The Season of Creation starts on 1 September and goes through to 4 October. It is a time to pray for the sustaining of creation, the protection of vulnerable ecosystems and the promotion of sustainable lifestyles. It is a time to appreciate afresh the beauty and wonder of what God has made.
Let us pray that God’s loving presence may flare up in our hearts and transform us by the knowledge of divine glory.
A light may be lit and set in a bowl of soil as the following prayer is said by all:
We take refuge in God’s earthing in flesh;
immersion in death;
rising to Life.
We take root in the Love of God;
the Good News of Christ;
the prayers of the faithful.
Psalm[s] and reading[s]. Quiet and/or shared reflection. A framework for reflection, using the pattern of the Lord’s prayer could be used. A collect may be said.
From the creation of the world, God’s eternal power and nature, though invisible, have been perceived and grasped through the things God has made. [a]
You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honour and power,
for you made all things,
by your will everything persists
and was created[e]
The heavens tell out God’s glory;
and the skies proclaim God’s handiwork.
Day streams data to day,
and night declares knowledge to night.
This is not speech; there are no words;
their voices are not heard;
and yet their forthtelling propagates through the whole earth,
and their words to the world’s end.[i]
We recognise and celebrate God’s loving greatness…
So with angels and atoms, stars and saints, earth and sky and sea.
We hallow your name, joining with the eternal song of heaven
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory,
hosanna in the highest.
Creator God, breathe your Spirit through never spent nature[o] and make flourish the the deep down viridity[u] of the world.
Send forth your Spirit:
And renew the face of the earth.
Sustainer of all, in the searing of uncaring trade and the smearing of human toil[o] let there grow renewal, justice and peace.
Send forth your Spirit:
And renew the face of the earth.
Loving and out-reaching God, as you touch and woo every heart, let there grow a reverence for all you have made and freedom to respond to your grace.
Send forth your Spirit:
And renew the face of the earth.
…prayers or biddings may be added here, further suggestions here. You might, on occasion, wish to plant a seed in the soil for each petition or add a few drops of water to seeds already planted. When you’re ready, the leader ends with:
Send forth your Spirit:
And renew the face of the earth.
May we know your comfort and provision as we seek your will for life and cosmos
…requests for God’s provision may be added here the leader ending with
Send forth your Spirit:
And renew the face of the earth.
We are debtors to the ecosystem you have grown for our nurture.
We have trespassed on the resources you provide for others.
Like carbon to the atmosphere:
We have added to the world’s woes
Like nutrients from the soil;
We have taken without restoring.
Like heat to the oceans
We have sown destruction
If there is a bowl of soil, perhaps at this point you might trace with a muddied finger a cross on the palm of a hand and pause to reflect
We open our hands to forgive:
we are debtors to mercy and heirs of grace.
Thank you for bearing our dys-grace.
We are forgiven in your determination to bless.
Lead us into gracious and merciful living;
generous and respectful in all you have made.
As we contemplate your creation, O God,
we see wildness and order,
chance and necessity,
Freedom and limits.
Grant us to use lovingly our freedoms
to be wise in living the order of things
And wary of our vulnerability to misleadings.
For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory.
Now and forever, amen
—————– ɷˡˡ̷ —————-
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Footnotes
[a]Romans 1:20
[e] Revelation 4:11
[i] Responses based on Psalm 19:1-4
[o] Phrase from Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem God’s Grandeur.
[u] Viridity is a term from Hildegaard of Bingen, a medieval mystic, writer and artist who led a convent. It comes from the Latin for ‘greenness’ and so captures nature’s sign of health and growth.
Book of Our Common Prayer 