Document
Call to Prayer
Praise be to the Holy Trinity!
God is sound and life, Creator of the Universe, Source of all life, whom the angels sing; wondrous Light of all mysteries known or unknown to humankind, and life that lives in all.
(Hildegard of Bingen, 13th Century)
Opening Sentences
We gather in the image of the Creator
who is a community of love.
We gather in the name of the Redeemer
who reconciles all of creation.
We gather in the presence of the Life Giver
who inspires new life and renews it.
(Season of Creation Celebration Guide 2019)
♪ Morning has broken - Thuma Mina 201
Praising the Lord (after Psalm 103:1)
‘Praise the Lord, O my soul,
All my inmost being, praise Lord’s holy name!’
Longing and curiosity,
passion and love,
all my inmost being, praise the Lord.
Power and strength
boldness and excitement,
all my inmost being, praise the Lord.
Freedom and desire,
joy and happiness,
all my inmost being, praise the Lord.
Disappointment and anger
annoyance and resentment,
all my inmost being, praise the Lord.
Sorrow and anxiety,
doubt and worry,
all my inmost being, praise the Lord.
Stress and resilience,
failure and shame,
all my inmost being, praise the Lord.
Carefulness and patience,
hope and trustfulness,
all my inmost being, praise the Lord.
(Karl Veitschegger, Austria)
SCRIPTURE: Revelation 7:9-12
After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.
They cried out in a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing,
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor
and power and might
be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
L: Holy Wisdom, Holy Word.
C: Thanks be to God.
Reflection
Rev. Jörg Winkelströter, President, Bund Evangelisch-Lutherischer Kirchen in der Schweiz und im Fürstentum Liechtenstein (Federation of Lutheran Churches in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein)
Prayers of Intercession
Let us pray,
Lord, we thank you for this land in which we live,
its mountains, its valleys,
its meadows, its gardens,
its forests, its lakes.
May no blindness destroy the work of your hands.
♪ Lumiere de Dieu
Lord, may the houses that we build,
our towns and cities,
be places of hope and peace.
May no hardness of heart close our doors in the face of people in need.
♪ Lumiere de Dieu
Lord, may our workplaces be places where we trust one another,
where people and their work count for something.
May no discouragement hold us back from responsibly shaping the future.
♪ Lumiere de Dieu
Lord, may the streets of our land be ways that bring people to meet one another.
May no fears or prejudices separate us from those near and far.
♪ Lumiere de Dieu
Lord, may the churches of our land be holy places,
where we hear your Word,
call one another by name,
and your name is hallowed.
♪ Lumiere de Dieu
For all those needs for which we pray this day, we take a moment to name them before you now, either speaking aloud, writing them in the chatroom, or silently in our hearts...
...a brief pause for petitions...
Lord, watch over our land,
and bless its inhabitants.
Amen.
(A prayer of the Austrian Community of Monastic Orders, together with other church bodies, to mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the international treaty at the end of the Second World War.)
Prayer of the day
O God, in whom is the fullness of light and wisdom, enlighten our minds by your Holy Spirit, and give us grace to receive your Word with reverence and humility, without which no person can understand your truth, for the sake of Jesus Christ to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be all glory.
(John Calvin)
The Lord’s Prayer (in many languages).
The Blessing
May God who established the dance of creation,
Who marvelled at the lilies of the field,
Who transforms chaos to order,
Lead us to transform our lives and the Church
To reflect God’s glory in creation, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The peace of Christ be with you all!
We share the peace of Christ.
