Twenty-firstSunday after Pentecost| October 13, 2024 10:30 AM

Candler Park pavilion #2| Facebook Live

Order of Worship

St Francis Day

Blessing of the Animals

Prelude: “Bells”

smallchurchmusic.com/MP3-2010/MP3-Bells-7-PipeSk-128-CAM.mp3

We worship with the creatures we love

BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS

[4th October: feast day of St Francis; World Animal Day]

‘The moral progress of a nation and its greatness should be judged

by the way it treats its animals.’ ( Gandhi)

Call to Worship: (Job 12: 7, 8b, 10a)

ALL: ‘But ask the animals, and they will teach you;

the birds of the air, and they will tell you;

…and the fish of the sea will declare to you.

In God’s hand is the life of every living thing…’

Amen

Reading to Open Service:

‘God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them. And 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. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make humankind”. And God blessed them. God saw everything that God had made, and indeed, it was very good.’ (from Genesis 1)

Opening Prayer

Leader: Come, let us gather.

Response: Let us join the gathering: we bring fins and feathers.

Leader: Come, all is ready for all of creation.

Response: Let us join the gathering: we bring scales and fur.

Leader: Come let us praise our Creator.

Response: We are loved: we bring skin.

Leader: Come, with fins, feathers, scales, fur and skin.

Response: As we gather, we are mindful that, as part of God’s creation, we wish the best for one another. Within this faith community we express this in prayer, and through blessing.

Let us pass God’s blessing amongst one another:

Peace be with you!

Response: And also with you.

Let us sing together

Hymn: “All Creatures of our God and King”

Prayers of Adoration, Thanksgiving and Confession

Creator God, You have made a beautiful world filled with wonder and surprises!

We adore you.

Creator God who has gifted us with the blessing of animals, those in the wild, those on farms, those in our own homes

We adore you.

Creator God, you brought into being that which we could not imagine for ourselves, life we cannot see without the aid of microscopes, animals we can only see in pictures from remote regions of this planet earth,

We adore you.

We thank you for abundant life; for the birds we hear in the morning, for the drone of the bees when we are outside, for the vast tapestry of life which is interwoven,

We give you thanks.

We thank you for the gift of our own animal companions. For the joy they bring us, For the unconditional love and forgiveness which teaches us about you; For the confidant, the listener, the stress-releaser, For the benefits they are to our health-and to our Spirit.

We give you thanks.

And yet, we know that we have not always been faithful caretakers of our animals; Forgive us when we have dirtied their environment, erased places of shelter, polluted the waters, killed off their food supplies or neglected to feed or tend animals in our own communities. Forgive us when we have neglected our own animal companions; when we have said we are too busy to play with them, when we have shooed them away; when we have made excuses, saying we are too tired…too busy…more important engagements have come up…so that we do not walk them, cuddle them, spend time with them.

Forgive us.

Forgive us when we have not loved them as they have loved us.

Forgive us when we have not considered the wider picture; when we have neglected the animals in the wild, the cruelty inflicted in the name of ‘sport’, or in the name of food production. Forgive us when we have focused only on our ‘favourites’ and neglected the care of the supposedly less beautiful, those who hold a lower public profile. Each year more animals are becoming extinct, or are added to the endangered species list: forgive us, for allowing beauty to be forever destroyed.

Forgive us when we neglect to see all animals as part of your creation, forgive us when we neglect to acknowledge that your love beats in all hearts, and that you give breath to all creation

Leader: God is love. Through Christ our sins are forgiven Take hold of this forgiveness, And live your life, knowing that we are forgiven, and deeply loved. Know that the Holy Spirit will enable us to live fully, richly, and deeply. Amen

Scripture Psalm 104: 24-32

Scripture:  Matthew 6:25-26

Reflection before the Sermon

‘Apprehend God in all things, for God is in all things. Every single creature is full of God, and is a book about God. Every creature is a word of God. If I spent enough time with the tiniest creature even a caterpillar-I would never have to prepare a sermon so full of God is every creature’ (Meister Eckhart, a 13th century Christian mystic)

Sermon/Reflection: “The Lessons of St. Francis and Our Animal Companions”  Pastor Paul

Holy Communion

Prayer of Intercession

Leader: Loving God,

We bring to you the prayers of the people. Today we offer up prayers for those involved in animal welfare and conservation work: for the RSPCA, for Earth Watch, World Wildlife Fund, Animals Asia, our local animal shelters [adapt to suit community and community focus/interest] We pray for those who are working at policy and project levels, and for those tending to the needs of animals. We pray for farmers-that the animals in their care are treated with dignity and respect. We pray for the strays on our streets; help us not to turn away, but to bring them to a place of safety, where they can be fed, given medical treatment, and the chance to find a loving home. Help us to be generous: with money, time, and the offer of hospitality within our homes. We pray for vets and vet practices: enable your wisdom and compassion to be evident wherever there are sick or dying animals. Enable the animals to sense your presence. Comfort grieving owners; allow the many warm memories to break the frost of grief.

The Lord’s Prayer

Blessing of the animals

Leader: ‘ [insert name], you were created by God, and you are loved by God. May you and your human family experience joy and companionship together, and continue to be a blessing to each other. In the name of the Creator, the Christ and Holy Spirit, Amen.’

[if a person has brought a photograph of the animal (such as a cat) rather than the animal itself, then bless the owner, and have them pass on this blessing when they return home]

Remembrance of those who have died

Leader: We remember our animal companions who are no longer with us physically. We give thanks for the gifts they gave us and the variety of ways they enriched and blessed our lives. We are confident that our Creator continues to care for them. Amen

Hymn: The Churches One Foundation’

smallchurchmusic.com/2017/MP3/MP3-TheChurchesOne-Aurelia-BMidi-128-CAM.mp3

Dismissal/Blessing

[prayed together]:

God, our Creator, help us to love all creatures as kin, all animals as partners on Earth, all birds as messengers of praise, all minute beings as expressions of your mysterious design, and all frogs as voices of hope. Amen

Go out into the world, love one another. Cherish your animal family, protest against abuse and neglect of our animals; exercise stewardship of ALL creation, so that ALL can experience God’s Shalom. Go out into the world, my horizontal and vertical brothers and sisters in Christ. In the name of the Creator, the Christ and the Holy Spirit, Amen

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Introduction

Animals refer to all the living creatures people bring to worship, whether they be animals, such as cats and dogs, or birds, reptiles and fish, domesticated or wild. Where people are not able to bring an animal, they may wish to bring a picture of an animal they love or an endangered species in the wild.

Setting

This liturgy is best performed in a park, a public garden or the bush where it is lush and inviting. Space is needed between many of the animals to provide a comfortable context. All animals must be on a lead or in a secure pen for the safety of other animals.

Special Focus

A special focus for this service is a public expression of the bond we have with animals. Through the service we can make them an integral part of our worship life and relationships.

Themes

In our call to worship we join with our animals and all animals to worship our Creator. In the psalm we call on all creatures to praise God. In our confession to recall how we may have hurt or neglected animals. In the readings we discover how animals are part of the family of God is Eden, how animals are created with greater glory than that of Solomon and how they will join in praise around the throne of the Lamb.

The Blessing

It is important to note that in the Scriptures the act of blessing means ‘the imparting of power or life.’ The Pastor performing the blessing is mediating that power from God or Christ to the person or animal involved. To bless is more than an expression of goodwill or caring. To bless is impart God’s power in person! The blessing of each animal, by name, means that health, healing and life are being mediated from God for the benefit of the animal in its relationship with its human partners. Shalom is one Hebrew expression of blessing.

Notes This liturgy has been prepared by the Rev. Barbara Allen, Chaplain of Lort Smith Animal Hospital.

Let us remember some of the people involved in animal welfare within the Christian tradition:

• St Martin de Porres (he set up the first animal shelter as a result of seeing strays on the street, and remembering what it was like for him when he lived on the street)

• John Wesley (he cared deeply for animals, even leaning towards the premise that animals have souls. He was a vegetarian).

• The clergyman, Rev Arthur Broome, who, with help from others, including the evangelical William Wilberforce, formed the RSPCA.

• Anna Sewell, a Quaker, wrote Black Beauty in order to expose the cruel conditions of the working horses in London. The success of her book heralded more humane equipment for horses.

Rev Barbara Allen Chaplain, Lort Smith Animal Hospital August 2007