Tune: The Ash Grove, folk tune The great works of nature depend on the small things: The icecaps need snowflakes, the orchards need bees, The forests need fungi, the whales need their plankton And microbes bring life to the soil and the seas. For the bugs and the slugs and the weeds in the wasteland […]
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The Air, the Air is everywhere. Holy Air, Stirring the waters of creation, Sweeping across the desert. Breathing life into humans. Feel the Air, Holy Air, like the rush of a mighty wind awakening lost spirits. Breathe the Air source of life, filling a newborn’s first cry. Breathe deep, the Holy Air, centring in your […]
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A picture is worth a thousand words. (Apologies, when I shared this last month the images were scrambled. Hopefully, this is better.) These images aim to both raise awareness about the urgency to care for creation as a response to the ecological crisis and to provide images for use in a worship service focusing on […]
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Inspired by Genesis 9:8-17, Mark 1:9-15 and Micah 6:8 God our creator, thank you for those moments when the natural world surprises, delights, and stops us in wonder. The brilliant blue flash of a kingfisher. Rose-gold sunlight on bare-limbed trees. A rainbow, radiant against dark grey clouds. May we notice and appreciate these shining gifts. […]
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Sustaining God, we pray with urgency for the leaders of our species and those with concern for our common home. Give to those who make decisions a freedom from the burdens of a past which have pushed us to this cliff-edge. Give a dawning vision of your offer of healing greater than the blocked horizon […]
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The Light of God, a poem for Creation Care Month The light of God surrounds me, guiding me on my path. It opens my eyes to wonder, as the world around me bursts into colour. It fills me with joy and awe at the beauty of God’s creation. Leaves shimmer and dance in the breeze as […]
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We gently caress you, the Earth, our planet and our home. Our vision has brought us closer to you, making us aware of the harm we have done to the life-network upon which we ourselves depend. We are reminded that we have poisoned your waters, your lands, your air. We have filled you with the […]
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An extensive annotated anthology of Season of Creation (Creationtide/ Creation Time) worship resources, with links– developed for the Joint Liturgical Group of Great Britain A heads up: while several of these resources use inclusive language and progressive images and metaphors, many do not. I have included this anthology, which I developed for the Joint Liturgical […]
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Written for a service in nature (outside) Ready-to-print WORD doc: Call to worship for a service in nature – Susan Brecht, USA Leader: Creating Spirit, we gather this morning enveloped in the beauty of your creation. We come to release the stress, the anxiety, the burdens, the worries, the struggles of our lives. We come […]
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Loving God, you are the Creator You have created the world in which we live And you love it You have also created us Our community and our families to live in this world which you love And we continue to alter the world to serve our immediate advantage We are greedy for more, regardless […]
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For the lyrics, music and a power point, click here. Tune: Nun Danket It is our Mother Earth To whom we owe allegiance, For ever since our birth She’s shared from her abundance; The air we need for breath, The plants we need for food, Cycles of life and death, All have our gratitude. From […]
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‘We Hold the Keys’ was commissioned by the Worship Reference Group of the United Reformed Church and debuted at the 2023 annual conference of the Joint Liturgical Group of Great Britain, ‘Shaping Worship: Creation’s Climate Crisis – responding in faith’. Lyrics and music by David Williams Ready-to-download: We Hold The Keys lyrics PDF – lyrics […]
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The Climate Kairos passed. The crisis is now! We must act to restore God’s creation to a place of health and wholeness. Is it too late to make a difference? Can we fix the damage done? God, hear our prayer and spurn us into radical action. We have acted out of self-serving ignorance and frightening […]
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Bleak Gaia* A climate kairos worship resource responding to the climate crisis All at peace Slowly rotating Tomorrow creeps Procrastinating Swirled in mists Alone in space Where we exist On a wafer-thin face Clothed in blue Silently screaming And wrapped anew Resplendently dreaming Suspended and drifting A mountain of wealth And angels are lifting More […]
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God our creator and provider the world you have made reflects your glory. Your praises are sung by the birds in their daybreak chorus and the wolf in her plaintive howl. Sacred melodies are played by the wind as she dances among trees or sweeps across grasses. Gentle percussion can be heard in raindrops and […]
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Alice, age 7, shared this poem as part of an eco-service for the United Reformed Church in Great Britain. This is God’s garden, God wants us to care. God also has asked, ‘Could we manage to share?’ God’s words plant a seed in our mind And God really wants us to try and be kind. […]
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Ladies Original Poem Award — Snowy Mountains Poets Championships, Australia 1998 (I have not been able to locate the poet’s name.) Possible introduction to using this poem in worship: On World Environment Day, may we be mindful of the sins against the environment and the creator that we have committed in the name of beauty, expediency, and […]
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This prayer incorporates the promises of the World Environment Day Pledge created in Australia in 2007. God, empower me to make a difference. Forgive me for taking travel, convenience and electronics for granted. Grant me the willingness to: boil only the water I need, rather than filling the kettle every time. turn my bio-degradable waste […]
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Written for Endangered Species Day, 17 May by Creation Justice USA. This resource has been adapted for inclusive language and imagery. The last two lines are additions. How many are your works, Creator! In wisdom you made them all. The earth is full of your creatures. You call your creation ‘very good.’ It is good, and […]
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Inspired by Psalm 98 Easter 6, Year B God of shalom, who holds all things in wonderful balance, we come before you in joyful, noisy praise! Our voices join the songs of birds, the grunts and snorts of animals, the roar of the sea, the rush of the wind through the trees, […]
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Each of us can act now to restore God’s creation to a place of health and wholeness. My neighbours may be a bit aghast at my commitment to return our ‘English’ garden to a sustainable form, a home for indigenous plants that need no extra water, an environment that is content with the rains that […]
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A Psalm for World Water Day 22 March Inspired by Psalm 104: 1, 10-13 Eternal One, your magnificence astounds us. You direct springs to gush forth, to flow along valleys, to slither between hills, providing drink for wild animals, to cool parched throats, to quench thirst. Beside streams you create safe havens for birds who […]
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My golden ball hangs by a golden yarn From my wood-gold curtain rail; It is half-obscured by the golden drape With its pattern of golden sun-rays. Behind it the fading golden sky Is streaked with the grey of evening clouds. And then I recall that my golden globe Was formed from the glowing white-gold ash […]
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Endangered Species and Christian Faith When God called on Noah to protect all creatures, Noah had no choice which creatures to load on board. All of creation belongs to God, and Noah was merely caretaker. Like Noah, we have a moral responsibility to safeguard God’s creatures from irreparable harm from the dangers they face today. […]
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Operation Noah –‘faith motivated, science informed and hope inspired’ Operation Noah, an ecumenical Christian UK charity provides resources responding to ‘the growing threat of catastrophic climate change endangering God’s creation.’ True to their self-definition as ‘an inclusive group,’ there are usually two versions of each resource available: one incorporating inclusive language and imagery and a […]
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Tune: Russian Hymn For the lyrics, music and a power point, click here. This wondrous universe tells of God’s glory, Endless in space and forever in time; We are astonished when we contemplate its story We have a place in this myst’ry sublime. This planet’s destiny, life in its beauty Rests with the choices we […]
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You promised us the earth and you delivered. You gave us a home – a dwelling of delight; a good place to be. You gave it to us, saying, ‘Here. This is my gift to you. Live! Make it yours.’ We have made the world in our own image. We have treated it like we […]
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These songs of thanksgiving, by George Stuart, are especially applicable for Harvest, Earth Day and Season of Creation celebrations. Click on the song title to link to printable music and lyrics. Nature’s Beauty (Tune: Regent Square) Celebrate all hidden textures; Value all the roots below; Celebrate all covered splendour; Value beauty not on show; Celebrate with […]
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Songs for Season of Creation, Creationtide and Earth Day George Stuart writes inclusive language lyrics to use with familiar tunes. Have a look on George’s easy-to use website (click here) for numerous ‘Eco-Church’ songs focusing on God in creation/nature, the environment and our care thereof. Each song includes the lyrics, musical score, a link to […]
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Originally posted on Godspace God bless this garden Through which your glory shines May we see in its beauty the wonder of your love God bless the soil Rich and teeming with life May we see in its fertility the promise of new creation God bless our toil As we dig deep to […]
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These communion prayers focus on creation. They might be used to celebrate Earth Day or during the Season of Creation. Genesis 1:1-19 Words of gratitude God of creation and transformation, for this time together around this table, we give thanks. For the power of this meal, this simple bread and juice, to unite us as […]
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A responsive reading to use at a Blessing of the Gardens & Gardeners service, on Earth Day, or any day in springtime. LEADER: Seeds we bring PEOPLE: for God’s blessing and use; LEADER: Hoes and trowels we bring PEOPLE: for God’s blessing and use; LEADER: Hands and gloves we […]
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This litany was prepared for use by the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America. Click here for a printable copy. Based on Genesis 1 (included in the Sunday lectionary for Epiphany Year B, Trinity Sunday Year A, and Easter Years A,B and C) Using the maternal reference for God, this reading was originally written for Mothering […]
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“In Our Hands” Genesis 1:26-31a This drama has been used at services focusing on the environment and caring for our world, including Earth Sunday, Blessing of the Animals Sunday, St Francis service. The source is unknown, and it has been modified over the years. If you know who wrote the original, please let Worship Words […]
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Based on Genesis 1:1-2:4, The Message by Eugene Peterson -Arranged by Scott Ward, USA Lectionary: Trinity Sunday Year A, Epiphany Year B (Genesis 1:1-5), Easter Vigil Years A,B,C Downloads: full scripts, ready-to-print: (horizontal versions are easy for readers to hold) Heaven and Earth Choral Reading, Scott Ward WORD Heaven and Earth Choral Reading, Scott Ward PDF Heaven […]
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May be read responsively by many voices or with two voices. One: Every part of this earth is sacred, Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore. Every mist in the dark woods, All: Every clearing and humming insect is holy. One: The rocky crest, the juices of the meadow, the beasts and all the people, […]
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What will it take to renew the earth? It will take people! What will it take to renew the earth? It will take…Prophet people who dare to lay bare the fallacies that bind and choke us even when we cannot hear their words or dream their dreams; It will take… Parent people who look […]
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Praise the Divine Gardener! Inspired by Psalm 148 Praise the Eternal One, the Divine Gardener. Who plants the sun, the moon, the stars in the heavens. Who creates earth, the amazing garden upon which we live. Who loosens rocks into teeming, incubating soil. Who spreads the seeds of life in the seas, land, and skies […]
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This might be included in a Blessing of the Gardeners service, or used any time during the planting and tending season. Preparation Put several items into a bag: Bible, flower bulbs, gardening gloves, small gardening tools, e.g. trowel. Take items out as they are mentioned in the script. Method I invite the children forward to […]
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Prayers of confession and repentence for Earth day (22 April) and Season of Creation (1 Sept-7 Oct) Prayer of confession God of all Creation, we come to you in a moment of personal and corporate confession. We participate in a system which is exploitative and violent, which separates humanity from the rest of Creation. By […]
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