Environment Sunday 2005
This year Environment Sunday coincided with World Environment Day, and Sage took part in a special service at St. Columba's United Reformed Church in Oxford. This year the theme was Noah and Global Warming. A Rocha produced a pack: http://en.arocha.org/ukconsunday/index6.html which helped us on our way. In Sunday School the week before the service the children of the church made some wonderful illustrations of the Noah story, concentrating on the animals! These were put up around the church before the congregation arrived. We also had a PowerPoint loop of creation and degradation running as people came in, and the Sage display boards with lots of literature out in the vestibule. One of St. Columba's congregation, Tina Fawcett, had produced a special leaflet (Climate change and you) on what people can do about global warming.
The ServiceMartin Hodson led the service. Here is the order of service we used:
Please stand as the Bible is carried into church….
Greeting
HYMN: 41 For the beauty of the earth
Opening prayer
The Prayer of Jesus
Welcome and notices Wilson Sutherland
Bible reading: the story of Noah in three parts (Martin, Faith and Richard)
HYMN: Common Ground 14 Bless the Lord my soul (ad lib.)
Gospel Luke 8: 22-25
Sermon- Dave Steel
Prayer of confession Kaihsu TaiWords of forgiveness
HYMN: Common Ground 2 We cannot own the sunlit sky Tune: St Columba
Interview- Aileen Robertson interviewed Averil Stedeford about her ambitious plans for an environmentally friendly house in Headington.
HYMN: 104 Praise my soul the King of heaven
Offering
Prayers of thanksgiving and intercession
Blessing
HYMN: Common Ground 50 Here I am, Lord
Postlude
After the service we had coffee, and then a wonderful shared meal. Then a whole crowd went for a short walk on the Meadows to end our time together.
THANKS are due to so many people: to all those who took part in the service; to those who provided a wonderful lunch; to all the Sage members who came along to give their support.
Special thanks to Kaihsu Tai who had the idea for bringing Environment Sunday to St. Columba's, and to the minister, Susan Durber, for all her advice in planning the whole day.
MAKE A PLEDGE!!
In his sermon Dave Steel suggested two web sites where it is possible to make pledges to help with climate change:
Operation Noah
Environment Agency
