Psalm 96: “Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it.”
This September is the Season of Creation, or Creationtide in the annual church calendar running from the first of September to the fourth of October, a time dedicated to God as Creator and Sustainer of all life. It’s a time where churches and congregations are called to pay special attention to the responsibility of humanity for the Earth and for all that lives upon it, and to pray for our world.
As a church, last Sunday, we enjoyed a morning communion at Black Rock beach in Brighton next to the Marina, with breakfast, sea swims and a time of prayer.
We worshipped with the oceans of Earth, all designed by the Wisdom of God. We joined the Psalmists and called the sea to roar with songs of praise!
- Taking a moment to listen to the sea’s sung worship.
In the name of the Spirit of God
who hovered over the primal waters.
In the name of the Word of God
who parted the waters for Earth to appear.
In the name of the Wisdom of God,
who filled the deeps with amazing designs. Amen
Holy! Holy! Holy!
The oceans are filled with God’s presence.
Breakfast was a delight of home made breads, jams, muffins and croissants to share… as we thought about ingredients that were:
Locally produced,
Organically grown,
Animal friendly,
Fairly traded.
Thank you Christ, for the meal we celebrated with you – we pray that through your body and blood we may be healed and become agents of healing for earth and sea. Amen.
Luke 5: 1-11
One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”
“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.
When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.
Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.
