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Liturgy
A SERVICE OF WORD AND SACRAMENT
Season of Creation, Year C
South Sydney Uniting Church
The Gathering of the People of God
CALL TO WORSHIP (Psalm 96:11)
“Let the sea roar and all that fills it!”
SONG OF PRAISE (181)
Come, O God of oceans wide:
shifting sands and crashing waves;
fish of every shape and size,
creatures of the reefs and caves.
Sing out, earth and skies! ...
GREETING
Welcome! We worship today with the oceans of Earth.
We join the psalmists and call the sea to roar with songs of praise.
Invoking Wisdom, we sing with the swirling seas
and celebrate with creatures of the watery deep.
With our Creator, we rejoice with whales, dolphins
and other ‘sea monsters’.
With the Spirit we groan with species that are suffering
from human acts of pollution.
Acknowledgement of traditional owners. Welcome to visitors.
GATHERING
In the name of the Spirit of God
who hovered over the primal waters.
In the name of the Word of God
who parted the waters for Earth to appear.
In the name of the Creator God,
who filled the deep with amazing designs. Amen.
Holy! Holy! Holy! The oceans are filled with God’s presence.
Christ, we come into your presence, today,
to worship in this sanctuary called Earth,
Holy! Holy! Holy! Earth is filled with your presence.
PENITENTIAL RITE
We remember and confess that we have become alienated from Earth
and viewed this planet as disposable, a source of endless resources,
a mere stopping place en route to heaven.
Oil on the water.
We are sorry.
We have polluted Earth’s waters with toxins,
and killed millions of species in the ocean.
We have turned our greed into global warming.
We have helped cause arctic regions to melt.
We have loved progress more than the planet.
We are sorry. We are sorry.
We are sorry.
We are sorry. We are sorry ...
ASSURANCE
Christ hears your confession and forgives your sins against the ocean.
Christ, teach us to love the seas as a precious part of our planet home.
In the name of Christ:
I invite you to celebrate Earth as your home
and to preserve the waters of life in God’s sanctuary.
Shalom! Shalom! Earth is our home!
As we celebrate our seas. God, have mercy.
As we connect with our oceans. Christ, have mercy.
As we care for the water of life. God, have mercy.
Glory to God in the highest! And peace on the high seas!
COLLECT
God, our Creator,
as we reflect on the mysteries of the ocean depths,
we celebrate the wondrous design of the seas that surround us.
Help us to discern how we have polluted our oceans
and to empathise with the groaning of creation beneath us.
Teach us to sense the presence of God in the tides and currents
of the surging seas.
Teach us to care for the oceans and all our waterways.
In the name of the Wisdom of God,
the creative force that designs and governs all creation. Amen.
The Liturgy of the Word
FIRST READING Job 38:1-
PSALM 104
SECOND READING Ephesians 1:3-
GOSPEL Luke 5:1-
The Wisdom of God:
God’s word made new.
HOMILY
AFFIRMATION
We believe that God creates all things,
renews all things and celebrates all things.
We believe Earth is a sanctuary,
a sacred planet filled with God’s presence,
a home for us to share with our kin.
We believe that God became flesh and blood,
became a piece of Earth,
a human being called Jesus Christ,
who lived and breathed and spoke among us,
suffered and died on a cross,
for all human beings and for all creation.
We believe that the risen Jesus
is the Christ at the core of creation
reconciling all things to God,
renewing all creation and filling the cosmos.
We believe the Spirit renews life in creation,
groans in empathy with a suffering creation,
and waits with us for the rebirth of creation.
We believe that with Christ we will rise
and with Christ we will celebrate a new creation.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
We thank God for a wondrous planet home, especially the waters of the ocean that surround us. We pray for all those in need. We name them now.
... Jesus Christ, teach us to empathise with Earth.
Make our spirits sensitive to the cries of creation,
cries for justice from the land, the seas and the skies.
Jesus Christ, make our faith sensitive to the groans of the Spirit in creation, groans of longing for a new creation.
Jesus Christ, make our hearts sensitive to the songs of our kin,
songs of celebration from the sea, the forest and the air.
Christ, teach us to care. Amen.
The Liturgy of the Eucharist
OFFERING
God, our Creator, through your love you have given us these gifts to share. Accept our offerings as an expression of our deep thanks and our concern for those in need, including our fellow creatures on planet Earth.
PEACE
INVITATION
GREAT PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
God is here.
God’s Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to God.
Let us give thanks to the God of love.
It is right to offer thanks and praise.
Your Word is the impulse for all things to be,
for space, stars and stardust to appear,
for Earth to emerge from the deep,
for life to be born of Earth.
You chose to be born a human being,
to become a part of Earth,
to suffer, die and rise from death
to redeem humankind, renew creation,
and affirm all born of Earth and the Spirit.
Your presence is the living impulse in all things,
the Christ deep among us, filling Earth – land, sea and air;
filling every element and place;
filling the grain and the grape we share with you …
INSTITUTION
Therefore with angels and archangels,
ancient voices in the forest, high voices from the sky,
deep voices from the sea and the whole company of creation,
we proclaim your presence among us (761):
Holy, holy, holy God, wisdom, strength and hope,
Earth, sea and sky are full of your glory;
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the One who comes in the name of our God.
Hosanna in the highest.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
God our Mother and our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name, your dominion come,
your will be done, on Earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
FRACTION
LAMB OF GOD
Lamb of God, who takes away all sin against heaven,
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away all sin against Earth,
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes all sin from the world,
receive our prayer.
COMMUNION
Come, for all things are now ready.
Come to the table with all your kin and share with all in need:
the gift of healing for those in pain,
the gift of forgiveness for those in sin,
the gift of assurance for those in doubt,
and the gift of hope for those in tears.
May we who share these gifts,
share Christ with one another and all our kin.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Now may the power of Christ’s body and blood
reach deep into your heart,
your mind and body to heal your wounds
and through you to bring healing to Earth.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
The Sending Forth of the People of God
Notices.
BLESSING
Christ calls you to be his disciples,
to serve him with love and compassion,
to serve Earth by caring for creation.
Will you care for creation?
We will care for the ocean! We will nurture our planet!
We will celebrate life!
May the Spirit of God, who is above all and in all and through all,
fill you with the knowledge of God’s presence in Earth
and the pulsing of Christ within you.
Go in peace! Serving Christ and loving Earth!
We go in peace, serving Christ and loving Earth.
SONG ‘Song of the Waters’ (Tune: 134)
Watch once more the windswept storm clouds;
Suddenly the sky has wings!
God has come to rain among us,
Giving hope to all dry things.
Sing a song of splashing waters,
Pulsing through the veins of Earth.
Taste the moisture of the morning,
Smoother than the best red wine;
Toast the lifeblood of the planet:
Here’s to God’s wild wet design!
Sing a song of flowing waters,
Pulsing through the veins of Earth.
View anew the dark blue ocean,
Whales cavorting, spraying foam;
God at play with deep sea monsters,
Feeling very much at home.
Sing a song of laughing waters,
Pulsing through the veins of Earth.
Feel the breath of God move softly,
Gentle mists that brush the skin;
Earth is breathing God’s own spirit,
Life renewed from deep within.
Sing a song of living waters,
Pulsing through the veins of Earth.
Acknowledgements:
Based on liturgy at seasonofcreation.com;
‘Song of the Waters’ Words by Norman Habel, 2001.
Artwork: Anna, Ocean (The Orchard Gallery, 2013).