Call to Worship Chant 742 Gathered here in

Call to Worship

Chant #742 Gathered here in the mystery of this hour Gathered here in one strong body Gathered here in the struggle and the power Spirit draw near!

Expanding our Attention 360

Hymn #557 Pray for the Wilderness.

Prayer Creator God, You who breathed your breath into us, inspire us to be who you have created us to be so that we might offer our best selves to benefit a world that so desperately needs support, hope, life and joy. We praise you for nudging us into the future you have created for each one of us. Amen.

Befriending the Shadowy Places Listening Letting Go and Holding with Love

Breathe in the pain Breathe on out the love May my heart be the place Where this world is changed forever.

The Lord’s Prayer Translated by Mark Berry, Pastor of Safespace Church in UK O Breathing Life, your Name shines everywhere! Release a space to plant your Presence here. Imagine your possibilities now. Embody your desire in every light and form. Grow through us this moment’s bread and wisdom. Untie the knots of failure binding us, as we release the strands we hold of others’ faults. Help us not forget our Source, yet free us from not being in the Present. From you arises every Vision, Power and Song from gathering to gathering. Amen.

ISAIAH 11: 1 -9 SONG OF SOLOMON 2: 8 -13

The Faith We Need July 15, 2018 Rev. David Randall-Bodman

Earth-Honoring Faith Quick Review I �The creatures we are: �Born to belonging �The zoo in you �Big dreaming bio-peds �Born to meaning �Born to religion �Born to morality

Earth-Honoring Faith Quick Review II �The Earth We Have � We don’t see the world as it is; we see it as we are. � The planet is not aging gracefully. � The planet is small and natural systems do not grow. � The god of the world’s secular religion since the Industrial Revolution has been material economic growth. � New technologies in energy, transportation, construction and agriculture are vital! But, blind trust is naïve. � First works – changes in human desires and habits required!

The importance of “agency” Agency = what “I” can do to bring about desired change

Earth-Honoring Faith: Christian? Jesus’ primary concern was with the human community Reconciliation: God - human + human - human The work of reconciliation was HUGE then and still IS! Ancient World vis-à-vis 21 st Century World �Analytical Tools �Size and Scope

J. C. ’s mission: abundant life �John 10: 10 – I have come that you might have life…and have it abundantly! �Matthew 25: 40 - ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me. ’ �John 14: 26 - the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.

“Abundance” for all is threatened The care of the earth is the #1 social justice and moral issue facing the world today! Without a healthy planet, all the other work of the Gospel will be in vain…. We’ll all be dead!

The Faith We Seek Song of Songs: My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

Deitrich Bonhoeffer: 1906 -1945 “It is only through the depths of the earth that the window of eternity opens itself up to us… The earth remains our mother as God remains our father and only those who remain true to the mother are placed by her into the father’s arms. Earth and its distress– that is the Christian’s Song of Songs”

How are we to foster this faith? Savor… Save…

Confess Brains Too Small? � We struggle to comprehend the aggregate of our actions (a billion pistons) Bias? � “We are born with refined skills for canonizing bias, and we develop accordingly, nurturing exclusive rather than inclusive interests that we justify to ourselves in convincing fashion. ” Stewardship? � Does our understanding of care of the earth follow the master/slave narrative? � The earth is the Lord and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24: 1)

Celebrate! �Awe and trust in a transcendent Presence that defies containment, definition or comprehension! �Experience God! �Be open to new truth and revision of the old truth! �Nature and the world are not God! �Sacred and holy and beyond what humans could create �Of God rather than being God �Earth-honoring faith lives by grace! Life is a gift and a sacred trust. �Life exists where giving exceeds taking. �Life follows some “mysterious law of surplus”!

Imagine: what if? What if we began to confront the secular god of material well being that is measured by GNP with a measure of happiness? Gross National Happiness (GNH) What if we embraced spiritual progress instead of material progress? �Emphasizing sharing and sacrifice? What if we embraced our moral interdependence? �“That they all may be one. ”

Isaiah 11 The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.

INVITATION TO THE OFFERING

Thankful Words and Music by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sage and Richard Page Mark Clift, Soloist Somedays we forget To look around us Somedays we can't see The joy that surrounds us So caught up inside ourselves We take when we should give.

So for tonight we pray for What we know can be. And on this day we hope for What we still can't see. It's up to us to be the change And even though we all can still do more There's so much to be thankful for. Look beyond ourselves There's so much sorrow It's way too late to say I'll cry tomorrow Each of us must find our truth It's so long overdue.

So for tonight we pray for What we know can be And every day we hope for What we still can't see It's up to us to be the change And even though we all can still do more There's so much to be thankful for. Even with our differences There is a place we're all connected Each of us can find each other's light.

So for tonight we pray for What we know can be And on this day we hope for What we still can't see It's up to us to be the change And even though this world needs so much more There's so much to be thankful for.

Doxology And God will raise you up on eagle’s wings Bear you on the breath of dawn Make you to shine like the sun And hold you in the palm of God’s hand.

Prayer of Dedication

Sing! # 205 Dance Into Joy So dance into joy with hands upraised. Greet each new day as the holiest of days, And to your God sing great songs of praise. To your God sing praise!

Verse 1 Share from your path some strand of light. Bring all the shades both dark and light. Weaving together makes us all one. Stories of hope have just begun.

Refrain So dance into joy with hands upraised. Greet each new day as the holiest of days, And to your God sing great songs of praise. To your God sing praise!

Verse 2 Reds from your passion and from your fear. Rainbows shine through every tear. Tender green shoots that bloom every spring, Growing with love with each song we bring.

Refrain So dance into joy with hands upraised. Greet each new day as the holiest of days, And to your God sing great songs of praise. To your God sing praise!

Verse 3 Through the deep blues now are revealed Old hidden wounds soon to be healed. On bold purples of dawn serene Float the mysteries yet unseen

Refrain So dance into joy with hands upraised. Greet each new day as the holiest of days, And to your God sing great songs of praise. To your God sing praise!

Verse 4 Weave now each one this web of light Surrounding our world both day and night. With healing love and inner peace Joining together, joy will increase.

Refrain So dance into joy with hands upraised. Greet each new day as the holiest of days, And to your God sing great songs of praise. To your God sing praise!

Staying Connected

Blessing and Benedictio n

Postlude Come, Christians Join to Sing Arr. Benjamin Carr