Fourth Sunday in the Season of Creation (Australian Version 1)
River Sunday We worship with creation in the rivers
‘The river of God is full of water’. Psalm 65:9
RIVER SUNDAY Welcome! This Sunday we worship beside a river among all the river life in our sanctuary. We celebrate the water flowing in our sanctuary, water that symbolises Christ, the water of life.
Invocation
the name of Christ, the pulse of life, and the name of the Spirit, the breath of life. Amen.
People Holy! Holy! Holy! Earth is filled with God’s presence.
As the following words are sung softly, we become conscious of God’s presence. After the refrain is sung, we pause in silence and listen to sounds from creation in the silence.
Be still and feel the presence of God, the presence pulsing, pulsing through Earth. Be still and feel the pulse of God.
Be still and hear the Spirit of God, the Spirit breathing, breathing through Earth. Be still and hear the breath of God.
Be still, behold the glory of God, the glory filling, filling this Earth. Be still, behold the face of God.
Melody: Be Still and Know That I Am God Words: Norman C Habel
Procession and Song
We join in song with the children as they enter the church holding symbols of the river—tall reeds, shiny rocks, yabbies and banners portraying platypuses, frogs and other river creatures. We rejoice as the children pour water from pitchers into the water in the sanctuary.
Call to Worship
We celebrate with creation as worship leaders, from different points in the church, call the rivers and creatures from the rivers to join us in worship.
L1 We invite the rivers to worship with us:
P the Murray, the Darling and all the streams that flow to the sea.
L2 We invite the country creeks to sing:
P perch, eel and platypus, trout streams and gleaming fountains.
L3 We invite the fauna to praise God with us:
P ibis, heron and mountain duck, dragonflies and sleepy tortoises.
L1 We join with the waters in praising God:
P waterfalls singing upstream and waves dancing at the river mouth.
L2 We celebrate the song of the river!
P Sing, river, sing!
L3 We invite you to name creatures of the river to join us in worship.
We name, silently or aloud, other creatures from the river and invite them to join us in praising our Creator.
L1 We celebrate the song of the river!
P Sing, river, sing!
Remembering
We use a river stone or some other symbol to assist us to stir our memories.
L We remember the rivers God created in Eden and across our planet, rivers that are the lifeblood of Earth and vital for all that lives.
P We remember the streams of our past, the pools and ponds where we played and the feeling of celebration as we splashed each other.
streams that flow with the water of life.
Confession
we remember and confess that we have become alienated from Earth and have polluted the rivers of our garden planet.
Representatives approach the flowing water at the centre with symbols of how we have polluted our waterways. These may include two large bowls of water. Into one is poured red dye representing the toxins we have allowed to flow into the rivers and into another are tipped crude pieces of waste. These bowls are held aloft and then placed near the flowing water.
We have polluted our rivers with poisons. We have treated our streams as waste dumps. We have turned living waters into deathtraps. We have wasted precious waters in luxury living.
L We are sorry.
P We are sorry. We are sorry.
Absolution
L Christ hears your confession from the river Jordan and forgives your sins against the river.
L. I speak for Christ: I invite you to come home to Earth by rejoicing in our rivers.
P Shalom! Shalom! We are coming home!
Christ Have Mercy
L As we come home to Earth,
P Christ, have mercy.
L As we seek to love our home,
P Christ, have mercy.
L As we seek to care for our kin,
P Christ, have mercy.
Glory to God
L Glory to God in the highest!
P And on Earth peace with all creation!
Prayer for the Day
Readings for the Fourth Sunday in Creation
Old Testament: Genesis 8:20–22; 9:12–17 ‘God’s promise to Earth’ After the flood God promises that Earth and all of life on Earth will be preserved by God, in spite of the sins of human beings.
Psalm: Psalm 104:27–33 ‘God’s sustenance of Earth’ The psalm writer celebrates how God sustains all life on Earth through the Spirit and calls on God to rejoice in God’s own creation.
Epistle: Revelation 22:1–5 ‘God’s healing for Earth’ When creation is restored, a river will flow directly from God with trees of life growing on either side to bring healing to all nations on Earth
Gospel: Matthew 28:1–10 ‘God’s celebration with Earth’ The resurrection of Christ is also celebrated by creation. An earthquake accompanies the advent of the angel and the rolling away of the stone.
Children’s Address: ‘ The Secret of the Waters’ as told by means of the puppet Drip
Prayer: God, we thank you for rivers and the drips of water we all share that keep us alive. Amen.
Affirmation of Faith
renews all things and celebrates all things.
a sacred planet filled with God’s presence, a home for us to share with our kin.
became a piece of Earth, a human being called Jesus Christ, who lived and breathed and spoke among us, suffered and died on a cross for all human beings and for all creation.
is the Christ at the core of creation, reconciling all things to God, renewing all creation and filling the cosmos.
groans in empathy with a suffering creation and waits with us for the rebirth of creation.
and with Christ we will celebrate a new creation.
Passing the Peace
L Let us share the peace of the Lord with one another.
P The peace of the Lord be with you.
Song
Sermon or Reflection
Offering Prayer
L God, our Creator, through your love you have given us these gifts to share. Accept our offerings as an expression of our deep thanks and as signs of our concern for those in need, including our fellow creatures on planet Earth.
P With all creation, we praise our Creator.
Prayers of the People
We thank God for a wondrous creation. We celebrate with all our kin. We pray for all those in need. We name them now. We close with the following prayer.
Creation Prayer
Jesus Christ, teach us to empathise with Earth. Make our spirits sensitive to the cries of creation, cries for justice from the hills and the trees. Jesus Christ, make our faith sensitive to the groans of the Spirit, groans from the deserts, the salt plains, the winds. Jesus Christ, make our souls sensitive to the songs of our kin, songs of celebration from the sea, the land and the air. Christ, teach us to care. Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
The Great Thanksgiving
L The Creator be with you and all creation.
P And also with you.
L Open your hearts.
P We open them to our Creator.
L Let us give thanks to the Maker of heaven and earth.
L It is right to give you thanks, loving Creator. Your word is the impulse for all things to be, for space, stars and stardust to appear, for Earth to emerge from the deep, for life to be born of Earth and for humans to be born of Earth and the Spirit.
Your Spirit is the life impulse in all things, renewing the barren and healing the wounded, groaning in anticipation of a new creation, stirring a new life born of water and the Spirit.
You chose to be born a human being, to become a part of Earth, to suffer, die and rise from death to redeem humankind, restore creation, and affirm all born of Earth and the Spirit.
Your presence is the living impulse in all things, the Christ deep among us, filling Earth—land, sea and air— filling every element and place, filling the grain and the grape we share with you this day.
Therefore with angels and archangels, ancient voices in the forest, high voices from the sky, deep voices from the sea and the whole company of creation, we proclaim your presence among us.
P Holy, holy, holy, God of all life, Earth and sea and sky are full of your presence and glorify your name. Amen.
Words of Institution
Invitation
C Come, for all things are now ready. Come to the table with all your kin and share with all in need: the gift of healing for those in pain, the gift of forgiveness for those in sin, the gift of assurance for those in doubt, and the gift of hope for those in tears.
P May we who share these gifts share Christ with one another and all our kin.
Lamb of God
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away all sin against Earth, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away all sin from the world, receive our prayer.
Distribution
Distribution Songs
Dismissal Blessing
Candles for our Kin
As we return from the Lord’s table we light a candle and place it in the sand-filled candle-stand in memory of departed loved ones or one of our kin in the rivers who has become extinct.
Thanksgiving
Sending Out
L Christ calls you to be his disciples, to serve him with love and compassion, to serve Earth by caring for creation. Hold again the river stone in your hand as you go forth to serve:
P We will remember the rivers! We will groan with creation! We will rejoice in the waterways!
L Will you care for creation?
P We will care for creation! We will revive the wetlands! We will celebrate life!
Blessing
fill you with the knowledge of God’s presence in Earth and the impulse of Christ within you.
Go in peace, serving Christ and loving Earth!
P We go in peace, serving Christ and tending Earth!
Recession and Song
We join with the children in a song of joy as they process from the church with their river symbols and banners. We join with the psalm writer in singing, ‘The river of God is full of water’ Psalm 65:9.
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