WEDNESDAY CHURCH
on the Internet
(This is your mid-week Christian power
surge with Pastor Mike Fonfara, D.Min.)
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Easter Season, Week Four
Earth Day Celebration
Welcome, brothers and sisters of the Earth! Back in 1970, conservation minded people began an eco-stewardship movement. They designated April 22nd as Earth Day to remind people that our planet supports a fragile environment worthy of respect and better care. I maintain that every day should be Earth Day! Today's Wednesday Church on the Internet celebrates our privilege to honor the Earth through better care of the environment. Thank you for joining me in a post-April 22nd worship time thanking God for honoring our better care of this planet.
Pastor Mike
WORSHIP SERVICE
Opening Thoughts ...
O beautiful for spacious skies,
for amber waves of grain;
For purple mountains majesty,
Above the fruited plain.
America, America,
God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.
-- Katherine Lee Bates
America, the Beautiful Lyrics
The Gathering ...
Come, people of the earth.
Come, people of the earth, to praise God.
Come, people of the earth, to praise God for life itself.
Come, people of the earth, to praise God for life itself and the
privilege of working with the Almighty.
Come, people of the earth, to praise God for life itself and the
privilege of working with the Almighty to keep our planet
wholesome.
Come, people of the earth, to worship our God!
-- Pastor Mike
We confess our sins and are forgiven ...
Merciful God, please grant us pardon, forgiveness,
and cleansing from all sins through Jesus Christ,
our Lord. Thank You, amen.
Today's Scripture ... Genesis 1:27-28 (NIV)
27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Message ... "Caring for the Earth Means Caring for Ourselves"
How we treat the Earth becomes how we treat ourselves. This poem by Chief Seattle challenges us to accept the fact that everything in God's creation is connected. Read the poem and see if you agree with this reality.
27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Message ... "Caring for the Earth Means Caring for Ourselves"
How we treat the Earth becomes how we treat ourselves. This poem by Chief Seattle challenges us to accept the fact that everything in God's creation is connected. Read the poem and see if you agree with this reality.
Teach your children
what we have taught our children --
that the earth is our mother.
Whatever befalls the earth
befalls the sons and daughters of the earth.
If men spit upon the ground,
they spit upon themselves.
This we know.
The earth does not belong to us;
we belong to the earth.
This we know.
All things are connected
like the blood which unites one family.
All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the earth
befalls the sons and daughters of the earth.
We did not weave the web of life;
We are merely a strand in it.
Whatever we do to the web,
we do to ourselves.
-- Chief Seattle
Chief of the Duwamish and Allied Tribes
1780 - 1866
Chief Seattle's point is that how we care for the Earth reflects upon our lives as well. Practicing good eco-stewardship, as commanded by Genesis 1:27-28, is good self-care. Don't you agree?
(1864 Picture of Chief Seattle)
Dedication Prayer ...
O God, be with me in my joys.
O God, be with me in my trials.
O God, be with me in my service to the Earth.
Amen.
Benediction ...
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with us all. Amen.
(Resurrection Fern)
Sacred Miscellany
1. Let me introduce the Resurrection Fern. This plant can survive a drought where it loses 97% of its water content. It shrivels up into a grayish-brown mass of leaves. Once rain comes, it quickly revives and looks green, hale, and hearty. This supposed "resurrection" (the plant never really dies) gives the plant its name.
2. Frank Lloyd Wright once remarked, " I believe in God, only I spell it Nature."
3. Old-time naturalist John Muir taught, "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world."
4. Wendell Berry said, "The earth is what we have in common."
5. Psalm 8:3-4 declares:
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place.
What is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them.
6. Part of the natural human spirit is a sense of humor. Test your sense of humor with these laughers.
Q. What did the tree wear to the pool party?
A. Swimming trunks!
Q. How can you tell that the ocean is friendly?
A. It waves!
Thank you for worshipping with this week's gathering of Wednesday Church on the Internet. Come by again next week when new material will be publshed by Wednesday, May 5th at 5 a.m. Remember, this social media congregation is your mid-week Christian power surge. If you like this church and feel that it has been a blessing, please tell your friends about the
blog. Better still, worship with them on the Internet next week. Please help this site grow and spread the Christian spirit. If you have constructive suggestions, please share them with me.
Pastor Mike Fonfara, D.Min.
(Avocado Shadow)
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