The liturgy below comes from Peace Mennonite Church, a house church in Claremont, Ca. Several members attended the Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions’ pastoral retreat on climate change in Los Angeles in February 2020 and wrote this order of worship in response. They drew on material from The New Zealand Prayer Book.
An Anabaptist Order of Worship
In silent preparation, We light a candle to symbolize “Christ the light of the world.”
Leader: Here we are, Lord,
Disciples: Holy Place
Leader: We have come to meet You.
Disciples: Holy Time.
Leader: We stand on Your land
Your creation, Your gift,
Disciples: Holy Gift
Leader: We give thanks for your world.
For its beauty, wonder, mystery.
Disciples: Holy Thanks.
Leader: Teach us to love this land
Like the Serrano, the Tongva before us,
Like all who love its trees, soil, water, life.
Disciples: Holy Life.
Leader: We pledge to care for creation,
To hold Earth in trust.
Disciples: Holy Trust.
Leader: We share this Earth,
With a world of peoples,
Of plants, creatures, species
We pledge to walk gently, work humbly,
Disciples: Holy Task.
Leader: Unworthy, we come to worship,
In an unholy world, we seek its wholeness,
In a profane world, we seek “The Holy.”
Disciples: Holy Quest.
Leader: In Your grace and mercy, to pledge our souls
To “the One who so loved the World.”
Disciples: Holy One.
Leader: Bend our wills to follow Him in life,
Disciples: Bind our hearts to embrace all that is Holy.
HYMN 411 I Bind My Heart This Tide .
Leader: We have come to this table,
At the invitation of Jesus, the Galilean.
You are the Host, Lord Jesus.
Disciples: We are Your guests.
Leader: Here at this table,
Disciples: Your loaf.
Leader: Your body broken.
All: Mystery of bread. Life from the earth. Broken for us.
Leader: Here at this table,
Disciples: Your cup.
Leader: Your life outpoured.
All: Miracle of wine. Life from earth’s waters. Spilled for us.
Leader: (takes and lifts the bread in hand)
Come, let us share His gifts of grace.
All: With this broken bread and in this spilled cup, we are one with You,
One with each other,
One with all who follow You,
One with Your creation.
Leader: Now! Here! We know You! Present!
Now! Hear! Call us to remember:
(As we take the bread, dip in the cup, each says:)
Disciples: Jesus, I remember
(We bear silent witness to each other’s pledge)
Hymn 360 Break Thou the Bread of Life
Leader: Let us pray together:
All: Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain bearer, Life-giver.
Source of all that is and that shall be;
Father, Mother of us all, Loving God in whom is heaven.
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe.
The way of your justice be followed by all peoples.
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings;
Your commonwealth 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 trial too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory and of the power that is love.
Now and forever. Amen
Hymn TBA
Leader: The Earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it;
The world and those who dwell therein. (Ps 24:1)
People: This world is God’s world.
We share this planet,
its skies and its earth,
Its waters and its deserts,
its trees and its grasses,
share it with birds, fish, animals,
creatures of many forms
and with our brothers and sisters.
Leader: For it was God who founded it, land and sea,
God who created it, set its soil beneath our feet (Ps 24:2)
People: “God saw all that was made and behold it was very good.” (Gen 1:30)
Leader: Can we see what we have done to this earth?
People: If we see what we have made of this earth,
hope falters. sadness overwhelms us.
Leader: God, You gave us dominion, we turned it to domination,
You gave us stewardship, we have practiced exploitation.
People: We are polluting, destroying Your Earth.
Leader: Garbage mounts, nuclear waste threatens for centuries
Trees are cut, land erodes, fertility is reduced.
People: We are polluting, poisoning Your waters.
Leader: Plastics trash the oceans, wastes and toxic effluents
defile groundwater, lakes, rivers, and the seas.
People: We are polluting, corrupting Your skies.
Leader: Global temperatures rise, icecaps melt, ozone shield thins
The atmosphere is irrevocably changed
People: We leave our carbon footprints over all.
We tread on the hopes of the future.
Leader: We have not loved the Earth as You love it
We praise You as Creator then despoil Your creation.
People: Hear our confession;
See our contrition.
Leader: We are slow to see the responsibility that is ours,
we avoid the hard questions, we fear the answers.
People: Hear our confession;
See our contrition.
Hymn TBA
Leader: Welcomes all, introduces new persons, opens a period of sharing gratitude, requests for support or prayer. The group responds to each by saying,
Disciples: “We lift _________________ into the outstretched hands of Jesus.”
May conclude with a communal prayer from The Hymnal pp. 718-747.
Reading: Texts from Hebrew and/or Christian Scriptures: We hear the Word.
Witness: The Preached Word.: Exposition, Meditation, Witness, Story.
Leader: As we near the end of gathered worship,
Seeing Your reign more clearly,
Seeking to follow You more nearly,
Loving God and loving neighbor more dearly,
Disciples: Breathe upon us again, Galilean prophet,
As you breathed upon your disciples, (Jn. 20:22)
Leader: Lord Jesus, breathe your Spirit upon us.
Disciples: We breathe in the pain, suffering, sadness of this world.
Leader: We lament as we remember, this world is Your world
Disciples: We breathe out the compassion Your Spirit inspires in us,
Leader: We lament as we remember, You love this world
Disciples: We breathe in the greed, fear and despair polluting all around us.
Leader: We recommit as we remember, You are greater than our fears,
Disciples: We breathe out the hope, the confidence You awaken in us.
Leader: We breathe You, Breath of Peace, Wind of Eternal Love, Breath of God.
(pause in silent reflection, breathe mindfully)
Leader: The love of God, beyond Father, beyond Mother,
Disciples: The grace of Christ, our Leader, our Brother,
Leader: The koinonea of the Spirit, our Drive, our Lure,
All: Be with us as we go, and as we meet again. (2 Cor. 13:14)