As we kick off this series, we consider what is revealed to us through the incarnated, resurrected Word of Life. It’s tempting to go for the well-known light/darkness metaphors, but you might try something new if your congregation is up for it. Consider what’s revealed about Resurrection, about God, in the beauty of Creation all around us - and what you are called to testify to because of it.

You might consider using a “thread” song throughout the series – a hymn such as “This is My Father’s World” or “How Great Thou Art” could work well. It may be time for your congregation to try new lyrics for these tunes, especially if repeating them for three weeks in a row, giving them a chance to become familiarized with them. Try singing “This is Creator’s World,” or using the new hymn lyrics “O Mother Earth” to the tune of How Great Thou Art (see below).

If you’re in a more contemporary or mixed setting, Matthew Blake Lovegood’s “Holy Ground” would be a great thread to ground folks in your local setting and to be reminded of God’s presence with us on this earth. “So Will I” and “Oceans” are well-known contemporary pieces that call us to worship, to see God in the elements of Creation, and to follow in the path Christ has set out for us (1 John 1:7). For all the songs suggested in these music notes that are not published in a hymnal, you will find licensing information below.

O Mother Earth (to the tune “Swedish Folk Melody”)

by Rev. Kristina Sinks

Permission is granted to use and distribute these lyrics in print or electronically for worship during this season.

Verse 1

O Mother Earth! When we, in awesome wonder
Consider all you nurture in your care.
We see the stars, we hear the rolling thunder,
We taste the fruits of sun, and soil, and air

Verse 2

By waters deep, the source of all that’s breathing,
We find your rest, though waves swell o’er the shores
In lake and sea, with mighty creatures teeming,
And babbling brook, and rain that on us pours

Refrain:

Our souls cry out, remembering our home
O Mother Earth, O Mother Earth
She needs us now, she needs all we can give
For all to live, for all to live

Verse 3

In dark of night, the sky abounds with beauty,
With moon and stars, so much beyond our reach
When we look up t’ward all this glimmering grandeur
We find our way; stars point to what we seek

Verse 4

We wander through our watersheds, our homeland,
We learn the names of creatures, plants, and streams.
Our power now, to hurt, to heal, to plant,
Determine if and how our children dream.

Refrain

Verse 5

With calloused hands, these humble servants offer
All we can give, our energy and time
Restoring earth to all we still envision
Abounding life, all healed and intertwined.

Refrain

Rev. Kristina Sinks, Evanston, IL (ancestral homelands of the Potawatomi, Odawa [Ottawa], and Ojibwe Tribes), is a provisional deacon in the California-Nevada Annual Conference. She is also involved with United Methodist Creation Justice Movement.

Second Sunday of Easter, Year B

For this particular week, “Go Light Your World” draws on the familiar light/dark narrative and calls us to make one another’s joy complete and care for one another in the fellowship of Christ (1 John 1:3–4). “Break Our Hearts Again” by Paul Demer and “Forgive Us” by The Many call out our sin and our failure to properly love God and God’s world (1 John 2:1–2). Both of the “Testify” pieces, as well as “So Will I,” call on us to testify to what we have seen and experienced through Christ, just as all the elements of Creation do (1 John 1:2).

“Christ Is the World’s Light” (United Methodist Hymnal, 188) reminds us that, as disciples, we participate in being light for the world—a long-standing hope God has for God’s people (I will make you a light to the nations . . . Isa. 49:6). We also recommend “Canticle of Light and Darkness” (United Methodist Hymnal, 205). If we are unaccustomed to using liturgies such as this in our worship services, this might be a refreshing addition, placing it as a response to the reading from 1 John.

Abbreviations

United Methodist Hymnal: UMH
The Faith We Sing: TFWS
Worship and Song: W&S

Hymns

UMH 144 - This Is My Father’s World
UMH 77 - How Great Thou Art
UMH 188 - Christ Is the World’s Light
UMH 205 – Canticle of Light and Darkness
UMH 62 - All Creatures of Our God and King
UMH 147 - All Things Bright and Beautiful
UMH 686 - O Gladsome Light
TFWS 2228 - Sacred the Body
TFWS 2279 - The Trees of the Field
W&S 3173 - Table of Plenty (Communion & Creation Care)

Contemporary Music

Holy Ground - Flamy Grant
So Will I (100 Billion X) - Hillsong
Oceans - Hillsong
Go Light Your World - Chris Rice
Break Our Hearts Again - Paul Demer
Forgive Us - The Many
Now Is the Time - Medema
Testify - NeedtoBreathe
Testify to Love - Wynonna Judd

Rev. Kristina Sinks, Evanston, IL (ancestral homelands of the Potawatomi, Odawa [Ottawa], and Ojibwe Tribes), is a provisional deacon in the California-Nevada Annual Conference. She is also part of the Worship Team with United Methodist Creation Justice Movement.

Rev. Mark Terwilliger, York, PA (ancestral homelands of the Susquehannock peoples), is an elder in the Susquehanna Annual Conference, serving Asbury York UMC. He also works with the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement and is a UM EarthKeeper.