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Earth Day Sunday 2001

Witnessing to the Resurrection: God's Caring for Creation
Worship Resources

Call to Worship
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed!
Christ is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation.
Christ is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.
In Christ the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.
Through Christ God was pleased to reconcile all things,
whether on Earth and things in heaven.
-- from Colossians 1:15. 18-20

Opening Prayer
Eternal God, your Son Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life for all creation; In Christ's rising from the grave, you broke the power of death and condemned death itself to die. Fill your church with the power that flows from the Spirit of the risen Christ, that it may signal the beginning of a renewed creation, risen to new life with Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, on God, forever and ever.

Litany of Confession (based on Hosea 4:1-3)
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 neighbor again neighbor and nation against nation.
There is no loyalty or faithfulness, and no knowledge of God in the land.
We have neglected the poor and the hungry. In our pursuit of the "good life" we have gone along with injustices we have ignored the cries of the oppressed.
Swearing, stealing, lying, murder and adultery break out; bloodshed follows bloodshed.
We pursue profits and pleasures that harm the land and pollute the waters. We have squandered the Earth's gifts on technologies of destruction.
The land mourns, and all who live in it languish; together with the wild animals and the birds of the air, even the fish of the sea are perishing.
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.

Assurance of God's Love (based on Hosea 2:18-20)
I will make for you a covenant on that day, says the Lord and I will take You for my own faithfulness, I will make for you a covenant with the wild animals, the birds, of the air, the creeping things of the ground; and I will abolish the bow, the sword and war from the land; and I will make you lie down, in safety. I will take you for my own forever; I will take you for my own in righteousness and justice, in steadfast love and mercy.

Intercessory Prayer
Creator God, you make all things and weave them together in an intricate tapestry of life. Teach us to respect the fragile balance of life and to care for the gifts of your creation. Guide by your wisdom those who have power and authority, that, by the decisions they make, life may be cherished and a good and fruitful Earth may continue to show your glory and sing your praises.

Almighty God, you have called us to tend and keep the garden of your creation. Give us wisdom and reverence for all your plants and animals who share this planet with us and whose lives make possible our own. Help us to remember that they too love the sweetness of life and join with us in giving you praise.

Sending Forth
Go now, believing in God the Creator Spirit, who moved upon the face of the deep and the beginning of creation, who created all that is and who spoke through the prophets.

Go, trusting in Jesus Christ, in whom God's Spirit was poured in the fullness of time, in whom the whole creation is restored and who promised that the Spirit would come to empower the faithful witness to the might love of God.

Go forth in the power of the Holy Spirit to witness to God's love in Christ, to proclaim with words and deed the good news of love and hope for all the world.

Suggested Hymns

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