A Green Liturgy

I went to an interfaith Earth Sabbath service the other day at a local church. It was a nice service, and the people were lovely, but it didn't really feel quite like worship to me because I'm Episcopalian and I like liturgy. So I decided to try piecing together a liturgy for a similar sort of service using the prayer book and Bible and hymnal, and here it is. I didn't write any of it – I just pulled together things that seemed to fit and put them in the wonderful modular spaces built in to the basic liturgy. But it was fun :-)

Processional Hymn: All Creatures of Our God and King

All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voices, let us sing: Alleluia, alleluia!

Bright burning sun with golden beams, pale silver moon that gently gleams,

O praise him, O praise him, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Great rushing winds and breezes soft, you clouds that ride the heaves a loft, O praise

     him, Alleluia!

Fair rising morn, with praise rejoice, stars nightly shining, find a voice

O praise him, O praise him, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Swift flowing water pure and clear, make music for your Lord to hear, Alleluia, alleluia!

Fire so intense and fiercely bright, you give to us both warmth and light,

O praise him, O praise him, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Dear mother earth, you day by day unfold your blessings on our way, O praise him, 

     Alleluia!

All flowers and fruits that in you grow, let them his glory also show:

O praise him, O praise him, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

All you with mercy in your heart, forgiving others, take your part, O sing now: Alleluia!

All you that pain and sorrow bear, praise God and cast on him your care:

O praise him, O praise him, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

And even you, most gentle death, waiting to hush our final breath, O praise him, Alleluia!

You lead back home the child of God, for Christ our Lord that way has trod:

O praise him, O praise him, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Let all things their creator bless, and worship him in humbleness, O praise him, Alleluia!

Praise God the Father, praise the Son, and praise the Spirit, Three in One:

O praise him, O praise him, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Celebrant: Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

People: And blessed be God's kingdom, now and forever. Amen

Collect for Purity

Gloria

Collect:

O merciful Creator, your hand is open wide to satisfy the needs of every living creature: Make us always thankful for your loving providence; and grant that we, remembering the account that we must one day give, may be faithful stewards of your good gifts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Ezekiel 34:17-31

As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats: Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet? And must my sheet eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have fouled with your feet? Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken. I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild animals from the land, so that they may live in the wild and sleep in the woods securely. I will make them and the region around my hill a blessing; and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. The trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase. They shall be secure on their soil; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke, and save them from the hands of those who enslaved them. They shall no more be plunder for the nations, nor shall the animals of the land devour them; they shall live in safety, and no one shall make them afraid. I will provide for them a splendid vegetation so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the insults of the nations. They shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord God. You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture and I am your God, says the Lord God.

Psalm 104:1-30

Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great. You are clothed with 

     honor and majesty,

wrapped in light as with a garment. You stretch our the heavens like a tent,

you set the beams of your chambers on the waters, you make the clouds your chariot, 

     you ride on the wings of the wind,

you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers.

You set the earth on it foundations, so that it shall never be shaken.

You cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.

At your rebuke they flee; at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.

They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys, to the place that you appointed 

     for them.

You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.

You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills,

giving drink to every wild animal; the wild asses quench their thirst.

By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches.

From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your 

     work.

You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring forth 

     food from the earth,

and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen 

     the human heart.

The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

In them the birds build their nests; the stork has its home in the fir trees.

The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.

You have made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.

You make darkness, and it is night, when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.

The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God.

When the sun rises, they withdraw and lie down in their dens.

People go out to their work and to their labor until the evening.

O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full 

     of your creatures.

Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things 

     both small and great.

There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.

These all look to you to give them their food in due season;

when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with 

     good things.

When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die 

     and return to the dust.

When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.

New Testament Reading: Romans 8:12-27

So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not the the flesh, to live according to the flesh – for if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ – if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. 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 labor 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 he has seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Gradual Hymn:For the Fruit of All Creation (v. 1 and 2)

For the fruit of all creation, thanks be to God. For his gifts to every nation, thanks be to 

     God.

For the plowing, sowing, reaping, silent growth while we are sleeping, future needs in 

     earth's safekeeping, thanks be to God.

In the just reward of labor, God's will be done. In the help we give our neighbor, God's will 

     be done.

In our worldwide task of caring for the hungry and despairing, in the harvests we are 

     sharing, God's will be done

Gospel Reading: Luke 12:22-31

He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is worth more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lillies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you – you of little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom,and these things will be given to you as well.

Gradual Hymn: For the Fruit of All Creation (v. 3)

For the harvests of the Spirit, thanks be to God. For the good we all inherit, thanks be to 

     God.

For the wonders that astound us, for the truths that still confound us, most of all that love 

     has found us, thanks be to God.

Sermon

Nicene Creed

Prayers:

We give you thanks, most gracious God, for the beauty of earth and sky and sea; for the richness of mountains, plains, and rivers; for the songs of birds and the loveliness of flowers. We praise you for these good gifts, and pray that we may safeguard them for our posterity. Grant that we may continue to grow in our grateful enjoyment of your abundant creation, to the honor and glory of your name, now and for ever. Amen

Almighty God, in giving us dominion over things on earth, you made us fellow workers in your creation: Give us wisdom and reverence so to use the resources of nature, that no one may suffer from our abuse of them, and that generations yet to come may continue to praise you for your bounty; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Almighty and everlasting God, you made the universe with all its marvelous order, its atoms, worlds, and galaxies, and the infinite complexity of living creatures: Grant that, as we probe the mysteries of your creation, we may come to know you more truly, and more surely fulfill our role in your eternal purpose; in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Confession of Sin

The Peace

Offertory: All Things Bright and Beautiful

Refrain – All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small

all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all

Each little flower that opens, each little bird that sings,

he made their glowing colors, he made their tiny wings.

Refrain

The purple-headed mountain, the river running by,

the sunset, and the morning that brightens up the sky.

Refrain

The cold wind in the winter, the pleasant summer sun,

the ripe fruits in the garden, he made them every one.

Refrain

He gave us eyes to see them, and lips that we might tell

how great is God Almighty, who has made all things well.

Refrain

The Great Thanksgiving

Eucharistic Prayer D with Sanctus and Mystery of Faith

The Lord's Prayer

Breaking of the Bread

Fractional Anthem

Communion Hymn: Nature With Open Volume Stands

Nature with open volume stands to spread her Maker's praise abroad

and every labor of his hands shows something worthy of a God.

But in the grace that rescued man his brightest form of glory shines;

here, on the cross, 'tis fairest drawn in precious blood and crimson lines.

Here his whole name appears complete; nor wit can guess, nor reason prove

which of the letters best is writ, the power, the wisdom, or the love.

Oh, the sweet wonders of that cross where Christ my Savior loved and died!

Her noblest life my spirit draws from his dear wounds and bleeding side.

I would forever speak his Name in sounds to mortal ears unknown,

with angels join to praise the Lamb and worship at his Father's throne!

Communion Hymn: Morning Glory, Starlit Sky

Morning glory, starlit sky, soaring music, scholar's truth,

flight of swallows, autumn leaves, memory's treasure, grace of youth:

Open are the gifts of God, gifts of love to mind and sense;

hidden is love's agony, love's endeavor, love's expense.

Love that gives, gives evermore, gives with zeal, with eager hands,

spares not, keeps not, all outpours, ventures all, its all expends.

Drained is love in making full, bound in setting others free,

poor in making many rich, weak in giving power to be.

Therefore he who shows us God helpless hangs upon the tree;

and the nails and crown of thorns tell of what God's love must be.

Here is God: no monarch he, throned in easy state to reign;

here is God, whose arms of love aching, spent, the world sustain.

Post-Communion Prayer

Blessing

Recessional Hymn: For the Beauty of the Earth

For the beauty of the earth, for the beauty of the skies,

for the love which from our birth over and around us lies,

Christ our God, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour of the day and of the night,

hill and vale, and tree and flower, sun and moon, and stars of light,

Christ our God, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of ear and eye, for the heart and mind's delight,

for the mystic harmony linking sense to sound and sight,

Christ our God, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child,

friends on earth, and friends above, for all gentle thoughts and mild,

Christ our God, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the Church which evermore lifteth holy hands above,

offering up on every shore thy pure sacrifice of love,

Christ our God, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

For each perfect gift of thine to the world so freely given,

faith and hope and love divine, peace on earth and joy in heaven

Christ our God, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.

Dismissal:

Deacon: Let us go forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit. (Alleluia, alleluia)

People: Thanks be to God. (Alleluia, alleluia)