GREETING (adapted from Richard of Chichester, England)
Day by day, dear Lord, of you three things we pray:
to see you more clearly,
love you more dearly,
follow you more nearly, day by day.
HYMN 680 “Father, We Praise Thee”
PSALM 104
PRAYER
(Consider some of the following concerns for prayers of thanksgiving, intercession, and petition. Follow with your personal prayer list.)
Ecological preservation Reforestation
Diversity of species Recycling
Parks, preserves, and refuges Endangered species
Clean water Desertification
Air quality Over-population
Earth’s atmosphere Over-hunting and over-fishing
Rain forests Waste, garbage, and trash
Wetlands and swamps Littering
Old growth forests Consumerism
Woods and meadows Urban sprawl
Prairies Pesticides and herbicides
Deserts Toxic wastes
Tundra and icy landscapes Radioactive wastes
Wilderness areas Climatic change
Oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams Natural disasters
Other planets, moons and asteroids Invasive species
Environmental research _____________________________
Conservation _____________________________
Reclamation _____________________________
THE LORD'S PRAYER
SCRIPTURE LESSON
(Choose a passage of scripture to read. It can be a chapter, a paragraph, or a particular story. Daily lectionaries are available online or in print that assign a lesson each day from the gospels, epistles, Old Testament and psalms on a three-year cycle. Or you can create a plan to read a book of the Bible, or the whole Bible. Then follow the steps below.)
Read a passage of scripture. Read it out loud, very slowly and carefully as if for the first time. Continue reading until a word, phrase or sentence captures your attention. Stop there to repeat the word, phrase or sentence over and over, listening to it deeply in your heart.
Reflect on why the passage got your attention. Consider the area of your life to which this may apply. Is God saying something to you in this passage? Take time to listen carefully to whatever God may be saying to you.
Respond to God in prayer (or with journaling, music, art or whatever you choose) about what you have heard. Ask questions. Open yourself to God’s will for you.
Rest in God’s company. Be still and quiet. Move beyond thinking, practicing interior silence. Let yourself be open to God’s presence. Savor this moment with God.
PRAYER (with references to Genesis 1:1-2:3 and Job 38:1-39:30)
Loving Creator, shape us today to walk gently in your world.
Let our paths lead softly through meadows, deserts,
prairies, woodlands, ice-fields and swamps.
Let your tenderness guide us with all your creatures,
large and small, dangerous and domesticated.
Let our works weave harmoniously into your creation,
carefully maintaining the balance of nature.
Let us harvest sparingly from the riches you provide:
food, clothing, shelter, fuels, and all the rest.
Remind us to cherish and preserve the fresh air we breathe,
and to conserve and keep pure the water we drink.
Remind us to carefully steward the many and various soils,
and to partner with you in nurturing your plants.
Remind us to guard the multitude of your living creatures,
especially those in danger of disappearing forever.
Remind us to protect the astounding variety you created,
and to watch for the new wonders still evolving.
Remind us that we are related to all these living things, God,
so that we never forget our place in your creation.
And remind us to always thank you for the consciousness
that stirs us to praise you for all these marvels. Amen.
SILENCE AND COMMITMENT
(Pause to reflect and listen. Work to push out of your mind any distracting or irrelevant thoughts. Concentrate your thoughts on the words of the hymns and choruses you have sung, the prayers you have spoken and the scriptures you have read. Be aware of what you are feeling. Listen for anything that God might be saying to you in this time you have spent together. As God responds to your prayer-time, seek guidance for how you can best respond to God’s will. Then commit to serving God’s will for you.)
HYMN 581 “Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service”
CLOSING PRAYER (with references to Matthew 22:36-40 and Romans 12:1-2)
Thank you, Father, for this glorious new morning,
fresh with new opportunities to join you in your work.
Keep us constant in loving you throughout the day.
Make us bold in loving every friend, stranger and foe.
Awaken us to the needs and troubles of neighbors.
and let us be like salt and light to them in every need.
We pray you spare us from cross-carrying today,
but if you will it, let us do it with joy and confidence.
As Jesus gave his life for us and our loved ones,
so we today offer our lives to you as living sacrifices,
which is the true and spiritual worship you desire.
Today is the time in which we declare our love to you. Amen.
Copyright 2020. Robert D. Ingram, 32746 Jourden Rd., Albany, Ohio 45710 (dr.bobingram@gmail.com). Used by permission.
