Sunday Service - May 10, 2020

May 10, 2020 - Gary Johnson & Verna Kocski

Let us worship together as we read!

You can follow along with today’s sermon with Gary & Verna on Unity United Church and Evesham Community Church page:
https://www.facebook.com/Unity-United-Church-and-Evesham-Community-Church-233687243347894/
or Gary Johnson's page:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1654663852

Hello and how are you doing? How are you coping, how are you managing?  We think of you often and hold you in our prayers.

The grace of Christ, the love of God and the Power of the Holy Spirit be with you.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

“Coffee & Connect” Wednesdays @ 10 am.

Unity United Church “Bottle Drive” May 14, 2020 – 6pm.

OPENING PRAYER:

Today we celebrate mother earth and all mothers everywhere. Blessed be the Lord God, Author of all Creation. When you fashioned the world, the morning stars sang together and the host of heaven shouted for joy: When nature burst forth, you gave us wonder and awe. When you created mothers, you set forth infinite love that makes the heart sing.   Open our souls to the wonders of creation. Teach us to manage faithfully the riches of this good earth, to the honor of your glorious name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING:

Psalm 8 - God's Glory and Human Dignity

OPENING HYMN: 

Voices United #271 “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy”

REFLECTION: 

“Behold, the Beauty of Mother Earth”

CLOSING PRAYER:

Let us pray.

We give you thanks and praise, O God of creation, for the grandeur of all that you have made.

For the healing waters of creation, which bring pleasure and health, purity and life.
For the richness of the good Earth that brings forth fruits and flowers, a pleasure to taste and a joy to behold,
For the soaring birds of the air, the crawling creatures on the Earth, the gliding fishes in the seas, for all creatures great and small with whom we share this precious web of life,
For the invigorating sunlight of day, the deepening mystery of night, the wonder of the stars, and the call of the unknown in the universe,

We confess our heedless misuse and dishonoring of the wonders of your hand.
From squandering resources, abusing our companion species, and polluting the habitat we all share.
From the foolishness of imagining ourselves free from the fate of your whole creation.
Sustaining God, help us to look after the earth and each other like a loving mother cradles and nurtures her young.

We thank you for the gift of mother’s, the love and caring that they bring.

We pray for mother’s everywhere; bless them, lead them and guide them. Touch those who are struggling with relationship problems, with hope and healing. May you bring light and love to mother’s who are suffering from addictions and hardship; who are overwhelmed and exhausted. 

We pray for the elderly, the shut-in, the sick and the dying. May they receive good care and nurturing love.

Open our ears and our eyes to calling of your people, the cries for help, for food, for clean water, and spiritual awakening.

We pray for peace and healing for our country, our nation and the world.

Loving God, we remember that Jesus taught us to pray saying, “Our Father…”

 and our mother 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; for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

CLOSING HYMN: 

Voices United #227 “For the Fruit of All Creation”

CLOSING WORDS:

The Lord bless you and keep you:
The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you:
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

CORONA VIRUS LETTER TO HUMANITY:

The earth whispered but you did not hear.
The earth spoke but you did not listen
The earth screamed but you turned her off.

And so I was born...

I was not born to punish you..
I was born to awaken you..

The earth cried out for help...

Massive flooding. But you didn't listen.
Burning fires. But you didn't listen.
Strong hurricanes. But you didn't listen.
Terrifying tornadoes. But you didn't listen.

You still don't listen to the earth when ocean animals are dying due to pollutants in the waters.
Glaciers melting at an alarming rate.
Severe drought.

You didn't listen to how much negativity the earth is receiving.

Non-stop wars.
Non-stop greed.

You just kept going on with your life..
No matter how much hate there was..
No matter how many killings daily.
It was more important to get that latest iPhone than worry about what the earth was trying to tell you.

But now I am here.

And I've made the world stop on its tracks.
I've made YOU finally listen.
I've made you take refuge.
I've made you stop thinking about materialistic things..

Now you are like the earth...
You are only worried about YOUR survival.

How does that feel?

I give you fever.. as the fires burn on earth.
I give you respiratory issues.. as pollution fills the earth’s air.
I give you weakness.. as the earth weakens every day.

I took away your comforts..
Your outings.
The things you would use to forget about the planet and its pain.

And I made the world stop...

And now...
China has better air quality.. Skies are clear blue because factories are not spewing pollution into the earth's air.
The water in Venice is clean and dolphins are being seen. Because the gondolas that pollute the water are not being used.

YOU are having to take time to reflect on what is important in your life.

Again I am not here to punish you.. I am here to Awaken you...

When all this is over and I am gone... Please remember these moments..

Listen to the earth.
Listen to your soul.
Stop polluting the earth.
Stop fighting among each other.
Stop caring about materialistic things.
And start loving your neighbours.
Start caring about the earth and all its creatures.
Start believing in a Creator.

Because next time I may come back even stronger....

Signed,
Corona virus