National Council of Churches Earth Sunday Litanies
From the National Council of Churches [NCC] Earth Day Sunday 2003 resource packet: "Air ... Life-giving Breath of God: Protecting the Sacred Gift of Air." To download this helpful resources, go to http://www.nccecojustice.org/EarthDay/2004/index.html
Call to Worship, Earth Day Sunday 2004
O God, Holy Spirit, whose breath gives life to the world
and whose voice is heard in the soft breeze,
we need your strength and wisdom.
Come to us and among us;
Come as the wind and cleanse us.
We join with your Creation and with each other
to sing the song of the stars;
to rejoice in the sunlight;
and to refresh the air.
From the National Council of Churches [NCC] Earth Day Sunday 2003 resource packet: "Air ... Life-giving Breath of God: Protecting the Sacred Gift of Air." To download this helpful resources, go to http://www.nccecojustice.org/EarthDay/2004/index.html.
Call to Worship, Earth Day Sunday 2003
Our help is in the name of
the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
Ascribe to the Lord, O
heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to
the Lord the glory that is due the holy name;
worship the Lord in the
beauty of holiness.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the
God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over the mighty waters.
Psalm
29
Bless the Lord, O my
soul.
O Lord, my God, you are very great.
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. Psalm 104: 1, 10-13
The Spirit and the Bride
say, “Come.”
And let everyone who hears say, “Come.”
And let
everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes
take the water of
life as a gift. Revelation 22:17
(Can be read responsively with congregation.)
From the National Council of Churches [NCC] Earth Day Sunday 2003 resource packet, "Waters of Life: Enough for All." To download this helpful resource, go to http://www.nccecojustice.org/EarthDay/2003/index.html.
Call to Worship, Earth Day Sunday 2002
Leader: Forward through the ages in an unbroken line, move the
faithful spirits at the call divine.
People: We gather today in the
presence of God and in communion with those who have gone before us and those
who will come after.
Leader: On this Earth Sabbath, we open our minds
to learn about ecological threats to the health of present and future
generations and to the whole community of life.
People: We open our
hearts to the message of hope that comes to us through Jesus
Christ.
Leader: We reach out our hands to bring healing and change,
for the sake of the children of the earth--past, present, and
future.
People: And we raise our voices to join with the rest of
creation in singing praise to God, whose steadfast love and faithfulness endures
to all generations.
Based on the hymn, "Forward Through the Ages." From the National Council of Churches [NCC] Earth Day Sunday 2002 resource packet, "Caring for Creation: Making the World Safe for Children." To download this helpful resource, go to http://www.nccecojustice.org/EarthDay/2002/index.html.
Call to Worship, Earth Day Sunday 2000
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
Creator of heaven and earth! Psalm
124:8
Praise be to Jesus Christ!
Who
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
In Christ all things in heaven and on earth were created.
All things have been created through him
and for him.
In Christ the fullness of God was pleased to
dwell.
Through Christ God was pleased
to reconcile all things,
things on earth and things in
heaven,
making peace through the
blood
of the cross.
Colossians
1:15-20
From the National Council of Churches [NCC] Earth Day Sunday 2000 resource packet. To download this helpful resource go to http://www.nccecojustice.org/EarthDay/2000/index.html.
Responsive Benediction, Earth Day Sunday 2002
Leader: Certainly God is raising up people even
today to bring us through this dark time.
People: Life-giving God, we offer ourselves in
service to you, supported by a great cloud of witnesses who urge us
on.
Leader: We are connected
to other people of faith and conscience around the world who are working for a
peaceful, just, and sustainable world.
People: This global community supports us; we
support each other.
Leader:
We are related to the earth and all its creatures in a web that cannot be
broken without injury to all.
People: The earth and our fellow creatures support
us; we are their advocates...
Leader: Therefore, let us lay aside every weight and
sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is
set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,
resisting all powers that destroy, bringing healing and hope to the
world.
People: O God, Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, we offer
our lives in service to you.
From the National Council of Churches [NCC] Earth Day Sunday 2002 resource packet, "Caring for Creation: Making the World Safe for Children." To download this helpful resource, go to http://www.nccecojustice.org/EarthDay/2002/index.html.
