Introduction to Sunday, 1 October, Harvest Thanksgiving Day

Peter Lor

Introduction to this Sunday

SIGRUN:

Listen to what scripture tells of God’s Creation:

The heavens declare the glory of God;

    the skies proclaim the work of God’s hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

    night after night they reveal knowledge.

They have no speech, they use no words;

    no sound is heard from them.

Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,

    their words to the ends of the world.

PETER:

According to the German Lutheran church calendar, today is Harvest Thanksgiving Day, but we will celebrate it on Sunday 16^th October. Today we will prepare for Harvest Thanksgiving by reflecting on how our well-being, the harvests which we will celebrate, depend on God’s good and beautiful creation. We are co-creatures, and part of all that God has made. Our wellbeing is interwoven with the wellbeing of the Earth.

In the Revised Common Lectionary, a liturgical “Season of Creation” may be observed from 1 September (Creation Day) to 4 October (St Francis Day). This is a worldwide celebration of prayer and action to care for creation. In it, we focus on God the Creator. Today we will adapt some elements of the second Sunday in the Season of Creation, which has as its theme “Food and Environmental Justice.”

We celebrate this service in the name of God the Creator, the Son, our brother, who walked humbly on the earth, and the Holy Spirit, who breathes life throughout the universe.

Prayer for the Care of Creation

(Adapted from a prayer for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, by Sister Gemma Corbett of the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development.)


O Holy Spirit, you hovered over the deep at the dawn of creation.
You fashioned time and space itself in the beginning.
You breathed life into all beings and you continue to dwell and work in all creation to sustain that life.
Be with us now at this critical moment of our history. Open our ears to the cry of the earth, suffering the effects of human exploitation and unbridled consumption.
Open our ears to the cries of our brothers and sisters living in the midst of extreme poverty and hunger.
Give us a deeper awareness that we are part of all that you have made, that we are intimately connected to all that has been, all that is and all that will be.
Grant us a spirit of awe and wonder as we contemplate the marvels of your creation, recognizing and giving thanks for your presence within and around us.
Give us a deep respect for all life and help us to renew our commitment to foster life wherever we are.
Give us the courage to denounce all that disfigures your creation and to commit fully to caring for our earthly home and for all the created beings we share it with. 
Empower your church to bear compelling witness, and endue the world’s decision makers with insight and firm resolve to care for your world. 
May we live lives characterized by compassion and service and may we embody your love in our relationships with one another and with all Creation.
Amen.