22/04/2021
Prayers for Earth Day, Thursday, 22nd April 2021.
Our psalm is Psalm 148:
Hallelujah!
Praise God from the heavens;
praise God from the heights!
Praise God, all you angels;
praise God, all you multitudes in heaven!
Praise God, sun and moon;
praise God, all you shining stars!
Praise God, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the Most High,
for God commanded and they were created.
God established them forever and ever;
God fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.
Praise God from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling God’s command!
Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!
Sovereigns of the earth and all peoples,
royalty and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike,
old and young together!
Let them praise the name of God,
for God’s name alone is exalted;
God’s glory is above earth and heaven.
God has raised up a horn for God’s people,
praise for all the faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to God.
Hallelujah!
A call to praise God:
Come, let us dwell in God’s shelter.
Let us dwell in God’s work of art.
Come, because the Earth is the Lord’s,
and God’s Earth is our home.
We live in God’s World; we are not alone.
We share this life with the heavens and the earth,
with the waters and the land,
with trees and grasses,
with fish, birds, and animals,
with minerals and creatures of every form,
and with all our sisters and brothers,
all of God’s people.
God is good and everything God makes is good.
God is love and everything God makes is love’s fruit.
Let us praise God and worship him.
A prayer of confession:
Merciful God, in your gracious presence
we confess our sin and the sin of this world.
Although Christ is risen from the grave
and has shattered the power of death,
we are still held captive by fear and doubt.
We hold on to suspicions and jealousies
that set neighbour against neighbour
and nation against nation.
We have neglected the poor and the hungry.
In our pursuit of the ‘good life’
we have tolerated injustice;
and we have ignored the cries of the oppressed.
We pursue profits and pleasures
that harm the land and pollute the waters.
We have squandered the Earth's gifts
on technologies of destruction.
Have mercy on us, O God.
Help us to trust your power
to change our lives and make us new,
that we and all your creatures
may know the joy of life abundant,
given through Jesus Christ,
the risen Lord.
Amen.
Our prayers:
Gracious God,
your amazing love extends through all time and space,
to all parts of your creation,
which you created and called good.
You made a covenant with Noah and his family,
putting a rainbow in the sky
to symbolise your promise of love and blessing
to every living creature,
and to all successive generations.
You made a covenant with Abraham and Sarah,
blessing them and their descendants
throughout the generations.
You made a covenant with Moses
and the Israelite people to all generations,
giving them the ten commandments
and challenging them to choose life.
In Jesus, you invite us to enter into a new covenant,
in communion with all who seek to be faithful to you.
As people of faith, we are called into covenant.
Your covenant of faithfulness and love
extends to the whole creation.
We pray for the healing of the earth,
that present and future generations
may enjoy the fruits of creation,
and continue to glorify and praise you.
Amen.
A Celtic blessing:
Deep peace of the running waves to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you.
Amen.
God bless you today!
