Hymn: All things bright and beautiful,  Cecil Frances Alexander

(Refrain sung before each verse)

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings.

Refrain
The purple headed mountains,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky.

Refrain
The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them every one.

Refrain
The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water,
To gather every day.

Refrain
He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

Bible Reading: from the book Genesis  1:24-31.

24 God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
27 So God created humankinde in his image,
in the image of God he created them;male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” 29 God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was
so. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Psalm 104, verses 24—35   God the Creator and Provider

24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
27 These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;
28 when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
30 When you send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works—
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord!

Hymn: “God who stretched the spangled heavens”
Catherine Bonnell Arnott  (Words copyright Mrs. Robert Arnott)
Tune Austria, Franz Joseph Haydn

1 God, who stretched the spangled heavens
Infinite in time and place,
Flung the suns in burning radiance
Through the silent fields of space:
We, Your children in Your likeness,
Share inventive powers with You;
Great Creator, still creating,
Show us what we yet may do.

2 We have ventured worlds undreamed of
Since the childhood of our race;
Known the ecstasy of winging
Through untraveled realms of space;
Probed the secrets of the atom,
Yielding unimagined power,
Facing us with life's destruction
Or our most triumphant hour.

3 As each far horizon beckons,
May it challenge us anew:
Children of creative purpose,
Serving others, honouring You.
May our dreams prove rich with promise,
Each endeavour well begun;
Great Creator, give us guidance
Till our goals and Yours are one.

 Bible Reading:    The Hymn to the Word (John 1: 1-5, 10-14, & 16)
In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God; he was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made  that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of all men.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.
He was in the world, and the world was made through him yet the world knew him not. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not.
But to all who received him, who believed on his name, he has given power to 
become children of God; who were born, not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. And from his fullness have we all received grace upon grace.

This is the good news that Jesus brings to the world!                   
All:       Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

Address:

Prayers:
Lord have mercy.
All:      Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy.

God, Give us the grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, And the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.                                                                                                                          Reinhold Niebuhr

Let us pray:     for responsible and equitable use of the resources and fruits of the Earth.
                      for the hungry, homeless and refugees
                     for all people,  the opportunity to live and work in peace

Jesus said “pray then like this”
All:      “Our Father, who art in heaven,
            hallowed be thy name,
            thy kingdom come,
            thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
            Give us this day our daily bread.
            And forgive us our trespasses,
            as we forgive those who trespass against us.
            And lead us not into temptation,
            but deliver us from evil.”                                    Matthew 6:9-13

            For thine is the Kingdom the power and the Glory
            For ever and ever Amen
           

Hymn: For the beauty of the earth,  Folliott Sandford Pierpoint.

1.            For the beauty of the earth,

               for the glory of the skies,

               for the love which from our birth

               over and around us lies;

               Lord of all, to thee we raise

               this our hymn of grateful praise.

2.            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 hymn of grateful praise.

3.            For the joy of ear and eye,

               for the heart and mind's delight,

               for the mystic harmony,

               linking sense to sound and sight;

               Lord of all, to thee we raise

               this our hymn of grateful praise.

4.            For the joy of human love,

               brother, sister, parent, child,

               friends on earth and friends above,

               for all gentle thoughts and mild;

               Lord of all, to thee we raise

               this our hymn of grateful praise.

5.            For thy church, that evermore

               lifteth holy hands above,

               offering up on every shore

               her pure sacrifice of love;

               Lord of all, to thee we raise

               this our hymn of grateful praise.

6.            For each perfect gift Divine,

               to the world so freely given,

               for that steadfast love of thine,

               peace on earth, and joy in heaven: 

               Lord of all, to thee we raise

               this our hymn of grateful praise.

Benediction:

Go into the world in peace; be of good courage; hold fast that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the afflicted; honour all people; love and serve the Lord rejoicing in power of the Holy Spirit.  

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you and clothe you in peace.   Amen.
Numbers 6:24-26

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