At St. John's we have an outdoor family liturgy for the blessing of the animalsThis service include a liturgy of vows to be good stewardship of creation of the environment and our animal friends.
Sunday School Themes:
Ten Commandments
Stewardship of the creation as seen in the Gospel parable
The 10 Commandments are basic stewardship principles
How do we treat God, our families, our neighbors and the things which God has given to us to use and enjoy.
The parable of Jesus is about people who began to believe that the appearance of "possession means actual possession."
The teaching would be this: How do we live believing that all things belong to God even though we don't see God? We do this by keeping the commandments which are stewardship rules.
Acknowledging God in worship is how we honor God's ownership of the world but we also accept this world as a gift of God and one which we must take care of.
Since it is close to the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, you can also tell the story of his life and how he believed that every living thing was his brother and sister. He acknowledged the ownership of the world by God and so he was a very good steward of God's creation.
On this day, you might invite the community to plant a tree.
You might have the community members bring dog food and cat food to share with the local rescue shelters.
Outdoor Liturgy for the Blessing of Animals including vows of care for animals and the environment
St. John the Divine Episcopal Church17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill,
CA 95037Family Service with Holy
Eucharist
Blessing of the
Animals October 5, 2014: The Seventeenth
Sunday After Pentecost
Gathering Songs:
Morning Has Broken, If I Were a Butterfly, Make Me a
Channel of Your Peace, All Things Bright and Beautiful
Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.People: And blessed be God’s Kingdom now and
forever. Amen.
Liturgist: Oh God,
Our hearts are open to you.And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship
you.Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Song: Morning Has Broken (Blue Hymnal # 8)
1. Morning has broken like the first morning;
blackbird has spoken like the first bird.
Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning! Praise for them springing fresh from the
word.
2. Sweet the rain’s new fall sunlit from
heaven, like the first dewfall on the first grass. Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,
sprung in completeness where his feet pass.
3. Mine is the sunlight! Mine is the morning born of the one light Eden saw play! Praise with elation, praise every morning,
God’s re-creation of the new day!
Liturgist: The
Lord be with you.People: And
also with you.
Liturgist: Let us prayAlmighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear
than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon
us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our
conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not
worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our
Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.
First Litany
of Praise: Chant: Alleluia
O God, you are Great!
AlleluiaO God, you have made us! AlleluiaO God, you have made yourself known to us! AlleluiaO God, you have provided us with us a Savior! AlleluiaO God, you have given us a Christian family! AlleluiaO God, you have forgiven our sins! AlleluiaO God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead! Alleluia
Liturgist: A reading from the Book of Exodus
Then God
spoke all these words: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land
of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before
me. You shall not make for yourself an
idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on
the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not make wrongful use of the name
of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his
name. Remember the sabbath day, and keep
it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. Honor your father and your mother, so that
your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
The Word of the Lord
People:
Thanks be to God
Let us read together from
Psalm 8
You give him mastery over the works of your hands; *you put
all things under his feet:
All sheep and oxen, * even the wild beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, * and whatsoever
walks in the paths of the sea.
Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)
Litanist: For our animal friends and pets, past and present. Thanks be to God!
For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks
be to God!
For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!
For the talents and gifts that you have given to us.
Thanks be to God!For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!
For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be
to God!
For work and for play. Thanks be to God!
For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!
For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to
God!
For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of
our friends and parish family. Thanks be to
God!
Liturgist: The
Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
People: Glory
to you, Lord Christ.
Jesus said,
"Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,
put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he
leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had
come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants
seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he
sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way.
Finally he sent his son to them, saying, `They will respect my son.' But when
the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, `This is the heir; come, let
us kill him and get his inheritance.' So they seized him, threw him out of the
vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will
he do to those tenants?" They said to him, "He will put those
wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will
give him the produce at the harvest time."
Liturgist: The Gospel of the Lord.People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.
Lesson – Fr. Cooke:
Collect for the Feast of St. FrancisMost high,
omnipotent, good Lord, grant your people grace to renounce gladly the vanities
of this world; that, following the way of blessed Francis, we may for love of
you delight in your whole creation with perfect joy; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and
ever. Amen.
Vow to Creation
Celebrant: Will you cherish the beauty of the Good Earth that God has entrusted to
you, and will you do all in your power to preserve the beauty for own age and
for the people of the future?Response: I will
with God’s help.
Lord Jesus
Christ, you are the Word of God that issued from God’s mouth and created all
things and God’s Spirit moved over the deep and made creation happen; you have
called creation good, and we celebrate the goodness of creation which you have
given to us to enjoy and tend; Bless the Good Earth and its fruits, and us as
we commit ourselves to stewardship, in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and
the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Vow to our Animal friends
Celebrant: Will you promise to love, enjoy, and care for
all God’s creatures, and especially for the pet whom you present for a
blessing?Response: I will,
with God’s help.
Blessing:Lord Jesus
Christ, your friends, have brought to you these special friends: Bless we pray these delightful creatures, and
grant that those who tend to their care will take delight in all of God’s
creation, in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Youth Liturgist: The
Peace of the Lord be with you always.People: And also with you.
Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving
of an offering
Offertory
Song: If I were a Butterfly (Christian
Children’s Songbook, # 9)
1. If
I were a butterfly, I’d thank you Lord for giving me wings. And if I were a robin in a tree, I’d thank
you Lord, that I could sing. And if I
were a fish in the sea, I’d wiggle my tail and I’d giggle with glee, but I just
thank you Father for making me ‘me.’
Chorus: For
you gave ma a heart and you gave me a smile.
You gave Jesus and you made me your child. And I just thank you, Father for making me,
‘me.’
2. If
I were an elephant, I’d thank you, Lord, by raising my trunk. And if I were a kangaroo, you know I’d hop
right up to you. And if I were an
octopus, I’d thank you Lord, for my find looks, but I just thank you Father,
for making me, ‘me.’ Chorus
3. If
I were a wiggly worm, I’d thank you, Lord that I could squirm. And If I were a Billy goat, I’d thank you,
Lord for my strong throat. And if I were
a fuzzy-wuzzy bear, I’d thank you, Lord, for my fuzzy-wuzzy hair, but I just
thank you, Father, for making me ‘me.’ Chorus
DoxologyPraise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all
creatures here below.Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost.
Prologue to the
EucharistJesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong
the kingdom of God.”All become members of a family by birth or adoption.Baptism is a celebration of birth into the family of God.A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.The Holy Eucharist is the special
meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of
Christ.
The Lord be with youAnd also with you.
Lift up your heartsWe lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to God.It is right to give God
thanks and praise.
It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made
us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world
that we see and don’t see, we Forever sing this
hymn of praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God
of Power and Might. Heav’n and earth are
full of your glory. Hosanna in the
highest. Blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord. Hosanna in the
highest. Hosanna in the Highest.
(Children may gather around the altar)The Celebrant now praises God for the salvation of the
world through Jesus Christ our Lord.Our grateful praise we offer to you God,
our Creator;You have made us in your imageAnd you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to
live by faith:Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob
and Rachael.And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born
of Mary, nurtured by JosephAnd he called us to be sons and daughters of God.Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this
Holy Meal so that when we eat
the bread and drink
the wine, we can know that the Presence
of Christ is as near to us as
this food and
drink that becomes a part of us.
And so, Father, we bring you
these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to
be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so
that we may love God and our neighbor.
On the night when Jesus was
betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his
friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do
this for the remembrance of me."
After supper, Jesus took
the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "Drink this, all of you. This is
my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the
forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of
me."
Father, we now celebrate
the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are
telling the entire world about the life, death, resurrection of Christ and that
his presence will be with us in our
future.
Let this holy meal keep
us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son
Jesus Christ. May we forever live with
praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.
By Christ, and with
Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.
And now as our Savior Christ has
taught us, we now sing, (Children may rejoin their parents and take up their
instruments)
Our Father (Sung): (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s
Prayer)
Our Father who art in
heaven: Hallowed be thy name.Thy Kingdom come, Thy
Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.
Done on earth as it is
in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.Give us this day our
daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.
And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.
Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.But deliver us from evil: Hallowed by thy name.
Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy
name.Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.
Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.
Breaking of the Bread
Celebrant: Alleluia!
Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
People: Therefore
let us keep the feast. Alleluia!
Word of Administration.
Communion Hymn: Prayer of St. Francis
1.
Make me a channel of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring your
love. Where there is injury, your
pardon, Lord, And where there’s doubt, true faith in you.
Refrain:
Oh, Master, grant I may never seek so much to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love with all my soul.
2.
Make me a channel of your peace. Where there’s despair in life, let me bring
hope. Where there is darkness only
light, and where there’s sadness ever joy.
Refrain
3.
Make me a channel of your peace. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, in
giving to all men that we receive and in dying that we’re born to eternal
life. Refrain
Post-Communion Prayer
Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and
the wine.And His Presence has been known to us.We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God
and brothers and sisters in
Christ.Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that
the blessing in the bread and wine
spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. Amen.
Closing Song: All Things Bright
& Beautiful (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 12)
Refrain: All things bright & beautiful, all
creatures great & small, all things wise & wonderful, the Lord God made
them all.
1. Each
little flower that opens, each little bird that sings, he made their glowing
colors, he made their tiny wings. Refrain
2. The
purple-headed mountain, the river running by, the sunset, and the morning that
brightens up the sky. Refrain
3.
He gave us eyes to see them, and lips that
we might tell how great is God Almighty, who has made all things well. Refrain
Dismissal:
Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.
People: Thanks be to God!
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