Hybrid Worship, April 21, 2024, Easter IV - Earth Day

Hybrid Worship, April 21, 2024, Easter IV - Earth Day

Rev. Suzanna Bates

Music : Lisa Griffith

We acknowledge these lands upon which we worship are the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation.

Whoever you are and wherever you are on life’s journey,

you are welcome here!

Words For Worship

Words in bold italics, please say together

Prelude: Medley of Hymns

Gathering

Opening Words

In the beginning, all was darkness and God said,     

      “let there be light, and because God had said it, there was light. 

In the beginning, all was silence, 

and God sang the song of creation, and because God sang, 

all the stars and spheres vibrated to the music of God. 

In the beginning, all was still and God laughed, 

and because God laughed, the waters took up the roar and the ripple of it; and ebbed and flowed and seeped and swirled and delighted in the ways of its being. 

In the beginning, all was dull, and God painted, 

and because God painted, the sky became blue and purple and pink, and rainbows hung there. The grass became green, and flowers and butterflies danced in the drips and settled like jewels on the earth. 

In the beginning, all was unconscious and God breathed, 

and because God breathed, men and women woke up from their sleeping, they breathed of the very life of God and stood in wonder before the work of God’s hands.  

They beheld the glory of God in all that God had made 

and they saw that it was very good.

Acknowledgement of the Land

Lighting Christ Candle

      We are here. God is here

      This place is sacred ground.

Opening Prayer

Hymn: Let All Things Now Living                                            VU #242

Prayer of Confession

      Loving God, how often do we forget

      the beauty of the Earth.

      We confess that we do not always care for our home, 

      we confess that we rely on the conveniences of today’s society.

Forgive us when we don’t remember the impact of our decisions.

      Forgive us when we take creation for granted.

      Remind us of your path to dignity for all.

      Teach us to be caregivers in our world.

And good shepherds and stewards of the Earth, our Home. Amen.

Words of Assurance             
For you shall go out in joy and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12)

Scriptures teach us to live with gentleness and in hope, not only for ourselves but for all of creation. May we seek this way of living with creation, as our God has longed for. May this vision become our reality of today. 

      Amen. 

A New Creed                                                                               VU #918

We are not alone, we live in God's world.

We believe in God: who has created and is creating,

who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh,

to reconcile and make new,

who works in us and others by the Spirit.

We trust in God.

We are called to be the Church: to celebrate God's presence,

to live with respect in Creation,

to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil,

to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope. In life, in death, in life beyond death,

God is with us. We are not alone.

Thanks be to God.

Hymn: For the Beauty of the Earth                                           VU #226

Prayer Before the Reading of Scripture

O God, you have given us these words to be a light on our paths. Let us hear in a new way today, let these scriptures stay with us to live by.                                                                             3

Scripture Reading                                                       Reader: Angela Nutter
Isaiah 11:6–9  (The Message)

The earth will be full of the knowledge of God

The wolf will romp with the lamb, the leopard sleep with the kid. Calf and lion will eat from the same trough, and a little child will tend them. Cow and bear will graze the same pasture, their calves and cubs grow up together, and the lion eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will crawl over rattlesnake dens, the toddler stick his hand down the hole of a serpent. Neither animal nor human will hurt or kill on my holy mountain.
The whole earth will be brimming with knowing God-Alive, a living knowledge of God ocean-deep, ocean-wide.

Gospel Reading                                                        Reader: Corrine Carlson

As is your custom, please stand or sit for the reading of the gospel. 

God be with you. 

And also with you 

The Good News of Jesus the Christ according to John. 

Glory to you, Christ Jesus.

John 10:11‒18 (The Message)  

I am the Good Shepherd 

“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. He’s only in it for the money. The sheep don’t matter to him. “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way, the Father knows me and I know the Father. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary. You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them, too. They’ll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one Shepherd. This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own free will. 

Psalm 148                                                                                 (VU #871)

Refrain:

Let the whole creation cry, Glory be to God on high        

Praise God from the heavens, give praise in the heights!
Give praise, all you angels, praise God, all you hosts!
Praise God, sun and moon, give praise, stars and lights

Praise God, farthest heavens, and all waters beyond heaven! R

Let all things praise the Holy One at whose command they were created
who established them for all time, setting bounds, which cannot be passed.
      Praise God from the earth, great sea creatures and ocean       depths,

      lightning and hail, snow and frost, gales that obey God’s       decree.

All mountains and hills, all fruit trees and cedars,
Wild animals and cattle, creatures winged and earth-bound.
      Sovereigns who rule earth and its people,
      all who govern and judge this world,
      Young men and women alike, old people and children                                                                                                   together!  R

Let all things praise the name of God,
The name above every other, whose splendor covers heaven and earth.
      You give strength to your people,
      Songs of praise to your faithful,

      to Israel, the people dear to your heart.  R

Word: To live with respect in Creation

Hymn: O Beautiful Gaia                                                              MV #41

Life & Work of the Church

Offering

Offertory Hymn: Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow 

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;                                   VU #541
praise God, all creatures high and low;
give thanks to God in love made known:
Creator, Word, and Spirit, One.         

Prayer of Dedication 

      Loving God, we are all so blessed in the world around us. 

      We seek to care for creation as you care so lovingly for us. 

      Accept these gifts and those of our hearts to continue living

      your way in the world. Amen.

Prayers of The People                                                             Mona Smart
Loving God,

      Hear our Prayer.

Hymn: Called by Earth and Sky                                               MV #135

Sending & Blessing

Let us go out with joy. Let us be ever mindful of the gift of God’s creation. Let us share the blessing of love with all we meet.

May God’s radiant face shine upon you.

May Jesus continue to walk with you.

May the love of the Holy Spirit fill you.

Today and forevermore. 

The peace and love of Christ be with you.

      And also with you. 

Postlude: Medley of Hymns