Liturgical Resources

Transcription

1 Hope for the Future Liturgical Resources Hymns ALL CREATURES of our God and King lift up your voice and with us sing Alleluia, alleluia. Thou burning sun with golden beam, thou silver moon with softer gleam, O praise God, O praise God, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Dear mother earth, who day by day unfoldest blessings on our way, the flowers and fruits that in thee grow, let them God s glory also show: All you with mercy in your heart, forgiving others, take your part, O sing ye, alleluia! Ye who long pain and sorrow bear, praise God and on God cast your care: And thou, most kind and gentle death, waiting to hush our latest breath, Thou leadest home the child of God, and Christ our Lord the way hath trod: Let all things their Creator bless, and worship God in humbleness; Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, and praise the Spirit, Three in One; O praise God, O praise God, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. William Henry Draper ( ), based on Cantico di Frate Sole, St Francis of Assisi ( ). Tune: Lasst uns erfreuen.

2 TOUCH THE earth lightly, use the earth gently, nourish the life of the world in our care: gift of great wonder, ours to surrender, trust for the children tomorrow will bear. We who endanger, who create hunger, agents of death for all creatures that live, we who would foster clouds of disaster - God of our planet, forestall and forgive! Let there be greening, birth from the burning, water that blesses and air that is sweet, health in God s garden, hope in God s children, regeneration that peace will complete. God of all living, God of all loving, God of the seedling, the snow and the sun, teach us, deflect us, Christ reconnect us, using us gently, and making us one. Shirley Erena Murray (b 1931). Tune: Bunessan. MAKER of this world of wonder, where, in whirling depths of space, humans on a fragile planet bear the image of your face; thank you for the wealth of beauty we can touch or see or know; joy of art and grasp of science, chance to live and room to grow.

3 God of love, you share our sorrow when we damage your design, when, through centuries of slaughter, vengeance spirals on in time. Thousands, starved, enslaved and murdered, pay the savage penalty so the few can live in comfort cushioned inhumanity. All the while, the living Spirit longs to show a better way, free and open, full of laughter, learned through loving day by day. By the Spirit s call to justice, by the gifts of hope and faith, peace may grow and freedom flourish, giving life not dealing death. Maker of this world of wonder, help us cherish your design; God of love, through your forgiveness, help us break the chains of time; living Spirit, move among us, stirring dreams to change the world, that our hands may shape a future where God s promise is fulfilled. Janet Wootton (b 1952). Tune: Blaenwern. Prayers A collect Creator God, you made the goodness of the land, the riches of the sea and the rhythm of the seasons; as we thank you for your gracious providing may we cherish and respect this planet and its peoples, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Common Worship: Additional Collects.

4 A bidding and response for use in intercessions We can make a difference. Let us change the direction of the wind. A Prayer of Penitence & Forgiveness GOD has entrusted to us the stewardship of creation, the pursuit of truth and justice, and the task of building communities of reconciliation and worth. Often we fail. Silence for reflection. For our unwillingness to feel the suffering of others, and our readiness to live comfortably with injustice. For our self-righteousness that denies guilt, and our self-interest that strangles compassion. For our abuse of this planet and our exploitation of its resources. For our failings in community and our reticence to become involved. For the times we were too eager to be better than others, when we were too rushed to care, when we were too tired to bother, when we were too preoccupied to listen, when we were too quick to act out of motives other than love. May God forgive us, Christ renew us, and the Spirit enable us to grow in love. Amen. Pietermaritzburg Agency for Christian Social Awareness.

5 A prayer for the offering of the bread and wine Be gentle when you touch bread: let it not lie uncared for, unwanted; so often bread is taken for granted. There is such beauty in bread beauty of sun and soil, beauty of patient toil; wind and rain have caressed it, Christ often blessed it. Be gentle when you taste wine: let it not sour the heart and dull the senses; so often wine is poured without grace. There is such beauty in wine beauty in laughter and living, beauty of truth and self-giving; nature and man have caressed it, Christ took and blessed it. Anonymous. A Prayer of Commitment GRACIOUS GOD we thank you for inviting us to share the hospitality of your table and to enjoy the blessings of a bountiful earth. Call forth in us the same generosity as we find in you. In the power of your Spirit, raise up in us a hunger for justice, a commitment to kindness and a passion for service, that we may be a blessing in the world, in Jesus name. Amen.