Document
1 September 2011
Every year, from 1 September - the first day of the Orthodox Church year - to 4 October - the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi in the Catholic tradition - churches are called to become involved in the “Time for Creation” for the protection of God’s creation and the promotion of sustainable lifestyles.
Gather - Confess - Listen - Plant
In the name of the Creator, the fountain of life,
the name of Christ, the pulse of life,
and the name of the Spirit, the breath of life. Amen.
Holy! Holy! Holy!
Earth is filled with God’s presence.
Glory to God in the highest!
And on Earth peace with all creation!
Psalm 1
1 Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
3 They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
Confession
How terrible for us
When we ignore the beauty of creation
How terrible for us
When trees are torn down and forests become deserts
How terrible for us
When bees die and mango trees no longer have fruit
How terrible for us
When we mine the land for its gold and oil yet millions have no food
How terrible for us
when we know what we should do yet walk the other way
How terrible for us,
For we bring God’s anger upon ourselves
And we walk into outer darkness
God of all creation, Listen to our cry
Hear the confession of our hearts.
Silence
Words of grace – Isaiah 54.10
For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
Listening to God’s Word
Romans 8:18-25
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Revelation 22 1-3
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will be found there any more.
Silence
Praying and planting
Aloud or in silence we offer our prayers for creation
We may sing Mayenziwe ntando yako
Our prayers are gathered together by saying the Lord’s prayer in our different languages
We commit ourselves to planting just peace
Acorn, hazelnuts, beech nuts and other seeds are available for you to plant.
You could share stories of planting from your different cultures and learn about how to plant things from one another.
Go in peace,
serving Christ and loving Earth!
We go in peace,
serving Christ
and tending Earth!
You are invited to share Christ’s peace with one another as you leave.
