7th July 2023
As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. Psalm 42:1
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: Exodus 3:1-7
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, ‘I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings…’
Response
Great and awesome God,
keeper of promises
and steadfast in love,
We lay before you the sorrows of the world:
Soldiers and civilians killed in war,
police and rioters caught in the crossfire of inequality
refugees risking death to seek a safer life,
lives lost in floods and heatwaves.
Lord have mercy:
and hear our prayer.
Great and awesome God,
keeper of promises
and steadfast in love,
We lay before you the sorrows of the world:
Rivers drained by drought,
glaciers and ice caps carved away by heat,
burning tundra and wild fires,
coral reefs bleached by heat stress.
Lord have mercy:
and hear our prayer.
Great and awesome God,
keeper of promises
and steadfast in love,
We lay before you the sorrows of the world:
Livelihoods gone because of rising fuel prices,
harvests lost as rainfall diminishes,
futures destroyed by armed conflict,
lives lost through lack of medical attention.
Lord have mercy:
and hear our prayer.
Great and awesome God,
keeper of promises
and steadfast in love,
We lay before you the sorrows of the world:
Wildlife made homeless by forest clearance,
migrating birds dying from heat exhaustion,
bees and butterflies poisoned by pesticides,
marine ecosystems decimated by over fishing.
Lord have mercy:
and hear our prayer.
Great and awesome God,
keeper of promises
and steadfast in love,
We lay before you the sorrows of the world:
Political intransigence that leaves people powerless,
broken promises that relegate the needs of biodiversity,
half-baked measures that ignore the vulnerable,
taxes that reward the rich and take from the poor.
Lord have mercy:
and hear our prayer.
Holy and loving God,
comfort us when we are overwhelmed,
reassure us when we feel helpless,
inspire us when we lack hope
and empower us when we can make a difference.
Amen.
The Grace
The Green Tau 