Friday 1st July 2022
The LORD is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Psalm 9:9
You Lord, are the source of all good things:
We praise you.
You call us to tend and care for your creation:
May we strive to do your will.
You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives:
May we live together in peace.
A reading: Psalm 10:1-6, 12
Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor—
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.
For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart,
those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord.
In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, ‘God will not seek it out’;
all their thoughts are, ‘There is no God.’
Their ways prosper at all times;
your judgements are on high, out of their sight;
as for their foes, they scoff at them.
They think in their heart, ‘We shall not be moved;
throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.’
Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
do not forget the oppressed.
Great and awesome God,
keeper of promises
and steadfast in love,
we have sinned and done wrong:
our greed has made paupers of those we should love,
our desire for more has taken away even the little they had,
we have despised and oppressed our brothers and sisters.
Great and awesome God,
keeper of promises
and steadfast in love,
we have acted wickedly and rebelled:
we have carved out our paths
and ignore the ways of your creation
leaving behind us a trail of devastation.
Great and awesome God,
keeper of promises
and steadfast in love,
we have turned aside from your commandments:
we over-grazed the land, over fished the seas,
we have decimated the forests and polluted the waterways,
we have taken more than we can restore.
Great and awesome God,
keeper of promises
and steadfast in love,
we have not listened to your prophets, who speak in your name:
we have ignored the wail of the sea birds,
the gasps of the rhino
and the disappearing drone of the insects.
Great and awesome God,
keeper of promises
and steadfast in love,
shame falls on us:
we let islands drown and ice sheets melt,
we let the tundra burn and rivers dry up,
we let cities flood and fields whither.
Lord our God,
to you belong mercy and forgiveness,
reform and redeem us,
renew a right spirit within us,
that all your creation may be treated
with love and care.
Amen. (Based on Daniel chapter 9:4-10)
The Grace.
The Green Tau 