A service for Sunday 5 September 2021 3.00 pm 1 Welcome to St Edmundsbury Cathedral This Climate Sunday in the Cathedral, there will be a representation of the earth which may not be familiar. Created in part by visitors and children over the summer, this is a world groaning in pain, tortured by our lack of care and crying out for our help. Climate emergency is real, and of great concern, but Christians believe that in God, there is hope. During our climate Sunday service, we will be acknowledging what we as human beings have done to God's creation. Inviting people to make personal pledges to God to change the way we live our lives positively. To pray and encourage us to act more intentionally to tread lightly on God's creation and rejoice in God's power to renew the earth. The music at today’s service will be led by Cantus Firmus Choir and Musicians Director: Richard Hubbard Organ: Andrew Gosden For reasons of Safeguarding and Data Protection, members of the public are not permitted to take photographs or video recordings during services and events. We wish to inform you that photographs, video or livestream footage in which you may appear could be used by the Cathedral at any time and appear in the public domain including social media. Please note that this afternoon’s service will be livestreamed on Facebook. If you do not want your child to appear in this please inform a warden or verger. No collections are presently taken during our services. However, if you would like to make a donation please make your gift using the contactless giving box or by placing your donation into the giving box as you leave after the service. If you are a UK taxpayer, consider using a Gift Aid envelope (remembering to fill in your details and sign it) or making a written declaration allowing the Chancellor to add 25% to your gift. In this way a gift of £5.00 becomes £6.25 at no extra cost to you. Our Parish Giving scheme allows you to give regularly by Direct Debit - do speak with one of the wardens or stewards or contact the Cathedral office for further information. Thank you. Service order extracts from Common Worship Services, © The Central Board of Finance of The Church of England. Music reproduced with permission - CCL Licence No 317297 2 Order of Service Music during procession: Spiegel im Spiegel Arvo Pärt, b. 1935 The Dean gives The Welcome Everyone stands for The Preparation Leader In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. The Easter candle is lit. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. The Greeting The light and peace of Jesus Christ be with you All and also with you. The glory of the Lord has risen upon us. All Let us rejoice and sing God’s praise for ever. The Opening Prayer Creator God, send your Holy Spirit to renew this living world, that the whole creation in its groaning and striving may know your loving purpose and come to reflect your glory in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 3 Everyone remains standing to sing All the wonder that surrounds us Women All the wonder that surrounds us springs from God’s care: all that marvels or confounds us, raw, rich or rare; touch and texture, sight and voices, nature’s countless forms and choices, all for which the heart rejoices springs from God’s care. Men Every creature, every human lives by God’s grace: every family, man and woman, culture and race; those whom fortune seems to favour, those exploited for their labour, those who need to know a neighbour live by God’s grace. All How can we revere God’s goodness meant for all time? How ensure that each uniqueness keeps in its prime? How can we revere with pleasure all God gives for life and leisure, how preserve each earthly treasure meant for all time? God has willed that peace and justice walk hand in hand. These, with love, shall build foundations on which we stand: love for lover, friend and stranger, love defying death and danger, love as first-born in a manger, heav’n close at hand. Words: John L. Bell and Graham Maule, © WGRG, Iona Community, Glasgow, Scotland Tune: Ar Hyd Y Nos (Welsh traditional) This arrangement: Richard Hubbard and John L. Bell, © Richard Hubbard and WGRG, Iona Community, Glasgow, Scotland www.wildgoose.scot Used by permission. 4 The Prayers of Penitence Leader Christ the light of the world has come to dispel the darkness of our hearts. In his light let us examine ourselves and confess our sins. Everyone sits or kneels. Silence is kept. All Creator God, maker of heaven and earth, we acknowledge our failure to live responsibly as part of your creation. We have taken what we want, without considering the consequences; we have wasted and discarded, without thought for the future. Open our hearts and minds to the signs of our times, to the groaning of creation, so that we may turn from our greed and lack of vision and see a world being made anew in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Leader The Lord enrich us with his grace and nourish us with his blessing; the Lord defend us in all trouble and keep us from all evil; the Lord accept our prayers and absolve us from our offences for the sake of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen. Collect Leader Glorious God, the whole of creation proclaims your marvellous work: increase in us a capacity to wonder and delight in it, that heaven’s praise may echo in our hearts and our lives be spent as good stewards of the earth, Through Jesus Christ our Lord. All Amen. 5 Everyone stands to sing Have mercy, Lord Solo If the fields are parched and the trees are felled will the rocks cry aloud on their own? If the birds are starved and the beasts are killed will the bones in the dust lift a song? Have mercy, Lord, have mercy, Lord. Forgive our broken ways. Have mercy, Lord, have mercy, Lord. Renew the world you made. Women As the oceans rise and the wells run dry do we care if disaster is near? If our children starve will they cry to God? will they curse us for closing our ears? All Have mercy, Lord… All Still a day will come when the Lord returns and the earth will be perfect again. No more greed or war, no more tooth and claw, for the wolf and the lamb will be friends. All Have mercy, Lord… Words and music: Chris Juby, arranged by Richard Hubbard © 2020 Chris Juby / Resound Worship 6 ¶ The Liturgy of the Word The New Testament Reading Everyone sits as Julia Wakelam, Green Party Councillor reads 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 came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. John 1.1–14, NRSV This is the word of the Lord. All Thanks be to God. Everyone remains seated for The Talk The Reverend Canon Mark Haworth Diocesan Environmental Advisor 7 Everyone stands for The Act of Commitment Leader As the whole of creation looks with eager longing for the redemption of humankind, let us pledge ourselves anew to serve our Creator God, the Father who is the maker of all things, the Son through whom all things are made, and the Holy Spirit, the giver of life, who renews the face of the earth. As an act of commitment to becoming more focussed on the needs of God’s creation, I invite you now to come and light a candle. To reflect God’s light in your heart and as a pledge to act in peace and love on God’s creation. The congregation are invited to light candles if they wish. Leader Let us stand to affirm our commitment to care actively for God’s creation. All Lord of life and giver of hope, we pledge ourselves to care for creation, to reduce our waste, to live sustainably, and to value the rich diversity of life.