loving mystery: for the healing of the earth and the renewal of all life.