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Integrating Creation Care into Worship
This list was compiled by Christie E. Gibbons, 2005 Graduate of Saint Olaf College and 2005 Creation Care Intern for the Lutheran Coalition for Public Policy in MN.
Hymns of praise lifting creation images:
LBW 84 Brightest and Best of the Stars of the Morning
LBW 119 Nature with Open Volumes Stands
LBW 148 Now the Green Blade Rises
LBW 236 When Seed Falls on Good Soil
LBW 242 Let the Whole Creation Cry
LBW 266 Maker of the Earth and Heaven
LBW 527 All Creatures of Our God and King
LBW 532 How Great Thou Art
LBW 540 Praise the Lord! O Heavens
LBW 541 Praise the Lord of Heaven!
LBW 546 When Morning Gilds the Sky
LBW 550 From All That Dwell below the Skies
LBW 551 Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
LBW 554 This is My Father’s World
LBW 557 Let All Things Now Living
LBW 558 Earth and All Stars!
LBW 563 For the Fruit of All Creation
Psalms highlighting creation:
Psalm 8 God is majestic in all the earth.
Psalm 19 (particularly 1-4) The sky tells God’s glory.
Psalm 24 (particularly 1 & 2) The earth is the Lord’s.
Psalm 65 (particularly 12 & 13) Deserts and meadows praise God.
Psalm 66 (particularly 1-4) Earth sings praise to God.
Psalm 95 (particularly 1-7) Kneel before God our Maker.
Psalm 96 (particularly 11-13) The earth is glad; the trees rejoice.
Psalm 98 (particularly 7-9) The sea and everything in it resounds.
Psalm 104 God’s glory is revealed in the natural world; humans are just a part of it.
Psalm 136 God’s love endures forever, over all the earth.
Psalm 148 (particularly 3, 4, & 7-13) Earth praises God.
Psalm 150 (particularly 6) All that has breath praises God.
Old Testament Scriptures highlighting creation:
Genesis 1:2 God’s spirit hovered over the waters.
Genesis 1:21 & 22 God’s rule promotes life on earth.
Deuteronomy 8: 7-11 God is bringing you into a good land.
Deuteronomy 11:13-15 Obedience to God=a good harvest.
Deuteronomy 16:20 Seek justice. (earth justice, too.)
1 Kings 4:29, 32 & 33 Solomon was wise about the natural world.
Job 12: 7-10 Ask the animals…
Job 33:4 The breath of God gives life.
Isaiah 24:4-6 When covenants break, the earth suffers.
Isaiah 40:26 Look up at the stars.
Isaiah 44:3 & 4 Water poured on dry land leads to health for posterity.
Isaiah 59:15 & 16 God=appalled that no one intervenes.
Jeremiah 5:25 Humans have upset nature.
Habakkuk 3:17 & 18 Praise God in the midst of environmental degradation.
New Testament Scriptures highlighting creation:
Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the gentle, the earth inheritors.
Matthew 6: 9 & 10 God’s will be done on earth…
Matthew 7:17 A good tree produces good fruit.
Matthew 7:24 & 25 A house built on a rock will not flood.
Matthew 13:3-5 Sowing seeds.
Matthew 13: 31 & 47 God’s kingdom is a mustard seed/all the fish in a net.
John 1:1 & 2 Jesus Christ was present at creation.
John 4: 34 & 35 Don’t delay, the fields are ripe.
Galatians 6:7-9 We reap what we sow.
Ephesians 2:10 We were created to do good works on earth.
Colossians 1:16 Creation was created through Jesus.
Revelation 21:1 God’s home is among mortals.
Supplemental prayers honoring God’s creation:
“How wonderful, O Lord, are the works of your hands! The heavens declare Your glory, the arch of sky displays Your handiwork. In Your love You have given us the power to behold the beauty of Your world robed in all its splendor. The sun and the stars, the valleys and hills, the rivers and lakes all disclose Your presence. The roaring breakers of the sea tell of Your awesome might; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air bespeak Your wondrous will. In Your goodness You have made us able to hear the music of the world. The voices of loved ones reveal to us that You are in our midst. A divine voice sings through all creation.” --a Jewish prayer, found on page 57 of Earth Prayers From Around the World: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations for Honoring Earth, edited by Elizabeth Roberts & Elias Amidon, 1991.
“O Lord, Thou art on the sandbanks, As well as in the midst of the current; I bow to Thee. Thou art in the little pebbles, As well as in the calm expanse of the sea; I bow to Thee. O all-pervading Lord, Thou art in the barren soil, And in crowded places; I bow to Thee.” –'Sukla Yajur, Veda XVI, found on page 59 of Earth Prayers From Around the World: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations for Honoring Earth, edited by Elizabeth Roberts & Elias Amidon, 1991.
“Ancient sun, eternally young, giver of life and source of energy, In coal and oil, in plant and wind and tide, in spiritual light and human embrace, You kindle the heavens, you shine within us (for we are suns with hearts afire--we light the world as you light the sky and find clouds within whose shadows are dark); We give thanks for your rays, and clouds your rays draw up, for the sky route you travel faithfully as we traverse this globe, For our journeys of earth which draw us together, for our journeys of dream which sustain us when apart. Ancient of Days, you rule the nations, our birth and death: our journeys you have wrought. Loam we become for your fertile spirit. Your cosmic light penetrates our depths; In your majesty we are bound to one another. We gather this morning as did people of old with joys and woes, varied gifts and diverse needs. We offer you these in thanksgiving for life and share them through your generations on earth.” –by Congregation of Abraxas found on page 140 of Earth Prayers From Around the World: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations for Honoring Earth, edited by Elizabeth Roberts & Elias Amidon, 1991.
“Hail Mother, who art the earth, Hallowed by thy soil, rocks and flora that nourish and support all life. Blessed be thy wind that gives us breath and thy waters that quench, bathe and refresh all living things. Holy Earth--as one--we praise your majesty, grace and wonder.”—by Bill Faherty, found on page 157 of Earth Prayers From Around the World: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations for Honoring Earth, edited by Elizabeth Roberts & Elias Amidon, 1991.
“Lord, may we love all your creation, all the earth and every grain of sand in it. May we love every leaf, every ray of your light. May we love the animals: you have given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled. Let us not trouble it; let us not harass them, let us not deprive them of their happiness, let us not work against your intent. For we acknowledge unto you that all is like an ocean, all is flowing and blending, and that to withhold any measure of love from anything in your universe is to withhold that same measure from you. Amen.”–a prayer spoken by Fyodor Dostoevsky
“O Lord, One tiny bit of water rests on the palm of my hand. I bring it to you and with it I bring the whole ocean. This tiny drop has the power to ease the burning thirst of men; when spread on the earth, to give life to the seed and the future harvest; when poured on the fire to quench the blaze. A tiny drop of water can cleanse the whole of my impurity when blessed by your forgiveness. But, O Lord, more than all this, this tiny drop of water passed over my head is the symbol of my birth in You.” –by Ishpriya R.S.C.J., found on page 164 of Earth Prayers From Around the World: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations for Honoring Earth, edited by Elizabeth Roberts & Elias Amidon, 1991.
“Waters, carry far away all of this that has gone bad in me, either what I have done in malicious deceit or whatever lie I have sworn to.” --Part of a Hindu prayer, found on page 153 of Earth Prayers From Around the World: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations for Honoring Earth, edited by Elizabeth Roberts & Elias Amidon, 1991.
“Now Talking God, With your feet I walk, I walk with your limbs, I carry forth your body, For me your mind thinks, Your voice speaks for me, Beauty is before me, And beauty is behind me, Above and below me hovers the beautiful, I am surrounded by it, I am immersed in it, In my youth I am aware of it, And in old age I shall walk quietly, The beautiful trail.” --A Native American prayer found on page 32 of Earth Prayers From Around the World: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations for Honoring Earth, edited by Elizabeth Roberts & Elias Amidon, 1991.
Supplemental blessings honoring God’s creation:
Beseeching the breath of the divine one,
His life-giving breath, His breath of old age,
His breath of waters, His breath of seeds,
His breath of riches, His breath of fecundity,
His breath of power His breath of all good fortune,
Asking for his breath And into my warm body drawing his breath,
I add to your breath That happily you may always live.—a Zuni Chant, found on page 161 of Earth Prayers From Around the World: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations for Honoring Earth, edited by Elizabeth Roberts & Elias Amidon, 1991.
Blessed is the spot, and the house, and the place,
and the city, and the heart, and the mountain, and the refuge,
and the cave, and the valley, and the land, and the sea, and the island,
and the meadow where mention of God hath been made,
and His praise glorified. –a Baha'i prayer by Baha 'U' Lla, found on page 50 of Earth Prayers From Around the World: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations for Honoring Earth, edited by Elizabeth Roberts & Elias Amidon, 1991.
Resources that can be used from other churches within the National Council of Churches:
(Feel free to use the creation liturgies borrowed from the Moravian hymnal. They can be found at the end of this section of the binder.)
Christ’s life is celebrated during the seasons of Advent, Epiphany, Lent and Easter. The Holy Spirit is celebrated during the season of Pentecost. Now, Norman Habel’s Season of Creation allows us to celebrate God, the Creator of all things. The Season of Creation liturgy follows the lead of the psalm writers, urging us to celebrate with creation — with the forests, the rivers and the fields, which praise the Creator in their own way. To become familiar with Season of Creation, four Sundays in September in which we can celebrate A Season of Creation with Christ, go to the following website, from which all liturgies and resources may be used freely if used for worship within your congregation:
http://www.seasonofcreation.com/index.asp
To view an earth-focused liturgy that is part of Care of the Earth: An Environmental Resource Manual for Church Leaders, go to: http://www.webofcreation.org/start/manuals/krause/90liturgy.html.
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