worship

If congregational life took the shape of a wagon wheel, worship would be the hub for many congregations. Worship has a way of tying together all other spokes of congregational life: education, outreach, stewardship, etc. For individual members, worship can be a grounding event that invites them home, to join with one another and the Holy, on a regular basis. Ideally, members will emerge from this “homecoming” feeling strengthened in their faith, sense of community, and commitment to be a blessing in this world. Unfortunately, worship experiences often overlook God’s broader creation. This omission can deprive worshipers of an awe-inspiring sense of the breadth of God’s creative, sustaining, and redeeming power. It can also deprive them of seeing the value in caring for creation – for other creatures; people in poverty (who feel more directly the impacts of ecological degradation); and all parts of creation. In their worship, many congregations are now starting to discover items that inspire appreciation for God’s working throughout creation. In thinking about worship, you may want to consider at least three settings: regular worship services, special worship services, and informal times of worship.

One congregation’s experience …
“Co-Preaching for Creation”

Clergy and lay people often have many opportunities to preach on behalf of God’s creation. Kate Nelson, an Earth Ministry Colleague from University Congregational United Church of Christ (Seattle), gave a joint sermon with one of her pastors (Peter Ingenfritz) and another church member. The two members told personal stories of their relating with the natural world, and the pastor poetically wove the stories together. Here is a portion from the end of the sermon:

Kate: “…we saw salmon fingerlings as we were planting and weeding. Returning Coho salmon were here to spawn last fall. Do I believe in miracles? Yes I do. This [once-devastated stream] is a Little Miracle, to me an almost incredible demonstration that Spirit can heal what seemed utterly broken, a vision of God’s restored earth, beyond what I could imagine. …”

Peter: “We are a people rooted in a vision, a promise that the holy, awesome presence of God dreams before us. A vision of God’s new and abundant life has been set before our very eyes. God is working a newness out of the shambles of the world. A newness even far beyond our making and wildest imagining – a newness that we are called to be swept up in, in our lives and action, our prayers and advocacy, our hopes and our dreams. …”

Regular Worship Services

Below are some parts of weekly worship services in which a creation-awareness/care focus might be included:

· Sermons/homilies and children’s sermons can help members sense the breadth of God’s compassion, one that encompasses all creation.

o For creation-honoring commentaries on the lectionary readings, see Preaching Creation: Throughout the Church Year, by Jennifer Phillips (Cowley Publications, 2000).

o Children especially enjoy images and even bits of the natural world (e.g., a mustard seed) that bring stories of faith to life. Children’s sermons can be wonderful times to invite children to more fully explore connections with the natural world – they invite adult members to do so as well. For examples of stories and materials that may help to enrich these times, go to the “For Children” section in our Annotated Bibliography, or the “Recommended Resources for Children and Youth” section in our Recommended Curricular Aids and Congregational Resources.

· Songs/hymns can open members to familiar feelings as well as new ways of seeing.

o Edith S. Downing and Carol Winfrey Gillette have put creation-honoring lyrics to tune of familiar hymns. Go to our Creation-honoring Hymns page to view their hymns.

o Look in the index of your own hymnals and worship songbooks for headings like Creation, Nature, Justice, Peace, Forgiveness, and Praise.

· Prayers, litanies, and readings can call members to deeper communion with God, each other, and the rest of creation.

o Many excellent prayers, meditations, readings, etc., can be found in Earth Prayers from Around the World: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations for Honoring the Earth, edited by Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amadon (HarperCollins, 1991).

o One or two lines can be inserted easily into “prayers of the people” or other times of congregational prayer. These prayers may be general in scope or mention specific ecological concerns that are close to home.

· Bulletins, newsletters, and announcements can serve as vehicles for the congregation’s voice.

o In bulletins and newsletters, you may wish to include announcements of special creation celebrations and environmentally-related public events, images of creation, inspiring poems and prayers, “eco-tips,” action alerts, etc.

o Consider using recycled, chlorine-free paper for bulletins and/or reduction of the amount of paper used in bulletins. Our Recycling and Composting page contains information on purchasing these resources.

o Verbal announcements can be a very effective way of letting others know about upcoming creation-care related events in the congregation and community.

o Many congregational organizers find the use of a bulletin board (for creation-related articles, poems, prayers, “eco-tips,” images, etc.) to be a very effective and simple communication vehicle.

· Occasions for outdoor worship help members to realize that the holy can be experienced outside of buildings too.

· Banners and other decorations in your congregation can be “icons” and symbols that serve as “windows” through which to glimpse God’s incarnate presence in the world.

o Consider bringing as much of nature (without harming it) as possible into your worship space and buildings – this serves as a visual reminder that all creation belongs to God.

o Look at your congregation’s current banners to see what sorts of creation images already exist. If you find one/some, you may want to write and display an interpretive piece describing images in the banner(s). You may also want to add a specific creation-honoring banner to your collection.

o Look at stained-glass windows, paintings/images/icons, and architectural features in your buildings for natural themes or images. Again, in order to help other members appreciate these elements, you may want to write and display an interpretative piece about them.

Most congregations have sacraments that are central to their worship and identity. Many of these sacraments use the elements of creation. You may wish to help members connect more strongly with these elements. For example, with Eucharist/Holy Communion, you can encourage the use of real bread rather than pressed wafers. This may help people to recognize that “things of the Earth” can be a pathway to the holy.

Special Worship Services

Here is a partial list of some creation-awareness/care days from various faith traditions that your congregation might celebrate (or adapt into regular worship services):

· Plow Monday: first Monday after Epiphany – Blessing of tools, plows, and other work implements in preparation for spring planting.

· Lent and Easter: Times to honor practices of simplicity (especially Ash Wednesday) so that “others (human and non-human) may simply live” and to better celebrate God’s renewal of all creation. For Lenten resources, check out Alternatives for Simple Living.

· Rogation Days: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in the sixth week of Easter – “Soil Stewardship Week.” Often entire congregations (sometimes in partnership with other congregations) take part in outdoor, public processions with songs and litanies. In rural areas, this is a time for blessing fields. In urban areas, many congregations now bless gardens, local businesses (especially ones that enhance communities and ecosystems), sites of ecological restoration, etc.

· Earth Day: April 22 – Many congregations observe this international event (which began in 1970) to celebrate God’s creation and/or to draw attention to environmental crises and ways to respond to them. For Earth Day worship resources, go to our Worship Aids page or visit the Web of Creation.

· Feast of St. Francis of Assisi: October 4 – Many congregations celebrate St. Francis’ broad, compassionate vision with a Blessing of the Animals and other creation-honoring offerings (e.g., tree plantings, special prayers, a hike, etc.).

· Thanksgiving (U.S.): fourth Thursday in November – Some congregations make this an opportunity to share Earth’s gifts more equitably with others. For example, some take part in Oxfam America’s annual “Fast for a World Harvest” the Thursday before Thanksgiving.

· International Arbor Day: December 22 – In warmer climates, congregations can plant trees on this day – in honor of Arbor Day and the new life that Christmas brings.

· Advent and Christmas Day: end of November through December 25 – Anticipating and celebrating God’s incarnate presence in creation. For resources to help celebrate this time in less consumptive, more Christ-centered ways, visit Alternatives for Simple Living’s web site.

Less Formal Times of Worship

You may also want to think about some of the less structured ways in which your congregation observes worship, such as: prayers before meetings, retreats, picnics and potlucks, hikes and other recreational activities, hands-on work experiences, fellowship in members’ homes, etc. Begin to let your imagination play with how you might incorporate a creation-honoring dimension into these times. You’ll find some resources listed below for individual and group meditations, and others in the “Poetry, Prayer, and Meditation” portion of the Annotated Bibliography. For these worship times, you may also want to look at our “Creation Devotional”.

Getting Started

· Explore some of the worship resources mentioned in the points above, and below under “Other Resources.”

· If you have a creation-awareness/care group, consider a time of worship/meditation within this group – both to spiritually “center” your visions and efforts, and to sample a variety of worship resources. As a group, begin to consider what sort of worship experience you might want to have within the larger congregation.

· Depending on your specific area of interest within the congregation’s worship life, identify the people in your congregation who shape the content of bulletins/newsletter, sermons, liturgy, music, announcements during worship, church decorations, etc. Then set up times to meet with these people, learn how they understand worship, and discuss the possibility of including creation-honoring elements.

For example, if you want to hear more of a creation-honoring voice in sermons, you may want to meet with your minister(s)/congregational leaders who offer sermons. Talk with them to explore their openness to such a voice. If they are hesitant, you may want to share with them a favorite creation-care reading, a book from the Annotated Bibliography, or Earth Ministry’s mini-journal Earth Letter. You can provide these leaders with examples of sermons that include a creation dimension (see above for resources). You may also want explore whether or not these leaders would like to invite a guest homilist/preacher from either inside or outside of the congregation to speak on creation. Some congregations have times for laypersons to give sermons. Perhaps you, or someone else from your congregation, might be a willing speaker.

Over time, continue to touch base with these individuals or committees to see if they would like additional resources or to do some brainstorming with you. These check-ins continue to let them know that you would like to see creation awareness/care incorporated into worship on an ongoing basis.

· If you help to make any changes in services, find opportunities to let members know why the changes have been made.

Other Resources

· The Web of Creation’s Worship page has many excellent liturgical resources, sample sermons and services, articles, ideas, and bibliographic resources.

Your Congregation | Greening Resources | Worship

Greening Ideas

Regular Worship Services

Special Worship Services

Less Formal Times of Worship

Getting Started

Other Resources

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