Reflective Prayer
Creation Echoes
We believe in God,
Who created all things.
We believe in Jesus,
Through whom all things were created.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
Who works continually to restore creation.
Amen.
PRAYER OF PREPARATION[2]
God of peace, keep our minds
on what is true and commands respect,
on what is true and commands respect,
what is just, pure and kind,
whatever is excellent and commendable.
Let these fill our hearts
and guide our actions in Jesus’ name.
KYRIE
Kyrie eleison,
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
ABSOLUTION AND CONFESSION[3]
God says, ‘Behold I am making all things new.’
Know in your hearts that your sins are forgiven.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
In response to such grace let us confess our sins:
Creator God, your world is full of beauty and diversity,
Through actions of violence and attitudes of ignorance
we have made it ugly and demanded conformity:
Forgive us for not treading gently on sacred ground.
Creator God, all we have is born of love,
Through actions of hate and attitudes of prejudice
we have learned to see our neighbours as dangerous and evil:
Forgive us for not treading gently on sacred ground.
Creator God, you have given us more than we can ever need,
Through actions of greed and attitudes of carelessness
we have deprived our neighbours of your good gifts:
Forgive us for not treading gently on sacred ground.
Amen
PRAYER OF ADORATION[4]
Creator God,
Maker of all that is, we offer you our praise:Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
You brought light out of darkness,
Day for our fulfilment and night for our rest:
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
You raised the mountains, laid low the plains,
Filled the seas with life and sprinkled the sky with stars:
Filled the seas with life and sprinkled the sky with stars:
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
You formed people; children, women and men,
Diverse, complex, creative and beautiful:
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
You did not abandon us to chaos,
but remain intimately involved in our story:
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
You revealed your love in the life of your Son,
Your Word made flesh, living among us:
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
You move within our lives as Holy Spirit,
Opening our eyes to your grace and truth.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Accept our praise in Christ’s name. Amen
CREATION ECHOES Genesis 1.1-5 & John 1.1-5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.
He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.
Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good;
What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
SILENCE
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION[5]
Giver of life and light,
We pray for places in creation where your light struggles to break through.
For places of poverty, degradation and despair:
For children who go hungry,
For women trafficked into sexual slavery,
For men taking their own lives because life seems hopeless.
Help us to remember that the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness will not overcome it.
Giver of life and light,
We pray for places in creation where your light struggles to break through.
For places of suffering, sadness and fear:
For those who face ill health,
For those who live with deep grief,
For those whose future seems bleak and uncertain.
Help us to remember that the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness will not overcome it.
Giver of life and light,
We pray for places in creation where your light struggles to break through.
For places of power, corruption and oppression:
That the leaders of nations will have wisdom and mercy,
That massive money making companies will be fair to their workers,
That those who are not free to live, love or believe in their own way will know peace.
Help us to remember that the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness will not overcome it.
Giver of life and light,
We pray for places in creation where your light struggles to break through.
We remember those places and people known to us who need your light and love.
Silence
Help us to remember that the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness will not overcome it.
In the name of God, Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, we pray.
Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
Abba, hallowed be your name;
Your kingdom come.
The bread of tomorrow, give us today.
Forgive us our debts, as we, here and now, forgive our debtors.
Do not let us succumb to temptation.
Amen.
FOR REFLECTION
THE WEAVER, THE WORD AND WISDOM[6]
In the beginning, the Weaver, The Word and Wisdom
moving in relationship together,
caught a vision of potential,
a glimpse of possibility, and,
with tentative steps, creation’s dance began.
Creation was shot through with the generosity of the Weaver’s grace.
The rhythm of life’s passion played loudly
The rhythm of life’s passion played loudly
as a constant beat at the heart of myriad universes.
Against this universal backdrop, The Word moved
and became free, small and intimate.
In the cry of a child, the song of a woman
and the shout of a dying man
the Word’s voice added melody to the Weaver’s song.
In the midst of confusion, absence and loss,
Wisdom found her way.
She had danced with the Weaver’s threads, throughout all time,
weaving a maypole dance of energetic passion.
She added harmony to the beat and the melody
Wisdom found her way.
She had danced with the Weaver’s threads, throughout all time,
weaving a maypole dance of energetic passion.
She added harmony to the beat and the melody
and composed a symphony of colour.
If creation for a single moment fails to hear the Weaver’s rhythm,
or misses the Word’s intimate melody,
then Wisdom will dance through the silence
until all that is joins in love’s rejoicing.
until all that is joins in love’s rejoicing.
May the light of the Creator shine upon you
May the Word of Christ call to you
May the Spirit of God inspire you.
Amen
Image: Melting Ice Caps - detail, From the series ‘Acts of Uncreation’.
In fused glass Artist Michaela Youngson.
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