Blessing of seeds, soil, water, gardening tools and gardeners, for use in a springtime service of celebration. Can be used effectively connecting to Earth Day 22 April or in a Rogation Service (sixth Sunday of Eastertide). Everyone is invited to wear their gardening attire and bring their gardening tools and seeds. Suggestion: use children and youth as readers.
Prayer for Seeds (hold seed aloft):
If you have brought seeds or bulbs, hold them at this time.
Creating God, you have given seed for the sower. Nourish, protect, and bless the seeds and bulbs which are sown in hope. May they bring forth bountiful fruit and beauty. Amen.
Prayer for the Soil (hold soil aloft):
Giver of life, thank you for soil in which nature awakens new life. Thank you for the smell of freshly tilled earth, the beauty of a cleanly cut furrow, and a well-ploughed field. Help us to be good stewards of the land. Amen,
Prayer for Water and Rain (hold water aloft):
Sustaining God, thank you for water. Thank you for the way it cools the earth, and hydrates the land. Thank you for the smell of the earth after the rain has fallen. We ask that the rain come as often as it is needed, so that crops and gardens may flourish. Amen.
Prayer of Blessing on tools and gardeners’ hands (hold gloves & trowel aloft):
If you have brought gloves or garden tools, hold them at this time.
Working God, thank you for our hands and the tools we use to till the soil, to plant the seeds and bulbs, to weed our gardens and allotments. May our efforts be to your glory – providing food for the hungry, beauty for our souls, and gardens of calm in our busy world. Amen.
Prayer for Gardening:
Creator of all things and giver of all life, let your blessings fall upon our seeds and bulbs, our hands and tools, our soil, our potted plants, our gardens, and our allotments and our coconuts. Bless our labour with rain and sunshine, that new life might spring up, that we might be truly at one with the integrity of all creation. Convict us as stewards of your magnificent garden to cry out when it is being abused and misused, to stand firm in our conviction to be your appointed custodians. This we pray as your humble servants and stewards of this amazing planet. Amen.
This is part of a larger service of Blessing of Gardens & Gardeners. The material has been gathered and used over several years, and not all original sources have been noted. Please, if you recognise something as yours, notify Worship Words so that we can give credit where it is due. Thanks.
One Source: Rogation Services, Web of Creation
Rogation Prayers of Blessing
(from Sundays and Seasons, copyright 2003, Augsburg Fortress, p. 195, from Worship From the Ground Up: a Worship Resource for Town and Country Congregations, Dubuque Iowa: Center for Theology and the Land)
Traditionally celebrated near the Sixth Sunday in Easter, Rogation Services are a time to pray for planting and for those working with the land. In rural areas, many people bless the elements used in farming, the fields, the seeds and that animals. In urban areas a blessing of gardens, and local businesses can be done. It might also be a time to show gratitude for soil, water and growth, and to challenge congregation members to think carefully of the food they eat, their care of water, earth and seed. The following are some ideas of prayers and services for Rogation.
For more information on Rogation and a complete Rogation service, look on the web at the Center for Theology and the Land
