phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Welcome: (Mary Theresa) Welcome to our family liturgy and Earth Day liturgy. The theme today is Earth Day - Every Day. We are living in a time of great climate change caused by humans who have lost their sacred connection to the earth. It is time for each of us to "rise up" and protect all life on planet Earth.
Opening Prayer: Great Spirit, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures. You embrace all that exists with your loving tenderness. You pour out upon us the power of your love that we may protect life and beauty. May we be filled with Your peace, and may we live as brothers and sisters, caring for all of Your creation. Amen.
(adapted from Laudato Si written by Pope Francis)
Opening Song: Of the Earth by the Many
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: (Teddy) A Reading from the Book of Genesis
God said, “Let us make humankind. Let them care for the fish in the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, the wild animals, and everything that crawls on the ground.”
God blessed them and said, “Bear fruit, increase your numbers and fill the earth—and be responsible for it!”
God looked at all creation, and proclaimed that all was good, very good.
These are the inspired words of our ancestors and we affirm them by saying, Amen. (adapted from the Inclusive Bible.)
Second Reading: Earth Day Video
Gospel: (Mike O'Brien) A Reading from the Gospel of Matthew
Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet the Holy One feeds them. Aren’t you more important than they? Which of you by worrying can add a moment to your lifespan? And why be anxious about clothing? Learn a lesson from the way the wildflowers grow. They don’t work; they don’t spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in full splendor was arrayed like one of these. If the Holy One can clothe in such splendor the grasses of the field, which bloom today and are thrown on the fire tomorrow, won’t the Holy One do so much more for you?
These are the inspired words of the Gospel writer known as Matthew, and the community affirms them by saying, Amen.
Homily Starter: Mary Theresa
Many years ago, our ancestors looked around at their world and began to tell stories about the how the world began. Teddy read part of that story for us this morning. Our ancestors told of a Great Spirit who created all that they could see and called it very good. Can you imagine what they saw: clear blue waters, plants and trees that gave them delicious food, a night sky filled with stars, all kinds of unique animals, a family bonded together to help each other.
And in our Gospel message we hear another storyteller reminding us that the Great Spirit has provided and continues to provide for us.
In the video we learned about the first Earth Day on April 22,1970. Every year since, on April 22, we celebrate all the goodness the earth has to offer and we remember that if we do not protect the earth we will continue to lose many of its gifts.
Fifty-three years ago, Gaylord Nelson an environmentalist and American politician from Wisconsin began a grassroots movement to protect the Earth. As a senator, Nelson contributed to important reforms but struggled for years to interest his colleagues (other politicians) in environmental protections. So he turned instead to the people, proposing April 22, 1970 as a day for Americans to speak out about the environmental crises they faced.
An estimated 20 million Americans, young and old, gathered on April 22,1970 to confront the ecological troubles in their cities, states, nation, and planet — and to demand action from themselves and from their elected officials.
Fast forward to today, 53 years later, and we are still facing environmental crises. The earth’s beautiful lands are over developed and our precious drinking water is polluted. I see that here in Florida. Beautiful virgin land scarred by bulldozers to create more and more housing. Water from the faucet has a stinky smell. We have a water filtration system in the kitchen, but the poor people do not have that.
We see on TV the effects of climate change: severe storms that are wiping out communities. This week many of us watched David Muir’s trip to the South Sudan where the rising water is flooding their farm lands and causing famine.
In this season of resurrection, it is time for us to rise up and protect our beautiful Earth and all who share this home with us. We do this not only for ourselves but for our children and their children and their children. There are environmental programs that promote environmental justice and we need to support them and do what we can to protect our precious Earth and those who are most at risk.
I would like to close with a clip from a song written 53 years ago in 1970 by Joni Mitchell, a Canadian singer and songwriter. The song is called Big Yellow Taxi:
… Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone
https://youtu.be/2595abcvh2M
What are your thoughts on the readings, video, homily starter?
Shared Homily
Statement of Faith (Erika and Katherine Cerwin)
We believe in the Holy One who is in everything we see
And even in everything we cannot see.
As far away as the most distant star and as near as the air we breathe
the Holy One is there, creating everything out of Love.
We believe in Jesus, who showed us the Holy One
In how he lived his life,
He showed us that the Holy One is
In our lives, too.
We believe that we are called to live like Jesus.
We are called to bring peace, and light, healing and kindness,
We are called to be brave and speak up, and help out when
Others are suffering or things are not right.
We believe that the Spirit of the Holy One
Lives in us and in all of creation.
We feel the Spirit in the wind, the warm sun,
The cold snow, and we see it in the faces of other people.
We believe that if we live in the Spirit of the Holy One,
If we remember to act with kindness and courage,
We will make the family of the Holy One larger and larger
Until the whole world is at peace. Amen.
Presider: As we prepare for the sacred meal, we are aware that just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. We bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns. Please feel free to voice your intentions beginning with the words “I bring to the table….”
We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Presider: With open hands and hearts, let us pray together our Eucharistic Prayer.
Joan: Guiding Spirit, You speak to us through the beauty of your creation. We are grateful for the sunrise and sunset, birds, flowers and trees, rainbows in the sky, the stars, the many forms of life in the forest.
We are grateful for the "music of the universe"- water flowing over rocks, the wind, trees bending in the wind, raindrops pattering the roof.
We are grateful for each other. Everything lives because of you, and we join with all of creation and sing for the beauty that surrounds us.
Holy, Holy, Holy, Karen Drucker https://youtu.be/kl7vmiZ1YuI
Denise: Creator of the whole universe, we join with the earth and with each other, to bring new life to the land, to restore the waters, to refresh the air.
We join with the earth and with each other to renew the forests, to care for the plants, to protect the creatures.
We join with the earth and with each other to celebrate the seas, to rejoice in the sunlight, to sing the song of the stars.
We join together as many and diverse expressions of one loving mystery: for the healing of the earth and the renewal of life.
Please extend your hands in blessing.
We are ever aware of your Spirit in us and among us at this Eucharistic table and we are grateful for our brother, Jesus, and this bread and wine which reminds us to follow him.
On the night before he faced his own death, Jesus sat at supper with his companions and friends. He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly with them, he bent down and washed their feet.
All lift the plate and pray:
When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat, this is my very self.
(pause)
All lift the cup and pray:
Then he took the cup of the covenant, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying:
Take and drink.
Whenever you remember me like this,
I am among you.
(pause)
We share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace. We choose to live justly, love tenderly, and walk with integrity.
Please receive communion saying: I am / You are the face of God.
Communion Song: God Bless the Grass by Pete Seeger - video by Denise Hackert-Stoner
Prayer after Communion: (Mary Theresa) Prayer for All the World by Linda Jones
Compassionate and Loving One,
you created the world for us all to share,
a world of beauty and plenty.
Create in us a desire to live simply
so that our lives may reflect your generosity.
Breath of Life,
you gave us responsibility for the earth,
a world of riches and delight.
Create in us a desire to live sustainably
so that those who follow after us
may enjoy the fruits of your creation.
Source of Peace and Justice,
you give us the capacity to change,
to bring about a world that mirrors your image.
Create in us a desire for solidarity
so that the pillars of injustice crumble
and those now crushed are set free.
Amen.
Joan: Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
O Holy One, who is within, around and among us,
We celebrate your many names.
Your Wisdom come.
Your will be done, unfolding from the depths within us,
Each day you give us all we need;
You remind us of our limits, and we let go.
You support us in our power, and we act with courage.
For you are the dwelling place within us,
the empowerment around us,
and the celebration among us, now and forever. Amen
(Miriam Therese Winter)
BLESSING
Mary Theresa: Let us raise our hands and pray our blessing:
May we have the wisdom to care for the earth.
May we act now for the good of future generations and all Your creatures. May we be instruments of a new creation, founded on the covenant of Your love. Amen.
Closing Song: Sing for the Climate
Sing for the Climate (Do It Now!)
1.We need to wake up
We need to wise up
We need to open our eyes
And do it now now now
We need to build a better future
And we need to start right now
2. We’re on a planet
That has a problem
We’ve got to solve it, get involved
And do it now now now
We need to build a better future
And we need to start right now
3. Make it greener
Make it cleaner
Make it last, make it fast
and do it now now now
We need to build a better future
And we need to start right now
4. No point in waiting
Or hesitating
We must get wise, take no more lies
And do it now now now
We need to build a better future
And we need to start right now
from Just Earth, released January 1, 2017
Vocals: Paulette Meier, Diana Porter, & Len Webb, Arrangement: Diana Porter
