Praise to Our Sovereign God

Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.

Psalm 8: 1 NIV®

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honour.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet ….

Psalm 8: 3-6 NIV®

In Genesis 1: 26, God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our own image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’
God created the earth with great care and said that all he had created was very good.
He gave us responsibility to take care of the environment
and all creatures with whom we share this planet.
We have not been good caretakers, we have abused our lands, seas, atmosphere; all Nature.
Individually, in our lives we are part of God’s created order and also have responsibilities.
How do we treat God’s Creation?
Are we using our resources wisely or being wasteful of food, water, electricity, gas and other consumables?
All of us need to take seriously the importance of living responsibly,-paying attention to our lifestyles
and determine how we can do better;
so that we leave a better world for our children, grandchildren and generations to come.

May we walk gently among the animals,
respecting their grazing,
respecting their hunting.

May we walk gently among the forests,
respecting their seasons
of growing and falling.

May we walk gently upon our planet:
its lands and its oceans
their shifting and drifting.

I think of the diverse majesty
of all the creatures on the earth:
some with the power to terrify
and others that only bring mirth.

I think of their shapes and their colours,
their secret and curious ways,
and my heart seems to yearn for a language
that will sing their Great Maker’s praise.

Lois Rock

Let us pray:

Forgive us Lord, for the damage we have done to the earth.
Forgive us that the rivers and seas have been polluted by the waste of our civilisation.
Forgive us that the air has been turned foul by burning fuel and radioactive emissions.
Forgive us that flowers, fauna and wild creatures have become extinct
through our relentless invasion of their natural habitat.
Forgive us that we have often valued profit
more than the quality of the environment in which people have to live.

Amen

From ‘Further Everyday Prayers’

Father, this weekend the UK will be hosting the forty-seventh G7 Summit,
which will be attended by Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, USA and the UK.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the intention will be to unite leading democracies
to help the world fight and then build back better from coronavirus, and create a greener and more prosperous future.

Father God, please give the leaders wisdom, a genuine concern to make firm decisions;
and commit their countries towards building a better world for all.
We are one human race and the virus is no respecter of persons
so developing countries must be provided with vaccines and other means to fight the pandemic;
as none are safe until all are safe.

Lord in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

Amen

Almighty God, help us to remember that children are our future
and all countries need to decide and act on policies
which will reduce considerably the disastrous effects of climate change;
and work towards eco-friendly policies.
Children from twenty countries have formed a choir of thousands
and they will be presenting their message in song to the G7 Summit members.
Lord, please help the leaders to hear the pleas of the children for a better world;
give them the determination to act intentionally by setting up timely, achievable goals.

Amen

Church family, let us thank God for all his Blessings and the gift of another beautiful day.
Let us make an effort to live simply so that others may simply live.

Amen

For the beauty of the earth,
for the beauty of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies,
Lord of all to thee we raise
this our grateful hymn of 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,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our grateful hymn of praise.

For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth, and friends above,
pleasures pure and undefiled,
Lord of all to thee we raise
this our grateful hymn of praise.

Folliott Sandford Pierpoint (1835–1917)

Glynne Gordon-Carter