3 October 2024 – Chapel – Drew Theo Chapel

Gathering Music

For the Beauty of the Earth
Words: Folliot S. Pierpoint, Music: Conrad Kocher

For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies;

Refrain: Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale, and tree and flower,
sun and moon, and stars of light; (Refrain)
For the joy of ear and eye,
for the heart and mind’s delight,
for the mystic harmony
linking sense to sound and sight; (Refrain)
For the joy of human love,
partner, sibling, parent, child,
friends on earth and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild; (Refrain)
For thyself, best Gift Divine,
to the world so freely given,
for that great, great love of thine,
peace on earth, and joy in heaven: (Refrain)

Introduction to TERRA

Takundanashe Chinogwenya

Elemental Blessing

Written and led by Rae Guthrie

We give thanks for the elements
that have put our whole world into motion.
Alive with the Divine, we gather today to celebrate and honor.

Leader: We give thanks for you, FIRE.
Thank you for your flickering light that kindles hope and warmth
when we feel cold and defeated.
You illuminate the path and bring us together.

All: We give thanks for the flame of FIRE.

We give thanks for you, WATER.
Thank you for making life possible for flowing within our bodies
and the bodies of all beings.
You shape our landscapes and satisfy our thirst.
We thank you for your intimate connection in and through our lives.

All: We give thanks to the flowing WATER.

We give thanks for you, AIR.
Thank you for being ever present,
Providing both breath and breeze.
You allow new life to come hurtling into being.
Sometimes quietly and sometimes through wails and gasps.
You carry new life on the wings of your wind.

All: We give thanks to the blowing AIR.

We give thanks for you EARTH.
Thank you for bolstering our very being and holding us close.
We delight in the bounty that comes from your body, that in turn,
nourishes our own bodies.
We wonder at all that happens within you that sustains life above ground.

All: We give thanks to handfuls of EARTH.

Sacred is our elemental connection to
EARTH, AIR, FIRE, and WATER
Holy are the ways in which your presence makes life on this planet possible, full of wonder and full of awe.

All: AMEN.

Opening Song

“Join the Trees in Praise” – Sister Grove Collective

Refrain
We are a part of the world
Not the center of it
We are a part of the world
Not apart from it Not apart from it

God give humility and creativity
To join the trees in praise
JOIN THE TREES IN PRAISE

Bridge
Our children come after us
They must live with what we leave
Our children come after us
They will share this air we breathe
Refrain

Coda
Jesus of the redwood trees
Jesus of the bumblebees
Heal us, help us heal the earth

Jesus of the mountain high
Jesus of the soaring sky
Heal us, help us heal the earth

Jesus of the ocean deep
Jesus of the coral reef
Heal us, help us heal the earth

Jesus of the mighty gale
Jesus of the humpback whale
(Heal us, help us heal the earth 3x)

We are a part of the world
Not the center of it
We are a part of the world
Not apart from it Not apart from it

God give humility and creativity
To join the trees in praise
JOIN THE TREES IN PRAISE!

Opening Prayer

Albarka Wakili

“in the trees”
In the trees, God, you linger.
With branches like arms outstretched in prayer, they invite, they host, they bear witness, they create.
Generations come and go,
but still they remain with such knowing, such history, such wisdom in their flesh.
The Holy in them, as it often does,
requires a disruption of ordinary ways of perceiving,
or else it goes unnoticed.
Through their testimonies
you teach us about growing in every direction,
about becoming sources of home,
about resilience and resurrection and beauty across stages of life.
You – the trees – both sources of our life-breath.
Make us fierce protectors of these sage companions
and the sacred flesh of all the earth. amen.
-m jade kaiser, enfleshed

Scripture Readings

Genesis 2:4-15 and Romans 8:19

Abi Harper and Maeve Perrin

Genesis 2:4-15

4These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; 6but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— 7then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.

8And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there they put the man whom they had formed. 9Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10A river flows out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides and becomes four branches. 11The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12and the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Cush. 14The name of the third river is Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.

Romans 8:19
19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God.

Leader: The Word of God for the people of God.
All: Thanks be to God.

Choir Anthem

“I Am Your Mother” – Words: Shirley Erena Murray, Music: M Miller

Seminary Choir

Intro the Preacher

Albarka Wakili and Taku Chinogwenya

Sermon

“The Forgotten Assignment”

Oluwatosin “Tosin” Kolawole – co-director of Greenfaith’s
fellowship program

Seed Blessing

Adrian Mendoza

Blessed is this soil, the foundation of all growth. May it be rich and full of life, providing a home for these seeds to flourish. As we care for the soil, may we remember that we are caretakers of this earth, called to protect and nurture it.

Blessed is this water, the source of life for all creation. As water sustains these seeds, may it also remind us to sustain one another and the world around us. May it quench the thirst of all living things and cleanse the earth from harm.

Blessed are these seeds that remind us of the power within even the smallest of beginnings. Each seed carries within it the potential for life, growth, and nourishment, and a reminder that what we sow will one day bear fruit. They also carry the life and story of our ancestors, and their ancestors who nurtured them so we can have them today. May they find fertile soil, may they grow strong roots, and may they bear abundant fruit to nourish and sustain the earth.

Blessed are the seeds that we plant in our hearts and into the world. May they be seeds of hope, justice, compassion, and healing and may be the one to plant them in every community that we belong to. May we, together, sow divine seeds that will grow into a future where the earth and all its inhabitants are treated with dignity and care, love and compassion, respect and acceptance.

Let us bless these seeds as symbols of hope and renewal, the water as symbol of life and sustainability, the soil as a symbol of our interconnectedness, and we bless our hands as we commit ourselves to the works of care, stewardship and justice.

What seeds are you planting on the soil, on your heart, and into the world?

Sacrament of Holy Communion

Beth Quick

Adapted from https://geezmagazine.org/magazine/article/watershed-eucharist

May God be with you
And also with you
Lift up your hearts
We lift them up
Let us give thanks to God our Creator
It is right to give our thanks and praise
It is right in all times and in all places to thank and praise you, Creator of all. We praise you here in the Great Swamp Watershed, where the Passaic River flows and joins the Hackensack River before emptying into the Harbor. Here where city and farm and industry are side by side. We praise you at a time when the body of earth is broken again and again.
We give thanks for our place in the story of salvation. Our ancestors journeyed with you in creation and migration. They depended on the land, were displaced from the land and displaced others from their lands. They knew you in tents and cities, on mountains and by wells, in families and in dreams, and through wilderness prophets who spoke of sycamores and listened to red-tailed hawks.
Together with angels and ancestors, largemouth bass and sturgeon, bear and fox, pokeweed and sycamore we join our voices with all creation in this ancient honor song:
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
We give thanks to you for Jesus, whose first bed was a feed trough. He was baptized in the Jordan, tested in the wilderness, he traveled in fishing boats and told parables of farmers and seeds, labor and wages, yeast and bread.
On the night before he died, Jesus took bread, food of the poor, the work of field and hearth. He gave thanks, broke it and gave it to his friends saying, “Take and eat, this is my body, given for you, do this to remember me.”
Again after supper he took the cup of wine, fruit of the land, gave thanks and gave it to his friends saying, “This is my blood, which is shed for you. When you do this, do it in memory of me.”
Remembering Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and awaiting his coming kingdom, we offer you this bread and this cup.
Creator, send your Spirit on these gifts so that we know Jesus in them and are gathered together with everyone who shares this sacred meal of justice and community.
Fill us with the courage and love of Jesus, that we may strive for justice and peace, respect the dignity of every human being, and safeguard the integrity of creation.
Bring us with our ancestors and all your saints to your commonwealth of sparrow and lily, child and beggar which is both now and yet to come.
All honor and glory are yours, Creator, Christ and Spirit, now and forever. Amen.