Vigil for Planet Earth - Gathering
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Vigil for Planet Earth
Gathering
Smudging (while people gather) – Andrew Wesley
The officiant invites all to stand.
Officiant The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
People And also with you.
Officiant Welcome to this place. From ancient times this has
been holy ground. Sacred to the Mississaugas of New
Credit First Nation, the land and streams which joined
here before flowing into Lake Ontario marked a place
of rest and refreshment for people on their journeys.
We are privileged tonight to have Alanna Mitchell to
talk to us. Alanna is a journalist and the award-winning
author of ‘Sea Sick: the global ocean in crisis.’
Tonight’s ritual has its roots in the traditions of Eastern
Christians, specifically their celebration of the baptism
of Jesus, the festival they call the Theophany. In our
ritual tonight, our western prayer traditions have been
adapted to include echoes of the Orthodox celebration
of Theophany. We celebrate the revelation not only of
God’s purpose for Jesus, but of God’s purpose for water.Hymn Touch the Earth Lightly During the Prayer in the Four Directions that follows, the officiant moves to the font and models the four directions by moving to different sides of the font, as indicated in the rubrics.
Prayer in the Four Directions
The officiant moves to stand at the font facing the east.
Reader 1 From the East, the direction of the rising sun,
we receive peace and light and wisdom and knowledge.
People
The officiant moves around the font to face the south.
Reader 2 From the South comes warmth, guidance,
and the beginning and the end of life.
People Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the
earth. (sung)
The officiant moves around the font to face the west.
Reader 3 From the West comes the rain,
purifying waters, to sustain all living things.
People Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the
earth. (sung)
The officiant moves around the font to face the north.
Reader 4 From the North comes the cold and mighty wind,
the white snows, giving us strength and endurance.
People Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the
earth. (sung)The officiant returns to the chair.
Reader 5 From the heavens we receive darkness and light,
the air of your breath,
and messages from your winged creatures.
People Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the
earth. (sung)
Reader 6 From the earth we come
and to the earth we will return.
People Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the
earth. (sung)Word
First Reading (Revelation 22: 1 - 5)
Reader 7 A reading from the Revelation to John:
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life,
bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of
the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city.
On either side of the river is the tree of life with its
twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month;
and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the
nations. Nothing accursed will be found there any
more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in
it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his
face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And
there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp
or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they
will reign for ever and ever.
(Silence.)
Reader 7 The word of the Lord.
People Thanks be to God.
The officiant invites all to stand.Hymn Many and Great Are your Works, O God
Gospel Reading (Luke 3: 3, 7 - 9, 15 - 17, 21 - 22)
Deacon The Lord be with you
People And also with you.
Deacon The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to Luke.
People Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
John the Baptist went into all the region around the
Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of sins.
He said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by
him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee
from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of
repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We
have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is
able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.
Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every
tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down
and thrown into the fire.’
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were
questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he
might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by
saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more
powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the
thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to
clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into
his granary; but the chaff he will burn with
unquenchable fire.’Now when all the people were baptized, and when
Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the
heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended
upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came
from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I
am well pleased.’
(Silence.)
Deacon The Gospel of Christ.
People Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Address Alanna Mitchell
The officiant may choose to comment, following the address, on concerns of particular
importance to God’s people.
The officiant invites all to stand.Litany of lament
Reader 8 Hear the words of the Prophet Jeremiah:
My people are foolish,
they do not know me, says the Lord;
they are skilled in doing evil,
but do not know how to do good.
I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void,
and to the heavens, and they had no light.
I looked, and lo, there was no one at all,
and all the birds of the air had fled.
I looked, and lo, the fruitful land was a desert,
and all its cities were in ruins.
Because of this the earth shall mourn,
and the heavens above grow black.
This people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;
they have turned aside and gone away.
They do not say in their hearts, “Let us fear God,
who gives the rain in its season and keeps for us
the weeks for harvest.”
Your iniquities have turned these away,
and your sins have deprived you of good.
An appalling and horrible thing has happened:
the prophets prophesy falsely, and my people love
to have it so.
But what will you do when the end comes?(Wei, wei, wei chant; silence)
Officiant Gracious God,
who made a covenant with our ancestors,
we gather here tonight, a rebellious people.
We want to act out your intentions for us,
but we keep losing our way,
distracted by the glitter of the world around us.
You tell us to honour all creation,
yet we use other people and other creatures
only to feed our wants.
You offer daily bread to every living thing,
yet we steal from our brothers and sisters in our greed.
You promise us new life,
yet we shrink back in fear.
Help us and heal us, O God,
lest we destroy ourselves and desecrate your world.
Teach us how to honour your presence among us;
for the sake of your great love,
made known to us in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Reader 9 Hear the words of the Prophet Hosea:
There is no faithfulness or loyalty,
and no knowledge of God in the land.
Therefore 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.
(Wei, wei, wei chant; silence)Officiant Help us, O God, to accept responsibility for our sin:
the way in which we abuse your creation;
the role we play, both active and passive,
in marring your image
in ourselves, in others, and in the earth.
Help us also to accept your forgiveness,
to learn from our mistakes,
and to live more wisely;
through Jesus Christ the Lord.
Reader 10 Hear the words of the Apostle Paul:
The creation waits with eager longing
for the revealing of the children of God;
for the creation was subjected to futility,
not of its own will but by the will of the one who
subjected it,
in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its
bondage to decay
and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the
children of God.
We know that the whole creation
has been groaning in labour pains until now;
and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have
the first fruits of the Spirit,
groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the
redemption of our bodies.
For in hope we were saved.(Wei, wei, wei chant; silence)
Officiant Lord, help us to hear in the groaning of creation
not death throes but birth pangs.
Help us to recognize in the grief of this moment
a cry against the inhumanity of the present order,
and a promise for the future.
Help us to glimpse in acts of protest
the dawning of your justice,
to see in the Cross the path to resurrection,
and to find in suffering the seeds of joy;
through the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Peace
Officiant The peace of the Lord be always with you.
People And also with you.Water Hymn O Healing River (sung in ‘call-and-response fashion)
Thanksgiving Over the Water
Standing at the font, the officiant says,
The Lord be with you.
People And also with you.
Officiant Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Officiant We give you thanks, almighty God and Father, for by
the gift of water you nourish, sustain and renew all
living things.
People
Officiant We give you thanks that through the waters of the Red
Sea, you led your people out of slavery to freedom in
the promised land.
People Glory to you for ever and ever.
Officiant We give you thanks for sending your Son Jesus. For us
he was baptized by John in the River Jordan, repenting
for the sin of the world and restoring to water its
healing work in all creation. For us he was anointed as
Christ by your Holy Spirit that he might liberate the
world from all the forces of evil. For us he suffered the
baptism of his own death and resurrection, setting us
free from the bondage of sin and death, and sharingwith us his own ministry of new creation.
People Glory to you for ever and ever.
Officiant We give you thanks for your Holy Spirit who teaches us
and leads us into all truth, filling us with his gifts so that
we might proclaim the gospel to all nations and serve
you as a royal priesthood and faithful stewards of all
that you have made.
People Glory to you for ever and ever.
Officiant Now sanctify this water that your
Here the blessing
servants who have been washed cross is plunged three
and made one with Christ in his times into the water.
death and resurrection may here be
renewed in the power of his Spirit and may continue
for ever in the risen life of Jesus Christ our Saviour.
We give you praise and honour and worship through
your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, now and for ever.
PeopleProcession to the Font
The officiant invites all to approach the font and drink from the water of thanksgiving, in
these or similar words,
Let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes
take the water of life as a gift.
Two ministers approach the font and fill the chalices. The officiant is offered a drink first,
and then the water is offered to all.
Hymn I Beheld a Stream of Water
(Silence)
Murray MacAdam and John Hill will each introduce proposals for action.
The officiant invites all to stand.Sending: Hymn When Pain of the World Surrounds Us
Officiant Let us pray.
Holy God, source and goal of all that is,
pour out your Spirit on us and upon all flesh.
Grant us a continual thirst
for the restoration of all things,
that we may go now in love
to minister the healing of your kingdom.
We ask in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord.
Deacon Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
People Thanks be to God.
Refreshments and distribution of water
(label on bottles provided at the conclusion of the service:)
O healing river
send down your waters
OFFER THIS PRAYER
WHILE POURING THIS WATER OF THANKSGIVING
INTO ANY BODY OF WATER THAT IS THREATENED
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