A Moment of Peace
based on Genesis 1, Revelation 5 & 7
October 21, 2018
Community Congregational Church of Chula Vista
Dr. Sharon R. Graff
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Good morning! If you are new to this congregation, or returning after an absence, I assure you we have gone to the dogs! We have gone to the dogs and the cats, the goldfish and snakes, today, we have gone to all of the animals that grace this planet and our lives… October 5th is St. Francis of Assisi’s day. We here at Community Congregational Church are joining congregations of the UCC and other denominations – that choose this month as a time to bless our animal companions, to acknowledge and to celebrate our kinship with all life, especially the lives of the other creatures with whom we share our earthly home – Today, you are ALL welcome here.
As we begin worship, we recall another beginning…[retelling Genesis 1…It is good, it is very good…given responsibility for all creation, including the animal companions…and God pronounced: You are good, you are very good!]
One particular human in history took that pronouncement from God seriously!
- St Francis of Assisi
- Born some 835 years ago, named Francesco
- Wealthy family (business owners)
- Francesco was used to the finer things in life…but he was not always happy with them…
- One story tells that he was selling cloth and velvet in the marketplace on behalf of his father when a beggar came to him and asked for money to eat.
- When Francis was done with the business deal, he ran after the beggar.
- When he found him, Francis gave the man everything he had in his pockets.
- His friends made fun of him for being so generous.
- But when he got home, his father was very angry with him.
- At that moment, Francis knew that he wanted to live simply, without the wealth of his family.
- He went to one of the leaders of his church and asked permission to start a special community of people called monks…they got permission and these monks served the poor.
- One day when Francis was traveling with some companions, they came upon a place in the road where birds filled the trees on either side.
- Francis told his companions to wait for him while “I go to preach to my sisters the birds.”
- The birds surrounded him, drawn by the power of his voice, and not one of them flew away. Legend says that Francis said this to them:
- “My sister birds, you owe much to God, and you must always and in everyplace give praise to God; for God has given you freedom to fly through the sky and God has given you clothes…you don’t work, and God feeds you and gives you rivers and fountains for your thirst, and mountains and valleys for shelter, and tall trees for your nests. And the Creator loves you greatly and blesses you with so much. Therefore… always seek to praise God.”
- Throughout his long life, St. Francis was a good friend to the animals…he thought of them as his sisters and brothers, for everyone—four-legged, two-legged, no-legged—we are all made by the same God who said to us at our birth, “You are Good, You are Very GOOD!”
Litany of Love
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For the animals that we are responsible for day to day –
our loving companion animals – we say…
We are blessed by your presence and we bless you.
For the animals that live in urban and suburban areas,
who we see day to day in our neighborhoods – from the spider to the crow,
from the feral cats to the coyotes – we say…
We are blessed by your presence and we bless you.
For the animals that have graced our lives in the past,
whose absence we grieve,
and for whose love we are most grateful…
We are blessed by your presence and we bless you.
For the animals that are lost or in shelters
or confined against their will we say…
We are blessed by your presence and we bless you.
For the animals that live in zoos and animal parks –
who bring a better understanding
of the animal world to all who listen – we say…
We are blessed by your presence and we bless you.
For the animals we call wild –
who live in their natural habitat,
whom we see rarely face to face,
or only in books and on film,
whose habitat and lives are endangered, we say…
We are blessed by your presence and we bless you.
For all animals and for each living creature –
fashioned by our loving God
who, when they looked in God’s eyes,
God said,
“It is good…it is very good…
YOU are good…you are very good…” – we say,
We are blessed by your presence and we bless you.
And, in this spirit of goodness, O God,
we pray together as we have been taught…
Our God, who art in heaven…
[Animal Blessing…instructions…]