Season of Creation
A Celebration Guide for Episcopal Parishes
2023
©
The image on the front cover, Earth Icon, is based on Andrei Rublev’s icon, “The Trinity” (also known as “The Hospitality of Abraham”). Watercolor and gold leaf, copyright 2022 Edith Adams Allison.
Used with permission.
Season
of Creation
An Ecumenical Celebration
Liturgical resources for celebrating the season from
September 1st, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation,
to October 4th, St. Francis of Assisi Day.
May be authorized for use in Episcopal dioceses
by their canonical authorities for the year 2023.
Contents
Introduction p. 6
The Lectionary for Year A (2023) p. 13
The Holy Eucharist: A Liturgy with Creation p. 27
Resources: Prayers, Readings, and Music p. 47
About this Resource
During the Season of Creation, we join with billions of Christians around the world to celebrate in prayer and action our Gospel calling to protect the Earth that God has entrusted to our care. We are pleased to support this special collection of prayers, readings, and hymns dedicated to honoring the sacredness of God’s Creation.
Thoughtfully assembled by the Rev. John Elliott Lein (priest in Maine) and the Rev. Dr. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas (Creation activist and priest in Massachusetts) from prayers, readings, and liturgies created all over the global Anglican Communion and beyond, this anthology not only provides special liturgies for the season, but also suggests ways to expand our familiar Sunday liturgies and prayers so that they more accurately reflect the whole Gospel for the whole world. We commend it to you for both congregational worship and personal prayer. Simply reading this resource will be an education in eco-justice, but praying it will move mountains!
We, the following Diocesan Bishops of the Episcopal Church, authorize this material for use in public worship in the dioceses listed below during the Season of Creation 2023. May these prayers and readings deepen our response to the living God and strengthen our resolve to follow Jesus in this critical time for all of Creation.
Authorized for use September 1-October 4, 2023
The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Anne Reddall, Diocese of Arizona
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Marc Handley Andrus,
Diocese of California
The Rt. Rev. Russell Kendrick,
Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast
The Rt. Rev. Kymberly Lucas, Diocese of Colorado
The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey W. Mello, Diocese of Connecticut
The Rt. Rev. Robert Skirving, Diocese of East Carolina
The Rt. Rev. Prince G. Singh, Provisional,
Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan
The Rt. Rev. Patrick W. Bell, Diocese of Eastern Oregon
The Rt. Rev. Lucinda Beth Ashby, Diocese of El Camino Real
The Rt. Rev. Mark D.W. Edington, Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe
The Rt. Rev. Cathleen Chittenden Bascom. Diocese of Kansas
The Rt. Rev. Lawrence C. Provenzano,
Diocese of Long Island
The Rt. Rev. Thomas J. Brown, Diocese of Maine
The Rev. Carrie Schofield-Broadbent, Bishop Coadjutor-elect,
Diocese of Maryland
The Rt. Rev. Alan M. Gates, Diocese of Massachusetts
The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey D. Lee, Provisional,
Diocese of Milwaukee
The Rt. Rev. Brian R. Seage, Diocese of Mississippi
The Rt. Rev. Deon K. Johnson, Diocese of Missouri
The Rt. Rev. A. Robert Hirschfeld,
Diocese of New Hampshire
The Rt. Rev. Samuel S. Rodman, Diocese of North Carolina
The Most Rev. Melissa Skelton, Bishop Provisional, Diocese of Olympia
The Rt. Rev. Stephen T. Lane, Diocese of Rochester
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Shannon MacVean-Brown, Diocese of Vermont
The Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde,
Diocese of Washington
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas John Fisher,
Diocese of Western Massachusetts
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Diana D. Akiyama,
Diocese of Western Oregon
If your diocese is not listed above, you may check with your bishop’s office to see if they have or will authorize the use of the materials in your parish. Please let us know at season@newcreationliturgies.org if other dioceses endorse the liturgies after official update of this guide on August 31, 2023.
The Season of Creation
The celebration of this Season began when Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I established a Day of Prayer for Creation for the Orthodox in 1989. The World Council of Churches extended the celebration into our current pattern.
The yearly themes, logos, and other resources are provided by the ecumenical organization to which we belong as members of the Anglican Communion. The Rt. Rev. Marc Andrus, Bishop of California, represents the Episcopal Church on the steering committee. More information and resources for various activities and events outside of the primary Sunday morning worship service may be found on the website: SeasonOfCreation.org
The theme for 2023 is Let Justice and Peace Flow
Prophet Amos cries out: “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24) and so we are called to join the river of justice and peace, to take up climate and ecological justice, and to speak out with and for communities most impacted by climate injustice and the loss of biodiversity. As the people of God, we must work together on behalf of all Creation, as part of that mighty river of peace and justice.
The symbol for 2023 is a mighty river. Biodiversity is being lost at a rate not seen since the last mass extinction. The futures of young people are threatened by the cascading impacts of the loss of biodiversity and a changing climate. The urgency grows and we must make visible peace with Earth and on Earth, at the same time that justice calls us to repentance and a change of attitude and actions. As we join the river of justice and peace with others then hope is created instead of despair.1
Listen carefully, I am about to do a new thing, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even put a road in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:19
A Word from the General Convention in 2022
The 80th General Convention of the Episcopal Church recognized climate change as “an all-encompassing social crisis and moral emergency that impacts and interconnects every aspect of pastoral concern including health, poverty, employment, racism, social justice, and family life and that can only be addressed by a Great Work involving every sector of society, including the Church.”
A Creation Care Theology Primer2
Why is it important to mark the Season of Creation?
- Because of the urgency of climate and ecological crisis and the need for a bold, prophetic response.
- Because of our Gospel call to grow in faith as we affirm that God in Christ loves, redeems, and sustains the whole of Creation, not only human beings.
What is the urgency of climate and ecological crisis?
“We’ve changed the planet, changed it in large and fundamental ways. Our old familiar globe is suddenly melting, drying, acidifying, flooding, and burning in ways that no human has ever seen.” — Bill McKibben3
Because of the relentless burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, the world’s climate has become disrupted and unstable. The web of life is unraveling before our eyes. Human society is at risk of collapse within decades along with mass extinctions of species and forced migrations.
- Over the last fifty years, 60% of the planet’s mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and fish have been wiped out by human land development and habitat destruction.
- More than 1 million species are on the way to extinction.
- Oceans are acidifying and warming, and living fish are being displaced with dead plastic. Sea levels are rising, coral reefs dying, and ecosystems collapsing.
- Record-breaking and intensifying weather patterns are increasing deadly droughts, floods, storms, and heat.
- Food supply disruption due to weather events, water shortages, and unpredictable seasons will increase, leading to mass starvation events.
What is our Gospel call to grow in faith? What does Christianity have to do with ecology?
- God the Creator pronounced the world “very good” (Gen. 1:31), and gave humans the task to “till and keep” the Earth (Gen. 2:15) as stewards and caregivers rather than owners (Ps. 24:1).
- Christian saints, including the prophets, Jesus, and many of our mystics, including the Desert Fathers and Saint Francis, lived in close relationship with Creation. As Saint Paul wrote (Rom. 1:20), humanity encounters and dwells with God through the natural world.
- Destruction of nature is a sign of estrangement from God: “There is 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,” Hos. 4:1b, 3; “Hurt not the earth, neither the sea nor the trees,” Rev. 7:3.
- The Paschal mystery includes all of Creation: everything has been redeemed in the work of Jesus Christ, the Word through whom all things were made (Jhn. 1:3). In him, “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Col. 1:19-20; c.f. Eph. 1:10, 2 Cor. 5:19). Creation is thus made new (Rev. 21:5).
- Jesus said that loving our neighbors is like unto loving God. Our neighbors include people of the Third World who now face the worst effects of the crisis built by the First World; climate refugees; low-wealth and minority communities, which are hurt first and hardest by the changing climate as social justice is inextricably linked to ecological justice; and future generations who depend on us to leave them a habitable world. God’s “everlasting covenant” is with “every living creature” (Gen. 9:8-17)—they, too, are the neighbors we are summoned to love.
- We proclaim a Gospel of salvation that includes all of Creation, not only human beings. Jesus commissioned his disciples, saying, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). As disciples of Jesus, our mission is to bring good news in word and deed to the whole Creation.
- Our discipleship bears witness to a love that transcends death. In baptism, we die to ourselves and live in Christ, and are delivered from undue fear of death (c.f. Rom. 8:38-39, 2 Tim. 1:7, Heb. 2:14-15). This experience empowered the early Christians to resist the unjust powers-that-be: they “turned the world upside down” (Act. 17:6) and “acted contrary to the decrees of the emperor” (Act. 17:7), obeying God rather than any human authority (Act. 5:29) in resisting the forces of death and destruction to the point of suffering and martyrdom.
- Christian hope is in the renewal (Mat. 19:28) and restoration (Act. 3:21) of all things. Our participation with God in creating a more just and habitable world and living more gently on Earth is how we share in what Archbishop Desmond Tutu calls the “supreme work”4 of Jesus Christ, who reconciles us to God, one another, and God’s whole Creation. The good news of God in Christ is for all creatures and the whole Earth.
What must be done?
The U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns we have only a short amount of time to limit the worst of the effects of the crisis by:
- Reversing deforestation. Keeping and rebuilding our forests and wetlands is one third of the solution alone.
- Stop burning fossil fuels entirely by switching to renewable energy sources and dramatically reducing the demand from developed societies, especially the wealthy (top 1% use 30% of energy) and military forces.
- Developing and using better agricultural practices.
- Adapting to a changed world, especially by redirecting resources to the Third World and climate refugees.
Learn more
To learn more and take action, please visit the Creation Care ministries of the Anglican Communion, the Episcopal Church, and your specific Province and Diocese. Global and national resources can be found at:
- The Anglican Communion Environmental Network
acen.anglicancommunion.org - The Episcopal Church Ministry of Creation Care
www.episcopalchurch.org/ministries/creation-care
Share and Celebrate
Spread the word: this 2023 guide may found and shared online at newcreationliturgies.org/seasonofcreation.
Concerning the Lectionary
The Season of Creation covers five Sundays and six holy days. The first Sunday is most often assigned Proper 18, though sometimes Proper 17 (as in 2023), depending on the year. Creation-focused interpretations for readings and preaching for each Sunday celebration are provided here.
The Season of Creation
The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation
The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 17) p. 16
Labor Day
The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 18) p. 18
The Feast of Holy Cross Day
The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 19) p. 20
The Feast of St Matthew, Evangelist
The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20) p. 22
The Feast of St Michael and All Angels
The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 21) p. 24
The Feast of St Francis of Assisi, Patron Saint of Ecology
Alternate Readings
The Bishops have authorized a set of readings which may be substituted for the RCL’s epistle during this Season. Suggested alternatives from Scripture are listed for each Sunday in the Lectionary. Readings from other sources are listed in the Resources section beginning on page 78.
The suggested Collects for each Sunday in the Lectionary are based on the structure of those found in the Book of Common Prayer with a theme taken from the assigned Gospel and Creation in mind.5
Preaching
General resources for preaching on the theme of Creation may be found in resources such as:
- Sermon Suggestions at PreachingForGodsWorld.org
- Ecopreacher 1-2-3 from InterfaithSustain.com
- RevivingCreation.org from the Rev. Margaret
Bullitt-Jonas - Climate Church, Climate World: How People of Faith Must Work for Change, by Jim Antal
Five-Fold Creation Care Pattern
The Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas has oriented her creation care ministry around a four-fold pattern of Pray, Learn, Act, and Advocate approaches for resources and inspiration. To this, we suggest adding Bless as a fifth approach so that these may be considered as guiding themes for each of five Sundays in the Season.
The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 3, 2023
The first Sunday of the Season follows the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on September 1st. Consider a special focus on Prayer for this service, possibly opening with a Litany or Penitential Order. Labor Day’s celebration of honorable work and advocacy of rest may also be seen as applicable to the mission of the Church in Creation, especially as it is connected to the necessity of Sabbath for all beings.
Creation Proper 17, Year A: “Pray”
The Creation Collect for the Day
Lord of all love and glory, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Creation; increase in all true unity; nourish the world with all goodness; and bring forth the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ the Wisdom of Creation, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
A Creation Focus in Lessons from Track 1
Exodus 3:1-15 (God speaks through wilderness visions)
Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c (Praise the marvelous works of God)
A Creation Focus in Lessons from Track 2
Jeremiah 15:15-21 (Creation as the suffering righteous to be saved)
Psalm 26:1-8 (Recognize the pure and holy saints of the Lord)
Suggested Creation Readings for the Second Lesson
Romans 12:9-21 (Be zealous for God’s reign of peace and healing)
Romans 8:19-23 (The whole creation groans in labor)
Galatians 6:14-18 (Boast only of the cross; New Creation is all)
Pope Francis, p. 84 (Introduces teaching on environment)
St. Gregory the Great, p. 79 (The wonders of God’s Creation)
The Gospel
Matthew 16:21-28 (Losing human priorities for the sake of divine)
Preaching Suggestions
- Wild nature as essential for us to connect to God (Ex 3).
- Hearing the cry of the prophets as the voice of Creation (Je 15).
- Jesus condemns the human prioritization of comfort and conformity over the call of the divine to sacrifice all for the sake of God’s kingdom as renewed Creation (Mt 16).
Planning Suggestions
- Focus on the Creation Care approach of “Pray.”
- Consider gathering a discussion group around aspects of the climate crisis or the Christian response.
The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 10, 2023
Themes for either Labor Day or Holy Cross Day, particularly the assigned Epistle reading from the 6th chapter of the Letter to the Church in Galatia, may be referenced on this Sunday. Consider a focus on Learning by reviewing the Christian theology of Creation and Climate Justice or recent theological calls to action such as Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’.
Creation Proper 18, Year A: “Learn”
The Creation Collect for the Day
Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the powerful who oppress and dominate Creation, so you never forsake your creatures who live in harmony with nature’s order; through Jesus Christ the Wisdom of Creation, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
A Creation Focus in Lessons from Track 1
Exodus 12:1-14 (Executing judgment on the gods of empire)
Psalm 149 (God as savior of the weak and binder of the powerful)
A Creation Focus in Lessons from Track 2
Ezekiel 33:7-11 (God demands our prophetic voice for justice)
Psalm 119:33-40 (Learning and following God’s way gives life)
Suggested Creation Readings for the Second Lesson
Romans 13:8-14 (Love all Creation as ourselves, doing no wrong)
Romans 8:19-23 (The whole Creation groans in labor)
Galatians 6:14-18 (Boast only of the cross; New Creation is all)
Pope Francis, p. 84 (Introduces teaching on environment)
Br. Keith Nelson, p. 82 (We are crucifying the earth)
The Gospel
Matthew 18:15-20 (Sinners against Creation held to account)
Preaching Suggestions
- Violence of the Exodus as a theological condemnation of empire and its claim to divine or natural legitimacy for oppression and degradation (Ex 12).
- God requires us to speak up against the powerful for repentance from evil and wickedness, whether we succeed or not (Ez 33).
- The Church is to hold to account those in our midst who persist in sin against Creation.
- New Creation is everything (Ga 6).
Planning Suggestions
- Focus on the Creation Care approach of “Learn.”
- Consider gathering a discussion group around aspects of the climate crisis or the Christian response.
- If referencing Holy Cross, see quotes from Elizabeth A. Johnson (p. 101) & Jay O’Hara (p. 105).
The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 17, 2023
Following Holy Cross Day, if not previously referenced, we might urge our parishioners to consider what it could mean to “take up one’s cross and follow Jesus” regarding the climate. This may fit well with the focus on “Acting” in our Climate Care ministry’s four-fold pattern. Or a theme from the Feast of Saint Matthew may be applied.
Creation Proper 19, Year A: “Act”
The Creation Collect for the Day
O God, because in our ignorance and selfishness we so often fail to care rightly for your Creation, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may soften and unite our hearts with all living beings who suffer; through Jesus Christ the Wisdom of Creation, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
A Creation Focus in Lessons from Track 1
Exodus 14:19-31 (Human empire destroyed by floods, fire, clouds)
Psalm 114 (Creation dances and empire dissolves)
or Exodus 15:1b-11,20-21 (Despoilers defeated by Creation)
A Creation Focus in Lessons from Track 2
Genesis 50:15-21 (God works through tragedy, forgives always)
Psalm 103:(1-7), 8-13 (The Lord judges, renews, forgives, cares)
Suggested Creation Readings for the Second Lesson
Romans 14:1-12 (Affirm all in God’s work, beginner to mature)
Galatians 6:14-18 (Boast only of the cross; New Creation is all)
Babylonian Talmud, p. 78 (Planting for the next generation)
Br. Keith Nelson, p. 82 (We are crucifying the earth)
Terry Tempest Williams, p. 87 (Wild mercy in our hands)
The Gospel
Matthew 18:21-35 (Our debts released, release the debts of all)
Preaching Suggestions
- The rock of empire is liquified in God’s hands (Ps 114).
- New Creation is everything (Ga 6).
- Forgiving debts as obligated divine pattern; what do humans owe Creation and all creatures (Mt 18)?
- Moral imperative of rich nations and banks forgiving debts now crushing communities facing the worst of a crisis largely created by the global north (Mt 18).
Planning Suggestions
- Focus on the Creation Care approach of “Act,” with the three major areas of needed personal change in mind: energy, food, and transportation.
- A formation group could discuss ways to take action for Creation.
- If referencing Holy Cross, see quotes from Elizabeth A. Johnson (p. 103) and Jay O’Hara (p. 107).
The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
This Sunday follows the Feast of Saint Matthew and precedes the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels, which provide alternate readings. The Collect of the Day for Proper 20 in the 1979 BCP is particularly inappropriate for this season with its dismissal of earth (in contrast, reference the final two chapters of Revelation).
Creation Proper 20, Year A: “Advocate”
The Creation Collect for the Day
Grant us, Lord, your vision of a renewed earth in which heaven comes to rest; and even now, while we too often despair of healing and wholeness, to hold fast to your promise and commit again to hope; through Jesus Christ the Wisdom of Creation, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
A Creation Focus in Lessons from Track 1
Exodus 16:2-15 (Slaving for luxury vs. creation’s free abundance)
Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45 (God fills our needs through creation)
A Creation Focus in Lessons from Track 2
Jonah 3:10-4:11 (God’s love for plants, animals, and humanity)
Psalm 145:1-8 (There is no end to goodness in Creation)
Suggested Creation Readings for the Second Lesson
Philippians 1:21-30 (Live worthy of the gospel of New Creation)
Proverbs 3:1-6 (Follow teachings for long life & abundant welfare)
Genesis 28:10-17 (Jacob promised descendants & presence of God)
Revelation 21:1-6, 22:1-5 (New Creation for life and healing)
Walter Rauschenbusch, p. 80 (Fellow with creatures & future)
The Gospel
Matthew 20:1-16 (Kingdom values of abundance not scarcity)
Preaching Suggestions
- Looking for the abundance offered freely in Creation in contrast to empire’s “fleshpots” in slavery (Ex 16).
- God loves plants, insects, and animals as much as God loves Jonah and the people of Nineveh (Jo 3).
- God has created enough for all in the kingdom, unlike the artificial scarcity of modern economies (Mt 20).
- God’s kingdom plan for the earth is renewal and healing, not abandonment and destruction (Re 21-22).
Planning Suggestions
- Consider incorporating themes or readings from the surrounding Feast Days.
- Focus on the Creation Care approach of “Advocate.”
The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
October 1, 2023
This is the traditional Sunday for celebrating St. Francis of Assisi (feast day: October 4) and holding a Blessing of the Animals, a very appropriate celebration in this Season. There are excerpts from St. Francis and options to sing his words in our Resources. It may be an appropriate day to introduce Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ to the parish.
Creation Proper 21, Year A: “Bless”
The Creation Collect for the Day
O God, you show your glory throughout your Creation, calling it very good: Grant us the fullness of your blessing, that we, stewarding your garden, may become partakers in your joy; through Jesus Christ the Wisdom of Creation, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
A Creation Focus in Lessons from Track 1
Exodus 17:1-7 (Valuing clean, life-giving water as a miracle of God)
Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16 (God’s goodness shown forth in waters)
A Creation Focus in Lessons from Track 2
Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32 (One’s sins makes suffering for generations)
Psalm 25:1-8 (An appeal to God for instruction to do right)
Suggested Creation Readings for the Second Lesson
Philippians 2:1-13 (Let us join and serve creation as Christ for us)
Genesis 1:1-2:4a (Creation translation, p. 88)
Meister Eckhart, p. 78 (God in all things, time with caterpillar)
Kallistos of Diokleia, p. 84 (Creation in covenant)
The Gospel
Matthew 21:23-32 (God values the work, not the promise)
or Luke 12:22-32 (Consider the lilies, from St. Francis’ Feast)
Preaching Suggestions
- Ezekiel declares that the sin of a generation is theirs—the guilt is not passed along—but reversing the damage is the work of every generation.
- How might we self-empty for the sake of creation, as Christ called us to follow his path (Ph 2)?
- We must act now for Creation, not simply make fine statements for a potential future event (Mt 21).
- The Gospel reading from St. Francis’ Feast Day offers a beautiful meditation on the blessing of natural life stripped of material worries and unnecessary needs.
Planning Suggestions
- Consider including elements of the “Litany for All Creation and Blessing of Animals for St. Francis Day” in the Book of Occasional Services 2018.
- Consider using the Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon (p. 75) as the Song of Praise.
A Liturgy with Creation
The Word of God
Litany or Penitential Order
When appropriate, a Litany or Penitential Order may be added as instructed in the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) pp. 148-155 and 351-353. The following are included in the Resources, beginning on p. 61.
A Penitential Order for Creation
Litany for Creation and All Creatures
Litany of Lament and Repentance
The Great Litany of Creation
A Litany for the Planet
Opening Acclamation
One of the following acclamations may be used.
Presider Blessed be the One who creates all things.
People The Holy One’s love is new every morning.
Presider This is the day the Creator has made.
People Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Song of Praise
The rubrics of the Prayer Book (p. 356) provide that “some other song of praise” may be used in place of the hymn Gloria in excelsis. The following are among the appropriate alternatives during this Season.
BCP Canticle 12: A Song of Creation
EOW Canticle D: A Song of the Wilderness
EOW Canticle J: A Song of Judith
Any of the Canticles from Resources (p. 75)
Any of the hymns from Music for Creation (p. 123)
Salutation
Presider The Creator be with you.
People And also with you.
Presider Let us pray.
Collect of the Day
The Lectionary section contains suggested Collects for each Sunday of the Season based on the Gospel lessons. Any of the Collects found beginning p. 48 may also be used for the Season.
The Lessons and Gospel
The second lesson may be substituted according to the Lectionary.
The Sermon
See the Lectionary section for resources on preaching.
The Baptismal Covenant
If a service of Holy Baptism is offered, add the 6th baptismal promise below as proposed at General Convention 2015.
Question Will you cherish the wondrous works of God, and protect the beauty and integrity of all creation?
Answer I will, with God’s help.
Profession of Faith
On weekdays and non-major feasts, the following Profession may be used in place of the Nicene Creed during this season.
We believe in God, who creates all things,
who embraces all things, who celebrates all things,
who is present in every part of the fabric of creation.
We believe in God as the source of all life,
who baptizes this planet with living water.
We believe in Jesus Christ, the suffering one, the poor one,
the malnourished one, the climate refugee,
who loves and cares for this world
and who suffers with it.
And we believe in Jesus Christ, the seed of life,
who came to reconcile and renew this world
and everything in it.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the breath of God,
who moves with God
and who moves among and with us today.
We believe in everlasting life in God.
And we believe in the hope that one day
God will put an end to death and all destructive forces.6
The Prayers of the People
Prayer is offered with intercession for:
All communities of faith, their members, and our common mission of healing Creation in this era of climate crisis
The nations and all with responsibility, particularly those involved in climate negotiations and decisions
The welfare of all Creation
The concerns of the local community and environment, naming our land and ecological features
Those of any species who suffer and those in any trouble
The departed (with commemoration of a saint when appropriate), including species extinction
Forms I-VI in the BCP may be adapted as instructed on p. 107.
Alternative forms beginning p. 112 may be used or adapted instead.
Confession of Sin
The Deacon or Presider may say
Let us confess our sins against God and God’s creation.
One of the following confessions7 may be substituted for this Season.
Holy and merciful God,
we confess that we have failed to honor you
by rightly claiming our kinship with all your creatures.
We have walked heavily on your earth,
overused and wasted its resources,
taken for granted its beauty and abundance,
and treated its inhabitants unjustly,
holding future generations hostage to our greed.
Have mercy on us and forgive us our sin.
Renew in us the resolve to keep and conserve your earth as you desire and intend,
with grateful and compassionate hearts,
through your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Merciful and sustaining God,
we have sinned against you.
We confess our lack of gratitude
for the beauty and bounty of your creation:
teach us to see that your earth sustains us
and all that lives.
We confess that we have misused your earth:
grant us amendment of life.
We confess that we have been intemperate in our appetites:
strengthen us in self-control.
We confess that we have taken the abundance of your world for granted: make us urgent now for its protection.
Forgive and renew us now through our Savior Jesus Christ,
by the power of the Holy Spirit, with whom you live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
God of compassion, have mercy upon us. Heal our relationship with all creation. Forgive us for our mistreatment and neglect of the creatures who share the earth with us. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent for what we have done to harm them, and for what we have not done to help them.
Fill us with your Spirit, that we may care for one another and for all creatures, according to your will and in the fullness of your love; through Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen.
Absolution
A traditional absolution from the BCP may be used.
The Peace
All stand. The Presider says one of the following
Presider The God of heaven has made a home on earth.
All Christ dwells among us and is one with us.8
Presider The peace of Christ be always with you.
People And also with you.
Presider In Christ we are becoming a new creation.
People We see God around us.
We see God within us.
We give thanks to our Creator.
Presider Let us show the love God has instilled within us by greeting each other as a sign of God’s justice of peace, love, forgiveness and grace. The peace of our Creator be with you in all things.
People And also with you.
Presider You are invited to care and share peace with your neighbor, and speak a word of peace to the land in which you gather, and the creatures who share this common home.9
Presider Peace with yourself.
Peace with Creation.
Peace with one another.
The peace of Christ be always with you.
People And also with you.
The Holy Communion
The Eucharistic Prayer
For those Prayers using a Preface, consider using the following.
A Proper Preface for Rogation Days
Because in the mystery of Christ’s incarnation you have gathered into one things earthly and heavenly, calling your people to be ministers of reconciliation and to proclaim the Good News to all creation.10
Selecting and Adapting Eucharistic Prayers
Our nine authorized prayers have varying levels of engagement with Creation Care. Consider the following as you select the prayers.
BCP Prayer I
Prayer I, in Rite I, is entirely anthropocentric in its focus and thus is not recommended for this Season.
BCP Prayer II
Prayer II mentions God’s creating act briefly and the image-bearing of humanity alone. In Rite I it is the better choice of the two for this Season.
BCP Prayer A
Prayer A is entirely anthropocentric in its focus and thus is not recommended for this Season.
BCP Prayer B
Prayer B includes mention of creation in the form of a gift to us, but does not draw creation into salvation history. Consider inserting “the whole of Creation” in the attribution space for saints (see BCP p. 369).
BCP Prayer C
Prayer C is the most Creation-oriented Eucharistic prayer of the 1979 BCP. Consider adding:
“...You made us the rulers and stewards of creation...”
BCP Prayer D
Prayer D, similar to Prayer B, includes the Creator’s commandment of ruling and serving all creatures, but leaves creation behind for the remainder of the prayer. Consider inserting prayers for God’s Creation in the [Remember...] section on page 375.
EOW Prayer 1
Prayer 1 includes creation throughout the initial blessing and salvation history, incorporates abuse of creation into our fall, and cites creation as source of the elements.
EOW Prayer 2
Prayer 2 extensively draws on Genesis’ creation language, includes “the whole earth” in the blessing of the epiclesis, and commits the Body for God’s world. This is the most Creation-oriented authorized Eucharistic Prayer.
EOW Prayer 3
Prayer 3 incorporates Jesus as Word and Wisdom by which God created, uses the title “Creator” for God, and recognizes the earth as a source of the elements.
Eucharistic Prayer for Creation
The following prayer has been adapted by the Rev. Dr. Nina Pooley from liturgical resources around the Anglican Communion.11
Praise and thanks are yours, our Creating God. From the dust of the earth you shaped human beings in your own image, and you filled the earth and seas and skies with a myriad of wonders. Yet we consistently turn your generosity into our scarcity, your elegance into our meanness, and your simplicity into our corruption. Though we poison and destroy your good Creation, you continue to offer us your abundance. In your mercy, you have redeemed us through your Son, Jesus, transforming death into life.
Through the Spirit you continue to call us into covenant with you—for the restoration of Creation and the reconciliation of all people.
And so we give you thanks, rejoicing with all of Creation, as we join the saints and angels in their unending hymn:
The people join together in the Sanctus, and then the presider continues
In the night that Jesus was betrayed, he took bread, and gave thanks to God. He broke the bread, gave it to his friends and said: “Take and eat, for this is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
He took the wine, and gave thanks to God, Creator. He gave it to his friends saying: “This is my blood of the new covenant, shed for you and for all creation for the forgiveness of sins. Every time you drink of the wine, do this in remembrance of me.”
So we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
Merciful God, we come to this table seeking reconciliation: with you, with one another, and with all creation. Through these mysteries reconcile us to our world and empower us to restore your Creation and fulfill your will. Send your life-giving Spirit upon us, and upon this bread and wine. Stir in us the creative and redeem the destructive.
Heal your stricken world, that the soil, the skies, and the seas may be filled with your life anew.
Fill every heart with the sure and certain hope that we shall enter into the fullness of your joy, when your whole Creation is justified by faith and sanctified by love, and you are all in all. Through Christ and with Christ and in Christ, in the unity of the Spirit, all honor and glory is yours, everlasting God, now and forever. AMEN.
The Lord’s Prayer
The Presider may invite the People into the Prayer as follows
As the Wisdom before Creation teaches us, we pray.
The People may use one of the following for the Season.
Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echoes through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your beloved community of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth. With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever.
Amen.12
Holy One, our only Home,
hallowed be your name.
May your day dawn,
your will be done,
here as in heaven.
Feed us today,
and forgive us as we forgive each other.
Do not forsake us at the test,
but deliver us from evil.
For the glory, the power,
and the mercy are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.13
or this, responsively
Leader Our Father [and/or: Mother] in heaven
People You are also at home in the air, soil, forests and oceans
Leader Hallowed be your name
People By the care we take of your Creation
Leader Your kingdom come
People All that you see is good
Leader Your will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven
People Your will to till and care
Leader Give us this day our daily bread
People That all may have enough to live life in fullness
Leader Forgive us our trespasses
People Our greed, our exploitation, our lack of concern
for other species and for future generations
Leader As we forgive those who trespass against us
People By reconciliation with justice and peace.
Leader Lead us not into temptation
People The temptation to equate dominion with exploitation
Leader And deliver us from evil
People The evil of destroying your gift of creation
Leader For yours is the kingdom
People Yours, Lord, not ours
Leader The power and the glory
People In the cross and resurrection
Leader For ever and ever
People You are the beginning and you are the end. Amen. (So be it)14
Fraction Anthems
The following are alternatives allowed for the Season of Creation.
Presider This is Living Bread, given for all Creation.
People All who eat this bread share in Christ’s Body.15
Presider Creator God, you fed us from the beginning.
People Happy are all, called to the Supper of Creation.16
Postcommunion Prayer
One of the following may be said.
Loving God,
we give you thanks
for restoring us in your image
and nourishing us with spiritual food
in the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood.
Now send us forth
a people, forgiven, healed, renewed;
that we may proclaim your love to the world
and continue in the risen life of Christ our Savior. Amen.17
Faithful God
in the wonder of your wisdom and love
you fed your people in the wilderness with the bread of angels, and you sent Jesus to be the bread of life.
We thank you for feeding us with this bread.
May it strengthen us
that by the power of the Holy Spirit
we may embody your desire
and be renewed for your service
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.18
Holy One,
you feed us with bread from heaven
and the gifts of mother earth.
In this communion, you have drawn us into your embrace
and you call us to friendship with one another.
You have given us the gift of reconciliation.
May we who have tasted that gift from you,
offer ourselves in peace and humility to one another.
And may you always walk among us as friend. Amen.19
Create in us a new heart and a new vision, O God,
that the gifts of your Spirit may work
in us and renew the face of the earth.
May we be one with you
so that our work is yours
and your work is ours.
Lead us to transform our lives
to reflect your glory in Creation;
through Jesus Christ our Savior
who is alive with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever. Amen.20
Closing Prayers and Blessings
One of the following may be said.
May God who established the dance of creation,
Who marveled at the lilies of the field,
Who transforms chaos to order,
Lead us to transform our lives and the Church
To listen to the voice of all creatures
That reflect God’s glory in creation.21
Deep peace, pure white of the moon to you. Deep peace, pure green of the grass to you. Deep peace, pure brown of the earth to you. Deep peace, pure gray of the dew to you. Deep peace, pure blue of the sky to you. Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you.22
May God light in us a holy fire: Light a fire that is worthy of our ancestors. Light a fire that is worthy of our children. Light a fire that is worthy of our fathers. Light a fire that is worthy of our mothers. Light a fire that is worthy of God. Now let us go in peace, lighting a holy fire wherever we go.23
Let us join with the Earth and each other—To bring new life to the land, to restore the waters, to refresh the air, to protect the animals, to treasure the trees, to gaze at the stars, to cherish the human community, to heal the Earth, to remember the children. Let us go forth to put our words into action.24
God of the galaxies, God of the starburst and sunlit morning, God of the forest and shining seas, God of the blooming desert and rolling grasslands – shine on us today and bless us with your presence.25
Go forth now to care for God’s world.
Use resources wisely. Share your knowledge.
Sacrifice where necessary.
Live in harmony with all creation.
Go out into all the world as prophets of a new way of living and preach the good news to all.
And the blessing of the Creator God, the Risen Son,
and the Promised Holy Spirit bless you
that you might be a blessing to others
today and always. Amen.26
Dismissals
One of the following may be used.
Deacon Let us go forth into all Creation,
rejoicing in the power of the Spirit.
People Thanks be to God.
Deacon Go in peace to love and serve God’s Creation.
People Thanks be to God the Creator.
Deacon Tend the earth,
care for God’s good Creation;
as you have received freely,
so give freely.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
[Alleluia, alleluia.]
People Thanks be to God. [Alleluia, alleluia.]27
Deacon Let us bless our God and all Creation.
[Alleluia, alleluia.]
People Thanks be to God. [Alleluia, alleluia.]28
This lengthy dismissal invites the gathered to commit themselves into service for Creation.
Deacon As we conclude our service, I invite you to join me in dedicating ourselves to care of the Earth.
Deacon We join with the Earth and with each other
People To bring new life to the land
To restore the waters
To refresh the air.
Deacon We join with the Earth and with each other
People To renew the forests
To care for the plants
To protect the creatures.
Deacon We join with the Earth and with each other
People To celebrate the seas
To rejoice in the sunlight
To sing the song of the stars.
Deacon We join with the Earth and with each other
People To recreate the human community
To promote justice and peace
To remember our children.
Deacon We join with the Earth and with each other
All We join together as many and diverse expressions of one loving mystery:
for the healing of the Earth
and the renewal of all life. Amen.29
Containing the following
Collects, Prayers, Propers, & Intercessions p. 48
Litanies & Penitential Orders p. 61
Songs of Praise & Canticles p. 75
Readings for Creation p. 78
Quotes on Creation p. 93
Prayers of the People p. 107
Music for Creation p. 123
Books and Curriculums p. 129
Collects, Prayers,
Propers, & Intercessions
Collects
Collect for the Singing Hosts of Heaven
God of unchangeable power, when you fashioned the world the morning stars sang together and the host of heaven shouted for joy; open our eyes to the wonders of creation and teach us to use all things for good, to the honor of your glorious name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.30
Collect for the Healing of Creation
Gracious God, the air sings with songs of glory, water flashes silver with creation, and the forests bloom with leaves for healing nations. May your light and love fill our hearts and souls and minds, that we may share your abundant grace with the world. Amen.31
Called to be God’s partners in the care of the planet
Bountiful God, you call us to labor with you in tending the earth: Where we lack love, open our hearts to the world; where we waste, give us discipline to conserve; where we neglect, awaken our minds and wills to insight and care. May we with all your creatures honor and serve you in all things for you live and reign with Christ, Redeemer of all, and with your Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.32
Collect for the Beauty of Creation
Loving God, Creator of all,
we thank you for the beauty of Creation;
show us, we pray, how to respect
the fragile balance of life.
Guide by your wisdom those who have power
to care for or to destroy the environment,
that by the decisions we make, life may be cherished
and a good and fruitful earth be preserved for future generations; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.33
Collect for the Stewardship of Creation
O merciful Creator, your hand is open wide to satisfy the needs of every living creature: Make us always thankful for your loving providence; and remembering the account that we must give one day, grant that we may be faithful stewards of your good gifts; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.34
Creating God, your name is written on every leaf, every bird, every river, every stone, every living being. We praise and worship you for the magnificence of your creation. Make us attentive to the wounds of the earth and willing to work for the healing of the whole creation, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.35
Collect from Gregory of Nazianzus
Holy God, you alone are unutterable,
from the time you created all things that can be spoken of.
You alone are unknowable,
from the time you created all things that can be known.
All things cry out about you:
those that speak, and those that cannot speak.
All things honor you:
those that think, and those that cannot think.
For there is one longing, one groaning,
which all things have for you.
All things that comprehend your plan
pray to you and offer you a silent hymn.
In you, the One, all things abide,
and all things endlessly run to you who are the end of all. Amen.36
Collect from Ojibwe Evening Prayer
[Gichi Manidoo,] Great Spirit God,
we give you thanks for another day on this earth.
We give you thanks for this day
to enjoy the compassionate goodness of you, our Creator. We acknowledge with one mind
our respect and gratefulness to all the sacred cycle of life. Bind us together in the circle of compassion
to embrace all living creatures and one another. Amen.37
Collect from Honoring God in Creation, Form 1
Gracious God:
Grant that your people may have in them
the same mind that was in Christ Jesus,
and guide us into harmony of relationship
through loving-kindness and the wise use
of all that you have given;
for you are drawing all things into communion with you and with each other by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Collect from Honoring God in Creation, Form 3
Blessed God, fountain of life: Grant that we may see all water as holy, and so protect and preserve the waters of the earth and the life they sustain. In the name of Christ, the living water, we pray. Amen.
Collect from A Litany for the Earth, Form A
Creator God, you call us into being. Inspire us with your extravagant generosity, and sustain us with hope in resurrection life. All this we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. Amen.
Three Collects for Creation and Redemption38
God of peace,
let us your people know,
that at the heart of turbulence
there is an inner calm that comes
from faith in you.
Keep us from being content with things as they are,
that from this central peace
there may come a creative compassion,
a thirst for justice,
and a willingness to give of ourselves
in the spirit of Christ.
Amen.
God, you shape our dreams.
As we put our trust in you
may your hopes and desires be ours,
and we your expectant people.
Amen.
Blessed are you,
God of growth and discovery;
yours is the inspiration
that has altered and changed our lives;
yours is the power that has brought us
to new dangers and opportunities.
Set us, your new creation,
to walk through this new world,
watching and learning,
loving and trusting,
until your kingdom comes.
Amen.
Four Collects from
Prayers for an Inclusive Church39
Collect for Harvest A (Luke 12:16-30)
Demanding God,
you call us to account
for the use of your gifts:
pull down the storehouses
of accumulated greed
which impoverish people
and despoil the earth;
put our hands to work
sowing the seeds
and reaping the growth
of justice, thanksgiving and praise;
through Jesus Christ, the Lord of the harvest.
Amen.
Collect for Harvest A (alternative: Luke 17:11-19)
Gracious One,
reaching our need
overcoming our alienation:
give us a spirit of gratitude
for the abundance of the earth,
the wildness of its creatures,
the global threads
that bind friend and foreigner;
may our thanks be the soil
in which a dream of justice grows;
through Jesus Christ, the Lord of the harvest.
Amen.
Collect for Harvest B (Matthew 6:25-33)
God of evolving diversity,
made known in seed and soil,
and the wonder of animal worlds:
free our hearts
from the anxiety
which knows only domination;
open our being
to learn from the life
with which we share this earth;
through Jesus Christ, the Lord of the harvest.
Amen.
Collect for Harvest C (John 6:25-35)
God, whose word is ingrained
in all we eat and drink;
free us from the consumption
that destroys the roots of life;
teach us to eat the living bread
in whom all hungers are satisfied
by the life that gives of itself
and is never consumed;
through Jesus Christ, the Lord of the harvest.
Amen.
Prayers
Hildegard of Bingen, 13th century
Praise be to the Holy Trinity! God is sound and life, Creator of the Universe, Source of all life, whom the angels sing; wondrous Light of all mysteries known or unknown to humankind, and life that lives in all. Amen.
Thanksgiving For the Beauty of the Earth bcp 840
We give you thanks, most gracious God, for the beauty of earth and sky and sea; for the richness of mountains, plains, and rivers; for the songs of birds and the loveliness of flowers. We praise you for these good gifts, and pray that we may safeguard them for our posterity. Grant that we may continue to grow in our grateful enjoyment of your abundant creation, to the honor and glory of your Name, now and for ever. Amen.
For this World
Enlarge within us the sense of fellowship
with all living things,
our brothers and sisters the animals to whom you gave this earth as their home in common with us.
We remember with shame that in the past
we have exercised the high dominion of humans with ruthless cruelty,
so that the voice of the Earth,
which should have gone up to you in song,
has been a groan of travail.
May we realize that they live, not for us alone,
but for themselves and for you,
and that they love the sweetness of life even as we, and serve you in their place better than we in ours.
We pray through our Savior Jesus Christ,
who lifts up and redeems us all. Amen.40
A Prayer for Our Time and for the Earth
Dear God, Creator of the earth, this sacred home we share:
Give us new eyes to see the beauty all around and to protect the wonders of creation.
Give us new arms to embrace the strangers among us and to know them as family.
Give us new ears to hear and understand those who live off the land and sea, and to hear and understand those who extract its resources.
Give us new hearts to recognize the brokenness in our communities and to heal the wounds we have inflicted.
Give us new hands to serve the earth and its people and to shape beloved community.
For you are the One who seeks the lost, binds our wounds and sets us free,
And it is in the name of Jesus the Christ we pray. Amen.41
From Propers for Honoring God in Creation42
God, the source and destiny of the cosmos
Author of creation:
In wisdom you brought forth all that is,
to participate in your divine being,
and to change, adapt, and grow in freedom.
You make holy the matter and energy of the universe that it may delight you and give you praise.
We thank you for gathering all creation into your heart by the energy of your Spirit
and bringing it through death to resurrection glory; through the One in whom all things have their being,
Jesus Christ, your Wisdom and your Word. Amen.
God of order and dynamic change
Mysterious God, whose imagination and desire embrace all:
We seek to discern you in the interplay of forces,
in the order and the chaos of the universe,
and in the complexities of every living system.
Give us grace to honor your goodness
in what we know and in what we do not know,
in the world’s harmonies and turbulence,
and in its promise and change.
For you are in, through, and beyond all that is:
one God, made known to us in Jesus Christ,
through the Holy Spirit, our inspiration and guide. Amen.
The justice of God and the dignity of all creatures
Holy God, your mercy is over all your works, and in the web of life each creature has its role and place.
We praise you for ocelot and owl, cactus and kelp, lichen and whale; we honor you for whirlwind and lava, tide and topsoil, cliff and marsh.
Give us hearts and minds eager to care for your planet,
humility to recognize all creatures as your beloved ones,
justice to share the resources of the earth with all its inhabitants, and love not limited by our ignorance.
This we pray in the name of Jesus,
who unifies what is far off and what is near,
and in whom, by grace and the working of your Holy Spirit,
all things hold together. Amen.
The kinship and unity of all creation in Christ
God, maker of marvels, you weave the planet and all its creatures together in kinship; your unifying love is revealed in the interdependence of relationships in the complex world that you have made.
Save us from the illusion that humankind is separate and alone, and join us in communion with all inhabitants of the universe; through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer,
who topples the dividing walls by the power of your Holy Spirit, and who lives and reigns with you, for ever and ever. Amen.
Reading God’s goodness in the diversity of life
Gracious God, you reveal your goodness
in the beauty and diversity of creation;
in the circle dance of earth and air and water;
in a universe rich in processes that support growth and coherence, distinctiveness and community;
and above all in the gift of Jesus Christ,
who emptied himself to serve your world.
And so we offer thanks and praise to you,
one God in three persons:
the Author and Source of all,
Christ the Incarnate Word,
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Called to be God’s partners in the care of the planet
Bountiful God,
you call us to labor with you in tending the earth:
Where we lack love, open our hearts to the world;
where we waste, give us discipline to conserve;
where we neglect, awaken our minds and wills to insight and care.
May we with all your creatures honor and serve you in all things, for you live and reign with Christ, Redeemer of all,
and with your Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever
Amen.
Intercessions43
Thanksgiving for the Earth
Leader Remember the fruits of the earth, for sowing and for harvest.
Remember the dew of the air.
Remember the downcoming of the rains and the waters and the rivers.
Remember the plants and the blooms of every year.
Remember the safety of humans and of animals and of me, your sinful servant.
For the rain, the wind of the sky, seed, plants, the fruit of the trees and also the vineyards, and for every tree in the entire world,
People We are grateful.
Leader For the Holy Trinity who brings us to perfection in safety and peace, forgives us our sins, brings us up according to their measure that we may grow and prosper through your grace, who makes the face of the earth to rejoice, waters her furrows, lets her grain be abundantly multiplied and makes ready her seed-time and harvest,
People We give You thanks.
Intercessory Prayers for Creation
Loving God, even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she places her young near Your altar. You are attentive to all you have made.
God, who listens to every living thing,
Help us listen as you do.
Loving God, help us provide refuge to every animal and plant with whom we live. Help us be attentive to all you have made.
God, in whom all creation subsists,
Help us listen as you do.
Loving God, when Jesus cried out and gave up his Spirit, the earth shook and the rocks split. You are known by the whole of creation that listens to you.
God, to whom all creation responds,
Help us respond to you.
Loving God, help us hear and know you just as the earth and rocks do. Help us to learn from the way in which we see creation recognize your glorious beauty.
God, to whom all creation responds,
Help us respond to you.
Loving God, you are present in your creation and seek to heal her wounds. You can be found walking in the garden. Open our eyes to see you, the gardener.
God, who is present with your creation,
Help us be present too.
Loving God, we often abandon your creation and cause its wounds. Help us to follow in your footsteps and learn to walk in the garden like you.
God, who is present with your creation,
Help us be present too.
Loving God, who hears every voice, knows each cry of injustice, and is attentive to the suffering of the earth: teach us to listen. Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may listen to the world you have created and not close ourselves off from it. Reveal to us the ways in which we have failed to hear your voice in how we treat the earth.
God, who listens to every living thing,
Help us listen as you do. Amen.
A Penitential Order for Creation
Presider Because we view our lives in Christ through the forgiveness we receive from God, I invite us to begin with the Penitential Order.
Deacon Let us confess our sins against God, our neighbors, and all Creation.
Silence may be kept.
Deacon We have forgotten who we are.
People We have alienated ourselves from the unfolding of the cosmos.
We have become estranged from the movements of the earth.
We have turned our backs on the cycles of life.
Deacon We have forgotten who we are.
People We have sought only our own security.
We have exploited simply for our own ends.
We have distorted our knowledge.
We have abused our power.
Deacon We have forgotten who we are.
People Now the land is barren.
And the waters are poisoned.
And the air is polluted.
Deacon We have forgotten who we are.
People Now the forests are dying.
And the creatures are disappearing.
And humans are despairing.
All We have forgotten who we are.
We ask forgiveness.
We ask for the gift of remembering.
We ask for the strength to change.
Help us to remember who we are.
Presider Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.44
Litanies for Creation
One of the following may be said according to the instructions for the Great Litany in the Book of Common Prayer on pp. 148-155, and may be concluded with one of the Collects in the Resources (p. 48).
Litany for Creation and All Creatures
Let us name with thanksgiving those creatures for whom we care: ____________ .
Let us name with thanksgiving those creatures who have been our companions over the years and are no longer with us: ____________ .
And let us remember the unnamed, unknown creatures whose lives have benefited our own.
Silence
Holy God, Creator of heaven and earth,
Have mercy on us.
Holy and Mighty, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Immortal One, Sanctifier of the faithful,
Have mercy on us.
Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on us.
For all of the following, “We beseech you to hear us, good Lord” may be substituted for the suggested response.
Grant that all your creatures may thank and serve you;
Shower your blessing on earth, O God.
Grant favorable weather, temperate rain, and fruitful seasons, providing food and drink for all your creatures;
Shower your blessing on earth, O God.
Open our eyes to the joy and beauty of creation, that we may see your presence in all your works;
Shower your blessing on earth, O God.
Look with favor upon all who care for the earth, the water, and the air, that the riches of creation may abound for all your creatures;
Shower your blessing on earth, O God.
Make us faithful stewards of creation, wisely caring for the earth, the air, the seas, and all the life they bear;
Shower your blessing on earth, O God.
Awaken us to our responsibility for the care of creation;
Shower your blessing on earth, O God.
Forgive us our waste and pollution of creation and strengthen us to heal wounds we have inflicted;
Shower your blessing on earth, O God.
Remember all in captivity and those who are hunted, trapped, deserted, or abused, that they may find safety in homes of loving care;
Shower your blessing on earth, O God.
Do not forget those creatures who have died yet remain dear to us, that they may rejoice in your new creation;
Shower your blessing on earth, O God.
Holy God: No sparrow falls without your attention; nothing dies that is lost to you; nothing comes into being without your love. Give us just and compassionate hearts, that we may serve the earth and all its creatures, holding fast to the vision of your peaceable reign in which all will live with you eternally; through the Risen One, Christ our Savior. Amen.45
Litany of Lament and Repentance
God of our vibrant world,
You have given humans the responsibility to care for each other. Indigenous people have historical, spiritual, and personal ties to these lands on which we inhabit. But many of us have failed to recognize the presence of God in these traditions, and their voices have been silenced. We are thankful to Indigenous Nations for their continuing care and presence on the Earth. We all value the resilience and strength shown through the generations and today.
We turn to the Spirit who dismantles borders and celebrates life giving community.
Help us make a place where everyone is welcome and we acknowledge your grace at work in the ways of one another. Together, may we learn the spiritual richness of our relationships in the web of life.
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
O God of the whole of creation,
You have created land and trees, animals and all living creatures on the earth. We are destroying the forests through poisons and logging, the voices of the birds, insects and forest dwellers are silenced.
You created the wonders of the ocean, the fish, shells, reefs, whales, waves, corals. The oceans are warming, and as they drown in plastic, their voices are being stilled.
We turn to you in sorrow and repentance.
Please help us to care for the oceans, the land and the forest, and to recognize that it is your blessing for us. Creation is speaking to us, but their voices have been silenced by the roar of our greed.
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Mothering Earth, our Sister, you sustain and govern us. We have silenced the voices of your people, especially the voices of women-protectors of the Earth who have been killed by land grabbers, mining companies and oil companies. Many are the voices of our sisters who have been silenced by flooding, hurricanes and drought as the earth’s warming brings destruction. May we listen to the voices of our mothers and sisters and learn to treasure and protect the web of life.
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
We turn to you in sorrow and repentance.
Please, Creator God, forgive us for the human activities which have overpowered the weather and caused destruction of our environment.
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer46
The Great Litany of Creation
God the Creator of all,
Have mercy upon us.
God the Incarnate Word, present in Creation from the beginning,
Have mercy upon us.
God the Spirit of truth and forgiveness,
Have mercy upon us.
Holy Trinity, divine community,
Have mercy upon us.
We come before you in this time of deepening social and climate crisis to confess our complicity and inaction, to pray for those most severely affected, and to ask for the courage and perseverance to be diligent in prayer, in seeking truth, in allowing ourselves to be transformed, and in acting with Spirit-led wisdom for the good of our human and non-human siblings.
Hear us, gracious God.
We confess that we have not valued your air, which sustains every breath, and have instead polluted it with toxic chemicals and waste products, especially concentrated where Black and brown bodies live. We have filled the air with extra carbon, which is causing catastrophic climate changes and global heating.
Have mercy on us, merciful God.
We confess that we have wasted and polluted water, the drink of life and main substance in our bodies. We have discharged heavy metals into the seas and rivers, choked them with fertilizer and manure run-off, clogged the oceans with plastic, and poisoned our most vulnerable children with industrial chemicals and lead-filled water from old pipes.
Have mercy on us, merciful God.
We confess that we have abused the soil, the Earth mother who teems with life and provides food for all land creatures. We have squandered her, allowing her to blow away, killing her vitality with chemical pesticides and fertilizers, depleting her by overuse and greed. We have abandoned and buried toxic and radioactive waste in her; we have stolen her from indigenous people who loved and tended her with care.
Have mercy on us, merciful God.
We confess that we have scorned and devalued the simplest organisms—bacteria, algae, and fungi—without which we could not live, and the myriads of insects, worms, and spiders that pollinate our food, aerate our soil, and recycle dead organisms into rich soil. Instead, we have responded with loathing, drugs and chemicals to kill them off.
Have mercy on us, merciful God.
We confess that we have turned your diverse, interconnected Eden into sterile monocrops of bioengineered food items and grass lawns. We have ravaged the forests for cheap paper and wood, and leveled rainforests to grow meat cattle.
Have mercy on us, merciful God.
We confess that we have slaughtered large animals for economic gain, out of fear, and for sport or hatred of those who depend on them—wolves, whales, bison, bears—and have slaughtered or poisoned small mammals and rodents when they seem bothersome or inconvenient—skunks, mice, rats, squirrels, moles.
Have mercy on us, merciful God.
We confess that we have caused the deaths of many millions of birds, reptiles, amphibians and water creatures and wiped out countless species, due to loss of habitat and food, overfishing, and pollution.
Have mercy on us, merciful God.
We confess that we instead of cherishing and learning from the indigenous peoples who have lived in harmony with Creation, we have systematically worked to destroy them, their cultures and knowledge and to claim the land they lived from as our own. We continue to allow this destruction of lands, waters, and sovereignty on native lands.
Have mercy on us, merciful God.
We confess that we have dominated, enslaved and exploited the bodies, land, and resources of our human siblings in this country and around the world for economic gain, especially those of Black and brown bodies, despoiling their lives and leaving behind poverty and environmental disaster for our cheap crops and goods. We continue to allow this even in our local communities.
Have mercy on us, merciful God.
We confess that we have not loved our own God-given bodies, believing ourselves to be separate from the created order, looking for ease and comfort instead of rigorous use, looking to satisfy our hungers with possessions instead of relationship to your perfect world and busyness instead of attunement to the rhythms of Creation.
Have mercy on us, merciful God.
Free us from the gods of greed, wealth, and private property and the heresy of believing that what we own is ours to use or abuse and not yours, to respect, share and give away for the benefit and blessing of all.
Gracious God, deliver us.
Free us from the idols of comfort and ease, of speed and productivity that lead us to violate relationships and ignore the needs and well-being of our own and other’s bodies.
Gracious God, deliver us.
Free us from our inability to face the truth and give us the grace to grieve together for what we have lost and despoiled.
Gracious God, deliver us.
Free us from despair and paralyzing fear, and the privilege of caring only about our own well-being while others suffer.
Gracious God, deliver us.
Free us from the lie that we are separate from our human and non-human siblings; lead us into deep and reciprocal relationships so that we know viscerally that we are one with all life.
Gracious God, deliver us.
For those most directly affected by rising temperatures, rising seas, adverse weather events, drought and climate migration, we pray, especially those you now name...
Hear us, O God of life.
For species at risk of extinction, including our own, especially those you now name...
Hear us, O God of life.
For frontline communities, most heavily impacted by environmental injustice and climate crises, for the many organizers, leaders and people standing up for justice, health and equity, we pray, especially those you now name...
Hear us, O God of life.
That we may have a renewed and restored relationship to all of Creation, we pray,
Hear us, O God of life.
That we may persevere in prayer, in spiritual discipline and grounding; that we may cling to the hope of resurrection in the face of evil and death and hold up one another in that hope, we pray,
Hear us, O God of life.
That we may be filled with the courage to change and the commitment to act, being willing to use whatever skills, resources, and energy we have to do this life-giving work, we pray,
Hear us, O God of life.
That we may have the strength to build community and the humility to learn to rely on one another, especially listening to the young, the poor, and those who have historically been silenced, we pray,
Hear us, O God of life.
That we may become mighty leaders in our own local communities, and mighty advocates for generations yet unborn, we pray,
Hear us, O God of life.
Child of God, we ask you to hear us.
Child of God, we ask you to hear us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
Grant us peace.47
A Litany for the Planet
With all our heart and with all our mind, let us pray to the Creator, saying, “Creator, have mercy.”
The following may be selected or adapted as appropriate for the worshipping community, to be responded to with “Creator, have mercy.”
On your earth, the garden of life...
On soil, that it may be fruitful in all seasons...
On rocks and minerals that form the foundations for life..
On volcanoes and lava flows that reveal the power of earth’s core...
On hills and great mountains; on cliffs, caves, and valleys...
On deserts and their hardy creatures...
On your waters, which sustain a diverse community of life...
On coral reefs, and on the animals, plants, and fish that inhabit them...
On ocean deeps, teeming with life; on the open seas and all that travel upon them...
On rivers, bringing water to thirsty places...
On lakes and streams, home to a diversity of life...
On ponds and marshes, cradles of life...
On wetlands and estuaries; on rocky coasts and beaches...
On islands and atolls, oases and all harsh outposts of life...
On glaciers and ice fields, holding the delicate balance of waters...
On storms, floods, and tempests, and all fearsome forces of weather...
On rains that water the earth, causing plants to sprout and grow...
On snow and hail, sleet and winter cold, and on the dormant things that wait for spring...
On mists and fog silently watering the ground...
On the atmosphere of your planet earth, that it may sustain all that breathes...
On winds that carry seeds and spores; on breezes that warm and cool the earth...
On lightnings and fires that cleanse and destroy, and on all that lies in their path...
On all the ecosystems of your earth and their intricate communities...
On forests of many kinds; on trees and shrubs and vines...
On grasslands, tundras, and plains, and on their varied plants...
On ferns and fungi; on spore-bearing and seed-bearing plants...
On micro-organisms of endless variety, the complex and the simple...
On reptiles and amphibians; on ____________ ...
On four-legged creatures; on ____________ ...
On two-legged and winged creatures; on ____________ ...
On many-legged creatures and insects; on ____________ ...
On mysterious creatures and places unknown to humankind...
On the human family across the globe, of many colors and communities, in kinship with all creation...
On all who live and work and play in this city and this neighborhood...
On those who work around us, whose labor builds up our community and our world; on ____________ ...
On the businesses and industries of this city, that they may profit the whole community; on ____________ ...
On the parks and green spaces of this city; on those who maintain them and those who enjoy them...
On the plants and animals of our ecosystem; on ____________ ...
On those who produce food and energy for this city’s people and pets...
On schools and all places of learning; on all who care for and teach children and adults...
On the poor and homeless residents of this city, that there may be shelter and sustenance for them...
On visitors and immigrants; on all who offer welcome and shelter here...
On all places of reverence and prayer; on all who honor you and on those who do not yet know you...
On our ancestors, and on those who will come after us...48
The Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon
St. Francis of Assisi
Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord, all praise is Yours, all glory, all honor and all blessings. To you alone, Most High, do they belong, and no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.
Praised be You my Lord with all Your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun, who is the day through whom You give us light. And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor, of You Most High, he bears the likeness.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars, in the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air, and fair and stormy, all weather’s moods, by which You cherish all that You have made.
Praised be You my Lord through Sister Water, so useful, humble, precious and pure.
Praised be You my Lord through Brother Fire, through whom You light the night and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.
Praised be You my Lord through our Sister, Mother Earth who sustains and governs us, producing varied fruits with colored flowers and herbs.
Praise be You my Lord through those who grant pardon for love of You and bear sickness and trial. Blessed are those who endure in peace, By You Most High, they will be crowned.
Praised be You, my Lord through Sister Death, from whom no one living can escape. Blessed are they She finds doing Your Will. No second death can do them harm. Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks, and serve Him with great humility.
A Greeting for Creation
Greetings in the name of our God who is good:
whose love endures forever.
Greetings to you, sun and moon, you stars of the northern sky: give to our God your thanks and praise.
Sunrise and sunset, night and day:
give to our God your thanks and praise.
Greetings to you, hills and valleys, rivers and ponds, sea and rain: give to our God your thanks and praise.
Greetings to you, oak and pine, hemlock and birch, tamarack and maple: give to our God your thanks and praise.
Greetings to you, hawks and sparrows, cardinals and robins, bats and blue jays, ravens and crows: give to our God your thanks and praise.
Greetings to you, bears and deer, chipmunks and squirrels, and beaver and bobcats: give to our God your thanks and praise.
Greetings to you, people of all genders, elders and children, indigenous and colonists, diverse cultures of this rainbow land:
Nurses and teachers, scientists and artists, cleaners and clerks, students and job-seekers,
All who care, who love, and who pray,
Who laugh and learn, who rest and who play: give to our God your thanks and praise. Amen.49
A Canticle for God’s Grandeur
Gerard Manley Hopkins
The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs—
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
Also see section “Quotes on Creation,” p. 93, for short Readings.
Theologians
A Reading attributed to Meister Eckhart (1260-1328)
Apprehend God in all things,
for God is in all things.
Every single creature is full of God,
and is a book about God.
Every creature is a word of God.
If I spent enough time with the tiniest creature—
even a caterpillar—
I would never have to prepare a sermon,
so full of God
is every creature.
A Reading from the Babylonian Talmud, Taanit 23a
While the sage, Honi, was walking along a road, he saw a man planting a carob tree.
Honi asked him, “How long will it take for this tree to bear fruit?”
“Seventy years,” replied the man.
Honi then asked, “Are you so healthy a man that you expect to live that length of time and eat its fruit?”
The man answered, “I found a fruitful world because my ancestors planted it for me. Likewise I am planting for my children.”
A Reading from Morals on the Book of Job, St. Gregory the Great (540-604)
Who may see to the bottom of the marvelous works of Almighty God, how God made all things of nothing, how the very framework of the world is arranged with a marvelous mightiness of power, and the heaven hung above the atmosphere, and the earth balanced above the abyss, how this whole universe consists of things visible and invisible, how God created humanity, so to say, gathering together in a small compass another world, yet a world of reason; how constituting this world of soul and flesh, God mixed the breath and the clay by an unsearchable disposal of God’s Might? A part, then, of these things we know, and a part we even are. Yet we omit to admire them, because those things which are full of marvels for an investigation deeper than we can reach, have become cheap from custom in the eyes of people.
Hence it comes to pass that, if a dead man is raised to life, all people spring up in astonishment. Yet every day one that had no being is born, and no one wonders, though it is plain to all, without doubt, that it is a greater thing for that to be created, which was without being, than for that which had being, to be restored. Because the dry rod of Aaron budded, all were in astonishment; every day a tree is produced from the dry earth, and the virtue residing in dust is turned into wood, and no one wonders. Because five thousand men were filled with five loaves, all were in astonishment that the food should have multiplied in their teeth; every day the grains of seed that are sown are multiplied in a fullness of ears, and no one wonders. All wondered to see water once turned into wine. Every day the earth’s moisture being drawn into the root of the vine, is turned by the grape into wine, and no one wonders. Full of wonder then are all the things which we never think to wonder at, because they are by habit become dull to the consideration of them.
A Reading from the Mystic Treatises, St. Isaac the Syrian (613-700)
What is a charitable heart? It is a heart burning with love for the whole of creation, for humans, for the birds, for the beasts, for the demons—for all creatures. One who has such a heart cannot see or call to mind a creature without having eyes being filled with tears by reason of the immense compassion which seizes the heart; a heart which is softened and can no longer bear to see or learn from others of any suffering, even the smallest pain, being inflicted on any creature. That is why such a person never ceases to pray also for the animals, that they may be preserved and purified. This person will even pray for the reptiles, moved by the infinite pity which reigns in the hearts of those who are becoming united with God.50
A Reading from Prayers of the Social Awakening, Walter Rauschenbusch (1861-1918)
O God, we thank thee for this universe, our great home; for its vastness and its riches, and for the manifoldness of the life which teems upon it and of which we are part. We praise thee for the arching sky and the blessed winds, for the driving clouds and the constellations on high. We praise thee for the salt sea and the running water, for the everlasting hills, for the trees and for the grass under our feet. We thank thee for our senses by which we can see the splendor of the morning, and hear the jubilant songs of love, and smell the breath of the springtime. Grant us, we pray thee, a heart wide open to all this joy and beauty, and save our souls from being so steeped in care or so darkened by passion that we pass heedless and unseeing when even the thorn-bush by the wayside is aflame with the glory of God.
Enlarge within us the sense of fellowship with all the living things, our little brothers, to whom thou hast given this earth as their home in common with us. We remember with shame that in the past we have exercised the high dominion of man with ruthless cruelty, so that the voice of the Earth, which should have gone up to thee in song, has been a groan of travail. May we realize that they live not for us alone, but for themselves and for thee, and that they love the sweetness of life even as we, and serve thee in their place better than we in ours.
When our use of this world is over and we make room for others, may we not leave anything ravished by our greed or spoiled by our ignorance, but may we hand on our common heritage fairer and sweeter through our use of it, undiminished in fertility and joy, that so our bodies may return in peace to the great mother who nourished them and our spirits may round the circle of a perfect life in thee.51
A Reading from To Live Is to Love, Ernesto Cardenal
All animals who lift their voices at dawn sing to God. The volcanoes and the clouds and the trees cry to us about God. The whole creation cries to us penetratingly with a great joy about the existence and the beauty and the love of God. The music roars it into our ears, the landscape calls it into our eyes. In all of nature we find God’s initials, and all God’s creatures are God’s love letters to us.
All of nature burns with love created through love to light love in us. Nature is like a shadow of God, a reflection of God’s beauty. The still, blue lake is a reflection of God. In every atom lives an image of the trinity, a figure of the trinitarian God. And also my own body is created to love God. Each of my cells is a hymn about the Creator and an ongoing declaration of love.52
A Reading from “Our Relationship with Creation,” Br. Keith Nelson, SSJE
When we violate, abuse, exploit, or even simply ignore non-human creatures, we are rejecting a core dimension of our humanity and of God’s calling for us. We are crucifying the earth. We are interrupting, speaking over, or bickering with God’s gentle language of love, in which each creature is like a syllable of the living Word. Each creature is an instance of Divine Gift, God’s gift to Godself, the love language of the Trinity. We believe God became a Creature in Jesus Christ and redeemed Creation from the inside out so that we creatures can participate directly in this infinite pattern of God’s giving-and-receiving.53
A Reading from Environment as the Responsibility of All, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
Unfortunately, humanity has lost the liturgical relationship between the Creator God and the creation; instead of priests and stewards, human beings have been reduced to tyrants and abusers of nature.
It is crucial, then, that we recognize and respond to the interconnection and interdependence between caring for the poor and caring for the earth. They are two sides of one and the same coin. Indeed, the way that we treat those who are suffering is reflected in the way that we approach the ecological crisis. And both of these in turn mirror the way that we perceive the divine mystery in all people and things, the way that we kneel in prayer before the living God.54
A Reading from Everything that Breathes Praises God, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
Responding to the environmental crisis is a matter of truthfulness to God, humanity, and the created order. It is not too far-fetched to speak of environmental damage as being a contemporary heresy or natural terrorism. We have repeatedly condemned this behavior as nothing less than sinful. For beings to cause species to become extinct and to destroy the biological diversity of God’s creation; for humans to degrade the integrity of the earth by causing changes in its climate; by stripping the Earth of its natural forests, or by destroying its wetlands; for humans to injure other humans with disease by contaminating the earth’s waters, its land, its air, and its life with poisonous substances—all these are sins before God, humanity, and the world. We have tended to restrict the notion of sin to the individual sense of guilt or the social sense of wrongdoing. Yet sin also contains a cosmic dimension, and repentance from environmental sin demands a radical transformation of the way we perceive the natural world and a tangible change in the way we choose to live.55
A Reading from Orthodoxy and Animals,
the Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia
We humans are bound to God and to one another in a cosmic covenant that also includes all the other living creatures on the face of the earth: ‘I will make for you a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground.’ We humans are not saved from the world but with the world; and that means, with the animals. Moreover, this cosmic covenant is not something that we humans have devised, but it has its source in the divine realm. It is conferred upon us as a gift by God.56
An Environmental Reading from Laudato Si’, Pope Francis
When we speak of the “environment,” what we really mean is a relationship existing between nature and the society which lives in it. Nature cannot be regarded as something separate from ourselves or as a mere setting in which we live. We are part of nature, included in it and thus in constant interaction with it. Recognizing the reasons why a given area is polluted requires a study of the workings of society, its economy, its behavior patterns, and the ways it grasps reality. Given the scale of change, it is no longer possible to find a specific, discrete answer for each part of the problem. It is essential to seek comprehensive solutions which consider the interactions within natural systems themselves and with social systems. We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental. Strategies for a solution demand an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature.57
A Trinitarian Reading from Laudato Si’, Pope Francis
For Christians, believing in one God who is trinitarian communion suggests that the Trinity has left its mark on all creation. Saint Bonaventure went so far as to say that human beings, before sin, were able to see how each creature “testifies that God is three.” The reflection of the Trinity was there to be recognized in nature “when that book was open to man and our eyes had not yet become darkened.” The Franciscan saint teaches us that each creature bears in itself a specifically Trinitarian structure, so real that it could be readily contemplated if only the human gaze were not so partial, dark and fragile. In this way, he points out to us the challenge of trying to read reality in a Trinitarian key.
The divine Persons are subsistent relations, and the world, created according to the divine model, is a web of relationships. Creatures tend towards God, and in turn it is proper to every living being to tend towards other things, so that throughout the universe we can find any number of constant and secretly interwoven relationships. This leads us not only to marvel at the manifold connections existing among creatures, but also to discover a key to our own fulfillment. The human person grows more, matures more and is sanctified more to the extent that he or she enters into relationships, going out from themselves to live in communion with God, with others and with all creatures. In this way, they make their own that trinitarian dynamism which God imprinted in them when they were created. Everything is interconnected, and this invites us to develop a spirituality of that global solidarity which flows from the mystery of the Trinity.58
Literary Readings
A Reading from The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky
Love all God’s creation, the whole and every grain of sand in it. Love every leaf, every ray of God’s light. Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love.59
A Reading from The Art of the Commonplace, Wendell Berry
What is good for the world will be good for us. That requires that we make the effort to know the world and to learn what is good for it. We must learn to cooperate in its processes, and to yield to its limits. But even more important, we must learn to acknowledge that the creation is full of mystery; we will never entirely understand it. We must abandon arrogance and stand in awe. We must recover the sense of the majesty of creation, and the ability to be worshipful in its presence. For I do not doubt that it is only on the condition of humility and reverence before the world that our species will be able to remain in it.60
A Reading from Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert, Terry Tempest Williams
The eyes of the future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time. They are kneeling with hands clasped that we might act with restraint, that we might leave room for the life that is destined to come. To protect what is wild is to protect what is gentle. Perhaps the wilderness we fear is the pause between our own heartbeats, the silent space that says we live only by grace. Wilderness lives by this same grace. Wild mercy is in our hands.61
A Reading from “Grief in a Silent Sea,” Tim Gordon
Jesus never scuba-dived on a dying Great Barrier Reef. He never saw the colors fade, the architecture collapse and the symphony silenced. But I think his words and actions at Lazarus’ tomb show us how he might respond to today’s environmental crises. If, while on earth, Jesus had seen the riches of creation reduced to a rubble field, he surely would have wept with us for its loss. He surely would have pointed us to its future redemption. And he surely would have used this as motivation to protect all that still remains of the planet’s wonders.
“I am the resurrection and the life,” said Jesus, as his cheeks shone with tears. One day, the sea will sing again.62
Scriptural Readings
The First Creation Story (Genesis 1:1-2:4a)63
i
Within beginning Eloheme molded
waters above and ground below.
And the earth was helter-skelter;
darkness over the face of Abyss.
And the Breath of Eloheme she
nestled tremulous over wavelets.
Eloheme called out, “Light—be!”
and brilliance bloomed into being.
Eloheme beheld the light created,
and knew that light as goodness.
Eloheme traced the divide across,
between the light and the darkness.
Eloheme called to light: “Be Day!”
and to darkness called: “Be Night!”
Of this evening and of this morning
there now was for the first: Day.
ii
And Eloheme spoke; a Firmness firmed
and came between waters and waters.
Eloheme arched the Firmness
and separated the waters;
The Waters below the Firmness
from the Waters that were Above.
And it was so;
so Eloheme called it: “Heavens!”
Of this evening and of this morning there now was: Second Day.
iii
And Eloheme spoke: “Assemble! Gather you,
Waters under Heavens, together as one.
And Dry Land! Appear.”
and it was so.
Eloheme called Dry Land: “Earth!”
and the Under Waters: “Seas!”
So Eloheme saw Goodness.
Eloheme spoke: “Earth: Green with Grassy-growth
and bear Forest children and fruiting fruit;
Fruiting of fruit over the Earth,
each in their own image.”
And went forth Greeny-grass on the Earth,
bearing fruitfully offspring of itself;
And went forth Forest on the Earth
bearing fruitfully offspring of itself.
So Eloheme saw Goodness.
Of this evening and of this morning there now was:
Third Day.
iv
And Eloheme spoke: “Lights come into;
come into Heavens’ Firmness;
For marking between Day and Night,
for signifying seasons and days and years.
And become lights in Heavens’ Firmness
for lighting over the Earth,” and it was so.
Eloheme crafted the two Great Lights:
the Greater Light reigning over the Day;
And the Lesser Light reigning over
the Night and all the Stars.
Eloheme gave them to Heavens’ Firmness
to be light over the Earth,
And to reign over Day and Night,
and to separate Light from Darkness.
So Eloheme saw Goodness.
Of this evening and of this morning
there now was: Fourth Day.
v
And Eloheme spoke: “Waters! Be teeming;
swarm a swarming of living souls.
And flying fly; fly birds above the Earth,
across the face of Heavens’ Firmness!”
So Eloheme created the great sea monsters
and all living souls teeming
Who swarm in the waters,
all according to their myriad kind.
And all winged-wings of their kinds;
and Eloheme saw Goodness.
And Eloheme gave them Blessing
and toward them Eloheme said:
“Bear fruit! multiply! fill Sea’s waters!
and birds; multiply multitudes in Earth!”
Of this evening and of this morning
there now was: Fifth Day.
vi
And Eloheme spoke: “Bring out Earth!
bring out living souls of myriad kind;
Beasts and creatures and wildness,”
and it was so.
So made Eloheme wildlife of the Earth;
all the beasts of the Earth;
All the crawling creatures of the soil;
each after their myriad kind.
So Eloheme saw Goodness.
Eloheme spoke: “Make We humanity
in our Figure and with our Shape,
For shepherding Sea’s fish,
and all Heavens’ birds,
For Earth’s standing beasts,
and all who crawl upon Her!”
So by Eloheme’s form was humanity molded;
by Eloheme’s figure were shaped male and female.
And Eloheme gave them Blessing,
and toward them Eloheme said:
“Fruit! Multiply! Fill the Earth!
Reign over Sea’s fish and Heavens’ birds;
Reign over Earth’s beasts
and all crawling creatures.”
And Eloheme spoke: “Behold!
I give to you all Earth’s greening,
And of all fruiting forests
will be eating for you,
And of all Earth’s beasts,
and all Heavens’ birds,
And of all which crawls
and which has living souls,
And all greening-grass for nourishment,”
and it was so.
Eloheme saw all creation and, behold!
it was of exceeding goodness!
Of this evening and of this morning
there now was: Sixth Day.
vii
So completed were Heavens and Earth,
and all the myriad heavenly bodies.
Eloheme completed on the seventh day
the craftsmanship which was crafted.
And Eloheme rested that seventh day
from all the working which was worked.
And Eloheme gave Blessing to that day
and consecrated this the Seventh Day,
For on that day was cessation from all the working
that by work Eloheme had worked.
So these are the birthings of Heavens and Earth;
these are their creating.
Also see section “Readings,” p. 78, for longer excerpts.
Theologians
Ireneaus of Lyons (120-202), Against Heresies
The initial step for a soul to come to knowledge of God is contemplation of nature.
By choosing to create, fill and sustain all things, our God is a God who is intimately connected to God’s creatures.
Tertullian (160-230), De Testimonio Animae
Nature is school-mistress, the soul the pupil; and whatever one has taught or the other has learned has come from God – the Teacher of the teacher.
St. Athanasius (296-373), On the Incarnation
For no part of creation is left void of God:
God has filled all things everywhere.
St. Basil the Great (329-379), Hexaemeron, Homily V, “The Germination of the Earth”
I want creation to penetrate you with so much admiration that wherever you go, the least plant may bring you the clear remembrance of the Creator...One blade of grass or one speck of dust is enough to occupy your entire mind in beholding the art with which it has been made.
St. Ambrose of Milan (340-397), De Nabuthe 3
The world has been created for everyone’s use, but you few rich are trying to keep it for yourselves. For not merely the possession of the earth, but the very sky, the air, and the sea are claimed for the use of the rich few...The earth belongs to all, not just to the rich.
St. Gregory of Nyssa (335-395), On Love for the Poor
Use; do not misuse; so, too, Paul teaches you. Find your rest in temperate relaxation. Do not indulge in a frenzy of pleasures. Don’t make yourself a destroyer of absolutely all living things, whether they be four-footed and large or four-footed and small, birds, fish, exotic or common a good bargain or expensive. The sweat of the hunter ought not to fill your stomach like a bottomless well that many men digging cannot fill.64
St. Augustine (354-430), De Civit. Dei, Book XVI
Some people, in order to discover God, read books. But there is a great book: the very appearance of created things. Look above you! Look below you! Read it. God, whom you want to discover, never wrote that book with ink. Instead He set before your eyes the things that He had made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that?
Rashi (1040-1105), Commentary on the Torah
“And they shall have v’yirdu...” The expression may imply dominion as well as descending—if worthy, humanity dominates over the beasts and cattle; if not, humanity will sink lower than them and the beast will rule.
Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra (1092-1167)
Wherever I turn my eyes, around on Earth or to the heavens
I see You in the field of stars
I see You in the yield of the land
In every breath and sound, a blade of grass, a simple flower,
An echo of Your holy Name.
Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)
We shall awaken from our dullness and rise vigorously toward justice. If we fall in love with creation deeper and deeper, we will respond to its endangerment with passion.
Glance at the sun. See the moon and the stars. Gaze at the beauty of earth’s greenings. Now, think. What delight God gives to humankind with all these things. All nature is at the disposal of humankind. We are to work with it. For without it we cannot survive.
All living creatures are sparks from the radiation of God’s brilliance, emerging from God like the rays of the sun
St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)
If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.
St. Birgitta (1303-1373), Revelation to Birgitta
Let a man fear, above all, me, his God, and so much the gentler will he become toward my creatures and animals, on whom, on account of me, their Creator, he ought to have compassion.
Julian of Norwich (1342-1423), Revelations of Divine Love
I saw three properties in the world: the first is that God made it. The second is that God loveth it. The third is, that God keepeth it. But what beheld I therein? Verily the Maker, the Keeper, the Lover.
Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), The Dialogue
I did not intend my creatures to make themselves servants and slaves to the world’s pleasures. They owe their first love to me. Everything else they should love and possess, as I told you, not as if they owned it, but as something lent them.
Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471), The Imitation of Christ
If thy heart were right, then every creature would be a mirror of life and a book of holy doctrine. There is no creature so small and abject, but it reflects the goodness of God.
St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
If we learn to love the earth, we will find labyrinths, gardens, fountains and precious jewels! A whole new world will open itself to us. We will discover what it means to be truly alive.
St. John of the Cross (1542-1591)
All the creatures—not the higher creatures alone, but also the lower, according to that which each of them has received in itself from God—each one raises its voice in testimony to that which God is...each one after its manner exalts God, since it has God in itself.
Joseph Hall (1574-1656), Anglican Bishop
How endless is that volume that God hath written of the world! Every creature is a letter, every day a new page.
Jacob Boehme (1575-1624), The Way to Christ
Open your eyes, and behold, the whole world is full of God.
George Herbert (1593-1633), Anglican Priest and Poet, Providence
Thou art in small things great, not small in any:
Thy even praise can neither rise, nor fall.
Thou art in all things one, in each thing many:
For thou art infinite in one and all.
John Wesley (1701-1791), Anglican Priest
I believe in my heart that faith in Jesus Christ can and will lead us beyond an exclusive concern for the well-being of other human beings to the broader concern for the well-being of the birds in our backyards, the fish in our rivers, and every living creature on the face of the earth.
St. Nikephoros of Chios (1750-1821), A Lack of Trees Brings Poverty
Men will become poor because they will not have a love for trees. If you don’t love trees, you don’t love God.
Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav (1772-1810)
Master of the Universe,
Grant me the ability to be alone;
May it be my custom to go outdoors each day
among the trees and grass—among all growing things—and there may I be alone, and enter into prayer,
to talk with the one to whom I belong.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
All that I have ever seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all that I have not seen.
Simone Weil (1909-1943), Waiting for God
The beauty of the world is Christ’s tender smile for us coming through matter.
Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), Proverbs from Plymouth Pupil
Flowers may beckon toward us, but they speak toward heaven and God.
St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897)
With enraptured gaze we beheld the white moon rising quietly behind the tall trees, the silvery rays it was casting upon sleeping nature, the bright stars twinkling in the deep skies, the light breath of the evening breeze making the snowy clouds float easily along; all this raised our souls to heaven.
Evelyn Underwood (1875-1941), Anglican Mystic
In the created world around us we see the Eternal Artist, Eternal Love at work.
Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965), Reverence for Life
The harvested fields bathed in the autumn mists speak of God and his goodness far more vividly than any human lips.
Dorothy Sayers (1893-1957), Why Work?
A society in which consumption has to be artificially stimulated in order to keep production going is a society founded on trash and waste, and such a society is a house built upon sand.
An Orthodox monastic story told by Elder Joseph the Hesychast (1897-1959)65
An elder is distracted in his morning prayer by the dawn chorus of frogs from a nearby marsh and sends his disciple to tell them to be quiet until the monks have finished the Midnight Office. When the disciple duly transmits the message, the frogs reply, ‘We have already said the Midnight Office and are in the middle of Matins; can’t you wait till we’ve finished?’
Howard Thurman (1899-1981), Disciplines of the Spirit
To Jesus, God breathed through all that is: the sparrow overcome by sudden death in its flight; the lily blossoming on the rocky hillside; the grass of the field and the clouds, light and burdenless or weighted down with unshed waters; the madman in chains or wandering among the barren rocks in the wastelands; the little baby in his mother’s arms; the strutting insolence of the Roman Legion, the brazen queries of the tax collector; the children at play or old men quibbling in the market place; the august Sanhedrin fighting for its life amidst the arrogances of empire; the whisper of those who had forgotten Jerusalem, the great voiced utterance of the prophets who remembered – to Jesus, God breathed through all that is.66
Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch (1920-2012), A Theology of Creation
[T]he maternal sea is polluted, the heavens are rent, the forests are being destroyed and the desert areas are increasing. We must protect creation. Better yet, we must embellish it, render it spiritual, transfigure it. But nothing will be done unless there is a general conversion of men’s minds and hearts.
Jürgen Moltmann (b. 1926), God in Creation
The whole creation is a fabric woven and shot through by the efficacies of the Spirit.
Thich Nhat Hanh (1926-2022), Loveletter to the Earth
At this very moment, the Earth is above you, the Earth is below you, all around you, and even inside you. The Earth is everywhere. The water in our flesh, the rock in our bones, we all are part of the Earth. We are part of the Earth and we carry her within us. (adapted from page 8)
Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1931-2022), God Has A Dream
The first law of our being is that we are set in a delicate network of interdependence with our fellow human beings and with the rest of God’s creation.
Pope John Paul II (1920-2005), Peace with God, Peace with Creation
When man turns his back on the Creator’s plan, he provokes a disorder which has inevitable repercussions on the rest of the created order. If man is not at peace with God, then earth itself cannot be at peace.
The seriousness of ecological degradation lays bare the depth of man’s moral crisis. Simplicity, moderation and discipline, as well as the spirit of sacrifice, must become a part of everyday life.
Jake Tekaronianeken Swamp (1940-2010), Greetings to the Natural World
We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth, for she gives us all that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us as she has from the beginning of time. To our mother, we send greetings and thanks.
Now we turn our thoughts to the Creator, or Great Spirit, and send greetings and thanks for all the gifts of Creation. Everything we need to live a good life is here on this Mother Earth. For all the love that is still around us, we gather our minds together as one and send our choicest words of greetings and thanks to the Creator.67
Elizabeth A. Johnson (b. 1941), Creation and the Cross
Calvary graphically shows that the God of suffering love abides in solidarity with all creatures, bearing the cost of new life through endless millennia of evolution, from the extinction of whole species to, yes, every sparrow that falls to the ground. The Creator of all flesh is silently present with creatures in their pain and dying. The cross signals that God is present in the midst of anguish, bearing every creature and all creation forward with an unimaginable promise.68
Literary
William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850), “The World Is Too Much with Us” (excerpt)
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not.69
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), Walden
Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.70
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), Uncle Vanya
Humanity has been endowed with reason, with the power to create, so that they can add to what they’ve been given. But up to now they haven’t been a creator, only a destroyer. Forests keep disappearing, rivers dry up, wild life’s become extinct, the climate’s ruined and the land grows poorer and uglier every day.71
Helen Keller (1880-1964), The Story of My Life
Everything in nature has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.72
T.S. Eliot (1888-1965), The Idea of a Christian Society
A wrong attitude towards nature implies somewhere a wrong attitude towards God, and the consequence is an inevitable doom. For a long enough time, we have believed in nothing but the values arising in a mechanised, commercialised, urbanised way of life: it would be as well for us to face the permanent conditions upon which God allows us to live upon this earth.73
Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971), The Irony of American History
Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.74
E.B. White (1899-1985), Essays of E. B. White
I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.
Wendell Berry (b. 1934), The Gift of Good Land
To live, we must daily break the body and shed the blood of Creation. When we do this knowingly, lovingly, skillfully, reverently, it is a sacrament. When we do it ignorantly, greedily, clumsily, destructively, it is a desecration. In such desecration we condemn ourselves to spiritual and moral loneliness, and others to want.75
David Orr (b. 1944), Dangerous Years
Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up as something we do in daily practice, not just something that we wish for or talk about. It is a discipline requiring skill, competence, steadiness, and courage. It is practical. It bonds us to each other, and to real places, animals, trees, waters, and landscapes. The hopeful are patient, not passive. They are creators of the gyres of positive change that could, in time, redeem the human prospect. They are people who will know how to connect us to better possibilities waiting to be born.76
Robin Wall Kimmerer (b. 1953), Braiding Sweetgrass
Restoration is imperative for healing the earth, but reciprocity is imperative for long-lasting, successful restoration. Like other mindful practices, ecological restoration can be viewed as an act of reciprocity in which humans exercise their caregiving responsibility for the ecosystems that sustain them. We restore the land, and the land restores us. As writer Freeman House cautions, “We will continue to need the insights and methodologies of science, but if we allow the practice of restoration to become the exclusive domain of science, we will have lost its greatest promie, which is nothing less than a redefinition of human culture.”77
Sandra Steingraber (b. 1959), biologist, author, and environmental activist
We are all musicians in a great human orchestra, and it is now time to play the Save the World Symphony. You are not required to play a solo, but you are required to know what instrument you hold, and play it as well as you can. You are required to find your place in the score. What we love we must protect. That is what love means. From the right to know and the duty to inquire flows the obligation to act.
Rebecca Solnit (b. 1961), Hope in the Dark
Hope is not like a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. Hope is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency. Hope should shove you out the door, because it will take everything you have to steer the future away from endless war, from the annihilation of the earth’s treasures and the grinding down of the poor and marginal. Hope just means another world might be possible, not promised, not guaranteed. Hope calls for action; action is impossible without hope. To hope is to give yourself to the future, and that commitment to the future makes the present inhabitable.78
Jay O’Hara, “The End of Hope and the Beginning of Miracle”
Jesus manifested the paradoxical power of vulnerability. The paradox is that vulnerability is our strength. As Jesus taught, in order to have our life, we must lose it. In order to be a leader, we must be a servant. When we turn the other cheek, we upend a power structure that is based on domination and fear. And we discover that death on the cross is not defeat.
This power flows not from following abstract values found in the dead letter, even those in Scripture, imploring us to be good stewards of Creation, but from a lived reality of the Living Christ, the Holy Spirit that we experience within and that moves through us into the world. This holy vulnerability is what opens the possibility for miracles.79
Jay is a Quaker climate activist who in 2013 used a small lobster boat to blockade a 40,000-ton shipment of coal to the Brayton power plant in Somerset, MA
The Presider may introduce the Prayers, as given in the rubrics in the BCP page 383, with a collect or invitation such as
This Season we pray with and for God’s whole Creation. We pray that humanity might learn to love and honor the rest of the natural world, to grieve and turn away from our selfish destructive acts, and to work together to transform human hearts and human civilization so that all living beings might flourish.
Collects for concluding the Prayers may be found in the Resources under Collects, Prayers, Propers, & Intercessions, p. 48.
General Considerations for the Prayers
The Prayers of the People are to be adapted to the local needs of a worshiping community. Each of the six biddings may be altered with Creation and the climate crisis in mind using the following suggestions.
The Universal Church, its members, and its mission
- Include prayers for all communities of faith, as our Creation theology emphasizes our interconnectedness and need to join into restorative mission together.
- Noting that ecclesia means “assembly,” consider asking for prayers for “all Holy Assemblies” in addition to or instead of “the Church.”
The Nation and all in authority
- Because Creation and the climate are not divided by borders, we could pray for all nations.
- For this Nation, prayers could be offered for a strong and united move toward action on the climate crisis.
- Consider praying for specific leaders and officials in the area of environment and climate by name.
- Pray for “those with responsibility” rather than “authority” in light of Christ’s teaching that leaders are to be servants rather than rulers.
The welfare of the world
- Consider using “all creatures,” “all Creation,” “eco-systems,” and other phrases that remind us that our world is more than just the human sphere.
The concerns of the local community
- Consider including our creatures (companions and wild), plants, eco-systems, and other aspects of our local community in these prayers.
Those who suffer and those in any trouble
- Consider including all species, eco-systems, and climate in these prayers.
The departed (with commemoration of a saint)
- Consider including all Creation in addition to humanity in our prayers for the deceased.
- Species extinction is a feature of the industrial age and is accelerating today. Consider ways to pray for all forms of life which will never be again.
- Consider including among the saints those who have been special theologians or workers in Creation.
Concluding the Prayers
- Collects for concluding the Prayers may be found in the Resources under Collects, Prayers, Propers, & Intercessions, p. 48.
Adapting Forms I-VI in the BCP
The following suggestions may be considered in adapting the Forms from the Book of Common Prayer for use in the Season of Creation.
Form I (p. 383)
- Consider a bidding such as “let us pray to the Creator.”
- Consider a response such as “Creator, renew us.”
- For this city: add “for this land, water, and sky of [the Berkshires/Blackstone Valley/etc]”
- Use the optional prayer for weather and harvest.
- For the good earth: add “...which God has given to all God’s creatures, and...”
- For all who have died: add “...departed, and for all species extinction, let us pray...”
- For deliverance: add “...degradation of our planet/world/environment, let us pray...”
- In the communion of: add “...Creation/all creatures...”
Form II (p. 385)
- For God’s people: “...and all people of faith/all spiritual beings...for our Bishops and all spiritual shepherds;...
Pray for all Holy Assemblies.” - For peace: “...the well-being of all creatures/Creation...”
- For those in need/trouble: “...and all creatures mistreated, misused, and oppressed.”
- For those seeking God: “...that all might turn to Creation to find God’s revelation.”
- For the departed: “...and the extinctions of all species.”
- For Christ-honorers: “...especially St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and all who honor Christ in their work to heal Creation.”
Form III (p. 387)
- “Creator, we pray for all Creation and the Holy Assemblies of all faithful people.”
- “Grant that every creature and all Creation may truly and humbly serve you and one another...That your Glory may be known by all creatures.”
- “We pray for all bishops, priests, deacons, and all spiritual leaders...That they may be faithful ministers of your Word and Sacraments in all Creation.”
- “We pray for all who lead and hold responsibility in the nations and organizations of the human world.”
- “Give us grace to do your joyful desire in all that we do and refrain from doing.”
- “Have compassion on all your creatures who suffer from any grief or trouble.”
- “Give to all departed creatures eternal rest.”
- “Let us pray for our own needs and those of all Creation.”
Form IV (p. 388)
- “Let us pray for the Church and for all Creation.”
- “Grant, Creator God, that all your creatures may be...”
- “Give us all a reverence for the earth and all creatures as your own Creation, that we may use its gifts rightly in the service of others and to your honor and glory.”
- “Bless all living beings and ecosystems whose lives are closely linked with ours...”
- “Comfort and heal all those of your Creation who suffer...”
Form V (p. 389)
- “For the holy Church and Creation of God...”
- “For...all bishops, ministers, and spiritual leaders, and for all the holy people and creatures of God...”
- “For all whom you have created and sustained...and that all Creation may be one...”
- “For the mission of the Church...it may hear, preach, and perform the Gospel throughout all Creation.”
- “For the peace of the world and reconciliation of all living beings, that a spirit of reverence and communion may grow among nations, people, and all Creation...”
- “For those in positions of public trust...promote the dignity and interdwelling of all Creation...”
- “For the poor...and all who are in danger; for myriad species facing extinction, ecosystems in collapse, and all our fellow living beings in distress;...”
- “For this congregation of all creatures...”
- “For all...for our families, friends, neighbors, creaturely companions, and all living beings...”
Form VI (p. 392)
- “For all people and creatures in their daily life and work; For our families, friends, neighbors, companions, and all living beings...”
- “For this environment, community, the nation, and the world...”
- “For the just and proper dwelling in your Creation; For the victims of hunger, fear, injustice, oppression, extinction, and climate change.”
- “For all your creatures who are in danger...; For all living beings who minister to...”
- “For the peace and unity of the Creation of God; For all people and all of nature who proclaim the Gospel...”
- “For...all bishops, other ministers, and all spiritual leaders; For all who serve God in Creation.”
- “We thank you, Lord, for all the blessings of this life and the gifts of your Creation.”
- “We will exalt you, O God our Creator...”
- “We pray for all living beings who have died...”
- “Lord, let your loving-kindness be upon all; Whom you have created and sustained.”
Forms for the Prayers of the People
The following forms may be used or adapted as desired.
Prayers from Honoring God in Creation80
Honoring God in Creation Form 1
Blessed God, whose love calls the whole creation into covenant with you, and who puts in our hands responsibility for the care of the earth and its creatures: we pray for all to whom you have given life and being, saying, “Merciful God, keep your planet and people in peace.”
For the well-being of the earth; for its resources of water, air, light, and soil, that they may be tended for the good of all creatures, we pray:
Merciful God, keep your planet and people in peace.
For the waters of the earth; for their careful use and conservation, that we may have the will and the ability to keep them clean and pure, we pray:
Merciful God, keep your planet and people in peace.
For the mineral and energy resources of the planet, that we may learn sustainable consumption and sound care of the environment from which they come, we pray:
Merciful God, keep your planet and people in peace.
For the animals of the earth, wild and domestic, large and very small, that they may know the harmony of relationship that sustains all life, we pray:
Merciful God, keep your planet and people in peace.
For the creatures of the earth who do us harm and those whose place in your creation we do not understand or welcome, that we may see them as beloved creatures of God, we pray:
Merciful God, keep your planet and people in peace.
For all who shape public policies affecting the planet and its creatures [especially _____ ], that they may consider wisely the well-being of all who come after us, we pray:
Merciful God, keep your planet and people in peace.
For all those engaged in conservation, in agriculture and ranching, in aquaculture and fishing, in mining and industry, and in forestry and timber-harvesting, that the health, fruitfulness, and beauty of the natural world may be sustained alongside human activity, we pray:
Merciful God, keep your planet and people in peace.
For the creatures and the human beings of your world who are ill, or in danger, pain, or special need [especially _____ ], and for all who suffer from the unjust, violent, or wasteful use of the earth’s resources or their devastation by war, that all may one day live in communities of justice and peace, we pray:
Merciful God, keep your planet and people in peace.
For the gifts of science and technology and for those who practice these skills, that they may be wise, visionary, and compassionate in their work, we pray:
Merciful God, keep your planet and people in peace.
For the creatures and the people of the earth whose lives and deaths have contributed to the fruitful abundance of this planet [giving thanks especially for _____ ], we pray:
Merciful God, keep your planet and people in peace.
The Presider concludes the Prayers with a suitable collect (p. 48)
Honoring God in Creation Form 2
During the silence after each bidding, the people may offer their own prayers, either silently or aloud.
Let us pray for the revealing of the reign of God in the world, now and always.
In the beginning,
God was.
Here and now,
God is.
In the future,
God will be.
Creator of earth, sea, and sky, kindle the fire of your Spirit within us that we may be bold to heal and defend the earth, and pour your blessing upon all who work for the good of the planet.
Silence
God, Giver of life,
Hear our prayer.
Breath of life, receive our thanks for the beauty of our local habitat and all who dwell in it, and grant us the wisdom and will to conserve it.
Silence
God, Giver of life,
Hear our prayer.
Source of life, heal and redeem the wounds of your creation, and visit the places and people who suffer from our indifference, neglect, and greed.
Silence
God, Giver of life,
Hear our prayer.
Lover of all you have made, we thank you for the wondrous diversity of your creatures, and we pray for their well-being.
Silence
God, Giver of life,
Hear our prayer.
Author of the book of nature, receive our gratitude for places of restoration and healing, and continue to bless those places that feed our lives and spirits.
Silence
God, Giver of life,
Hear our prayer.
Wise Creator, whose works are full of mystery, give us wonder and appreciation for your creatures with whom we find ourselves in conflict.
Silence
God, Giver of life,
Hear our prayer.
Giver of all good gifts, awaken us daily to our dependence upon your bounty, and make us always thankful for the abundance of your blessings.
Silence
God, Giver of life,
Hear our prayer.
Divine Physician, heal our communities, especially those where neglect, greed, or violence inflict suffering upon people and other creatures.
Silence
God, Giver of life,
Hear our prayer.
Comforter of all the earth, sustain the people of this congregation who desire or need your presence and help [especially ____________ ].
Silence
God, Giver of life,
Hear our prayer.
Rock and refuge of all your creatures, receive into everlasting mercy all those who have died [especially ____________ ].
Silence
God, Giver of life,
Hear our prayer.
The Presider concludes the Prayers with a suitable collect (p. 48)
Honoring God in Creation Form 3
(on the theme of water)
The silence after each bidding may be followed by an appropriate response, such as “Lord, in your mercy, / Hear our prayer.”
In the beginning, the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. The water that God called into being is at the heart of all that lives. Mindful of the many ways water affects our lives, let us pray for our waters and for the life of the world around us.
Silence
I ask your prayers for all people of faith, and for the transformations in their lives that are marked by the sacredness of water: at the Red Sea, in the Jordan River, in ritual baths, in the washing of feet, and in Holy Baptism.
Silence
I ask your prayers for the leaders of nations, corporations, and communities around the world, that they may exercise wise stewardship over the waters of their lands, so that all people may have clean water to drink and may live free from waterborne diseases.
Silence
I ask your prayers for the wisdom to shape creative solutions to conflicts over water in the dry places of our planet, and for justice and peace in desert lands.
Silence
I ask your prayers for all the waters of the earth: for oceans and seas, for rivers and streams, for lakes and ponds, for watersheds, marshes, and swamps, for the waters beneath the ground; and for all creatures that live in the waters of the earth.
Silence
I ask your prayers for all who travel or work at sea or on inland waterways.
Silence
I ask your prayers for all afflicted with too much water in flood or tsunami, storm or ice; and for those people and creatures who suffer as glaciers and ice floes melt and shrink.
Silence
I ask your prayers for all who have died and for all who mourn, that their tears of grief may be turned to wellsprings of joy.
Silence
The Presider concludes the Prayers with a suitable collect (p. 48)
Other Forms for the Prayers of the People
A Litany for the Earth Form A81
Let us offer our prayers to God who gives life and breath to all creatures, saying, “God of glory, hear us.”
I ask your prayers for the mission of the church throughout the world, for sharing the promise of abundant life and working toward it for all.
God of glory, hear us.
I ask your prayers for the leaders of the nations, and for all who make or influence decisions for the health of our planet and the well-being of its peoples.
God of glory, hear us.
I ask your prayers for peace with justice around the world, especially for an end to violent competition for limited resources.
God of glory, hear us.
I ask your prayers for those who suffer illness, want, or exile because of environmental degradation.
God of glory, hear us.
I ask your prayers for the environmental concerns that you may lift up now, either silently or aloud.
Silence, during which the people may offer their concerns.
We offer our fears,
God of glory, hear us.
I ask your prayers for those who in their daily work are stewards and protectors of God’s creation in ways large and small; for gardeners, farmers, and ranchers; for rangers and park managers; for fishers and foresters; for climate scientists, ecologists, and activists, and for all who work to restore and heal our wounded Earth.
God of glory, hear us.
I ask your prayers for the dead, especially for those holy women and men who taught us to marvel in all God’s works.
God of glory, hear us.
The Presider concludes the Prayers with a suitable collect (p. 48)
Creationtide Form82
The people respond with “hear our prayer”
Eternal God:
We thank you for the beauty of the World:
for the teeming life of the seas,
the flight of birds,
and the diversity of animal life.
Grant us grace to treat Creation with respect and care;
to protect endangered species,
to preserve the variety of habitats,
and to honor the delicate balance of nature.
God of life:
hear our prayer.
We thank you for the wealth
of blessings from land and sea;
for the power of wind, and the warmth of sun.
We pray for the nations of the earth,
give us the will to cherish this planet
and to use its resources sustainably for the welfare of all.
God of justice:
hear our prayer.
We pray for the faithful witness of the Church,
called to reconcile and heal:
For this parish and [our clergy ____________ ].
God of grace:
hear our prayer.
We pray for the human family.
We exult in our diversity and giftedness,
we repent of our sins, divisions and violence.
By the power of your Spirit, restore your image within us.
As every human being is known and loved by you,
may we care for one another with love and respect.
We pray for those you have commended to our care: [ those on our prayer list ____________ ]:
God of compassion:
hear our prayer.
We pray for those who have died [especially ___________ ],
whom we entrust to your eternal love;
may we support and comfort those who mourn.
God of peace:
hear our prayer.
The Presider concludes the Prayers with a suitable collect (p. 48)
Hymnals of The Episcopal Church
The Hymnal 1982
400 All Creatures of Our God and King
(new lyrics: #835 Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006)
405 All Things Bright and Beautiful
290 Come Ye Thankful People Come
412 Earth and All Stars
573 Father Eternal, Ruler of Creation
383 Fairest Lord Jesus
416 For the Beauty of the Earth
424 For the Fruit of All Creation
380 From All That Dwell Below the Skies
423 Immortal, Invisible God Only Wise
599 Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
593 Lord Make Us Servants of Your Peace
385 Many and Great, O Lord are Thy Works
8 Morning Has Broken
455 O Love of God How Strong and True
211 The Whole Bright World Rejoices Now
433 We Gather Together to Ask the Lord’s Blessing
427 When Morning Gilds the Skies
Wonder, Love, and Praise
748 From the Dawning of Creation
746 God the Sculptor of the Mountains
812 Here I am Lord
791 Peace Before Us
779 The Church of Christ in Every Age
722 The Desert Shall Rejoice
Other Singing Resources
Sing a New Creation (Church Publishing)
The new hymnal from the Anglican Church of Canada offers many appropriate pieces, including:
18 Creator, God
19 Joyous Light of Heavenly Glory
25 From the Waters of Creation
26 Deep the Snows on God’s High Mountain
58 Mothering God
73 Nyanyikanlah/Hallelujah! Sing Praise
78 O God of Matchless Glory
79 Out of the Depths of Fear
89 Praise to God
92 In Sacred Manner May We Walk
93 Lord, Your Hands Have Formed This World
94 From the Highest of Heights
95 We’re Bound On a Journey
96 All Creation Danced in Answer
97 God is Calling Through the Whisper
114 O Blessed Spring
115 Long Before the Night
126 Like a Rock
157 As the Wind Song Through the Trees
Chants of Taizé 2019
13 Veni Creator
22 Veni Creator Spiritus
109 See, I am near (I make all things new)
124 L’ajuda em vindrà (who made heaven and earth)
127 I am sure I shall see (goodness in land of the living)
Carolyn Winfrey Gillette
The Rev. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette is a PCUSA minister and hymn-writer. Her lyrics can be sung to a variety of tunes familiar to our congregations. Collections Gifts of Love and Songs of Grace are available to purchase, and all lyrics are available at carolynshymns.com under the topic of Creation/Creation Care.
All of Life is Filled With Wonder
An Eagle Is Soaring
At the Dawn of Your Creation
Creator God, You Made the Earth
Creator Of the Water
Creator, We Thank You For All You Have Made
Don’t Fear, You Good Earth
God, Creation Sings Your Praises
God, How Many Are A Thousand?
God Made the Heavens and the Earth
God, Send Your Prophets Here
God, The Mountains Tell Your Glory
God, Who Made Each Great Wide Ocean
O God, Creator of All Things
O God, the Great Wide Seas are Yours
O God of Life, Your Waters Flow
O God, Our Sovereign
O God, We Thank You for This Land
O God, When Your Land
O God, You Made the Trees
O God, Your Creatures Fill the Earth
On the Beach, the Waves of Waters
Shades of Purple, Shades of Blue
Spirit of God
The Climate is Changing
The Earth is the Lord’s
We Were Born Out of the Waters
You Turn Mourning into Dancing
Jann Aldredge-Clanton
The Rev. Dr. Jann Aldredge-Clanton is a Baptist minister serving in ecumenical and interfaith contexts who writes hymns focused on inclusive language from a feminist theology background. Music settings are included in her three hymnbooks. Creation-specific songs include:
Earth Transformed with Music
8 Follow Her Peaceful Ways
11 Praise the Source of All Creation
23 Praise the Source of Every Blessing
24 O Earth, We Hear Your Cries of Pain
25 Ruah, the Spirit, Dwells
26 Sophia Wisdom Shows the Way
27 Come, Join with the Children
33 Praise Sophia, Holy Wisdom
37 Holy, Wondrous Mystery, Birthing All Creation
49 Celebrate Our Maker’s Glory
50 We Come in Celebration
Inclusive Hymns for Liberation, Peace, and Justice
2 Sister-Brother, Peaceful Spirit
4 Ruah, the Spirit-Source of All
5 Behold Shekinah Leading
8 When Will Justice Flow Like Waters?
13 The Music is Ringing
14 Creation Calls to Us for Help
15 Our Mother-Father, Friend and Source
16 All the World with Beauty Shines
18 Sacred Darkness Dwelling
22 We Come to Tell Our Stories
26 Midwife Divine is Bringing Life to Birth
40 We Praise the Works of Wisdom
43 Ruah, Creator, Gave Birth to Us All
44 Holy Wisdom Comes to Earth
50 Star of Wonder, Star of Wisdom
51 Ancient Wisdom, Mother Earth
52 O Holy Darkness, Source of Life
55 Ruah, Spirit, Come Today
Inclusive Hymns for Resistance & Social Action
14 El Shaddai Will Hold Us Fast
22 Julian of Norwich Reveals Wisdom’s Way
28 Our Hearts Cry Out in Longing
44 Sister Hildegard Shows the Way
62 We Will All Resist
67 Wisdom Shows Us Peaceful Pathways
SING! Prayer and Praise
A 2009 publication of The Pilgrim Press (Local Church Ministries, United Church of Christ).
71 God of Inspiration
91 O Great Spirit
92 Empty Jar
119 River
147 Light of the World
167 Holy, Holy, Holy
Other Hymns
835 All creatures, worship God most high!
Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006
8 Praise to the Living God
New Century Hymnal
137 Touch the Earth Lightly
Community of Christ Sings
“Holy Earth, Ancient Home,” the finale of A Passion for the Planet, a climate oratorio by Geoffrey Hudson, makes for a wonderful hymn to be sung in a church setting. The score may be available from the composer.
Worship and Prayers
A Celtic Liturgy for Every Season, Elizabeth Lovett Grover. Infinity Publishing (2013).
Iona Abbey Worship Book, The Iona Community. Wild Goose Publications (2001).
An Iona Prayer Book, Peter Millar. Canterbury Press (1998).
God’s Good Earth: Praise and Prayers for Creation, Anne & Jeffery Rowthorn. Liturgical Press (2018).
Season of Creation Celebration Guide: Let Peace and Justice Flow, Season of Creation Ecumenical Steering Committee. SeasonOfCreation.com (2023).
Learning
Renewing the Life of the Earth: An Eco-theology Resource, Theological Education Advisors, Anglican Communion Office. The Anglican Consultive Council (2023).
Endnotes
1 Content adated from the resources on SeasonOfCreation.org..
3 Bill McKibben, Eaarth (New York: Times Books, Henry Holt & Co., 2010) xiii, book jacket.
10 Preface for Rogation from The Book of Occasional Services 2018 (SCLM, 2018), 110.
15 Fraction anthem references themes from John 6:51.
16 Fraction anthem is adapted from one provided in Enriching Our Worship 1, 69.
17 Postcommunion prayer 1 from Enriching Our Worship 1 (New York: Church Publishing, 1998), 70.
18 Postcommunion prayer 2 from Enriching our Worship 2 (New York: Church Publishing, 2000), 41.
21 Benediction adapted from the CTBI Eco-Congregation Programme.
23 Prayer by Anne Rowthorn, inspired by an anonymous Masai prayer, God’s Good Earth, 216.
25 Prayer by Anne Rowthorn from God’s Good Earth, 14.
27 Dismissal 3 adapted from Common Worship: Times and Seasons (UK: Church House Publishing, 2006).
28 Dismissal 4 adapted from Common Worship: Times and Seasons.
30 Collect (with a new title) from A New Zealand Prayer Book, 569.
32 Prayer from The Book of Occasional Services 2018, 339.
38 Three collects from A New Zealand Prayer Book, 464-5.
42 Six propers from “Honoring God in Creation,” 236-238.
45 Litany from “Honoring God in Creation,” 258-259.
48 Litany from “Honoring God in Creation,” 248-250.
50 St. Isaac, Mystic Treatises, 74:507.
58 Pope Francis, Laudato Si,’ paragraphs 239-240.
59 Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov (1880).
61 Terry Tempest Williams, Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert (New York: Vintage Books, 2002).
66 Howard Thurman, Disciplines of the Spirit (Richmond, IN: Friends United Press, 1963), 89.
69 William Wordsworth, “The World Is Too Much with Us,” Poems, in Two Volumes (1807).
71 Inclusive adaptation from Anton Chekhov, Uncle Vanya (1897), Act 1.
72 Helen Keller, The Story of My Life (New York: Doubleday, Page & Co, 1902), ch. 22.
73 T.S. Eliot, The Idea of a Christian Society (San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1940), chapter 4.
74 Reinhold Neibuhr, The Irony of American History (Ann Arbor MI: The University of Michigan, 1952).
80 Three prayer forms from “Honoring God in Creation,” 239-245.
82 Adapted heavily by Nina Ranadive Pooley from a form in Common Worship: Times and Seasons.