Liturgy Materials for Children
Taken From "God's Earth, Our Home" -- Produced by the National Council of the Churches of Christ

1. Opening Litany
2. Psalm 148 (A Paraphrase)
3. A Litany of Thanksgiving
4. Echo Pantomimes
5. A Prayer of Thanks for God's Creation
6. Affirmation of Faith
7. Song
8. Sermon Ideas
9. Closing Prayer
10. Resources Involving Children and Ecological Concerns

An Opening Litany

Leader: I sing a song of summer.
I sing a song of life.
All: We sing the song of summer.
We sing the song of life.
Leader: I sing a song of growing things,
Of green and fragrance delicate.
All: We sing the song of summer.
We sing the song of life.
Leader: I sing the song of wrens and robins
of meadowlarks and whippoorwills.
All: We sing the song of summer.
We sing the song of life.
Leader: Alleluia and Hello!
All: Alleluia and Hello!

(Dallas Brauninger, Source: "Church Worship," July 1993. Used by permission of Education Ministries, Inc., Prescott, AZ.)

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Psalm 148 (a paraphrase)
This paraphrased Psalm can be used as a unison reading with younger readers or as a responsive chant with younger children (children repeating each phrase after leader).

Praise the Lord!
Praise God from the heavens:
Praise God, all the angels,
praise God, heavenly hosts.
Praise God, sun and moon,
and all the shining stars.
For God created and established them
for ever and ever.
Praise the name of the Lord!

Praise the Lord!
Praise God from the earth:
Sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy winds that blow,
mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds.
Praise the name of the Lord!

Praise the Lord!
All peoples of the earth,
young men and women alike,
old and young together!

Let them all praise the name of the Lord!
For his glory is above the earth and the heaven.
Praise the Lord!

(Paraphrased by June Adams Gibble, Director of Congregational Nurture, Church of the Brethren)

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A Litany of Thanksgiving

Leader: God in Heaven, there is so much to thank You for, but there are some things that make the world such a very special place to live in. For parks, playgrounds, beaches, zoos, the rivers, the mountains, the woods, and the creeks.
Children: We thank you, God.
Leader: For rocks near the creek after the rains that make bridges to get across
Children: We thank you, God.
Leader: For polliwogs in the creek after water slows down; for the summer frogs
Children: We thank you, God.
Leader: For squirrels jumping through the trees with those long bushy tails
Children: We thank you, God.
Leader: For the smell of wet pine trees; for acorns when they still have their caps on and for pine cones to make things with
Children: We thank you, God.
Leader: For the happy faces of my dog and my cat when I come home from school
Children: We thank you, God.
Leader: For friends and family to share gifts with; for pals to tell secrets to
Children: We thank you, God.
Leader: For our church, our teachers, our pastors and all the people who work for the church
Children: We thank you, God.
All: And thank you, God, for being You and for loving me. Amen.

(Source: adapted from "Children's Worship," by Eileen Mottes, "Church Worship," May 1993. Used by permission of Education Ministries, Inc., Prescott, AZ.)

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Echo Pantomimes
The Story of Creation (Based on Genesis 1)

• In the beginning, the world was dark, and there was no shape. (Put hands over eyes and shake head "no.")
  
• God moved over the water. (Move arms left to right in front of body.)
  
• Then God spoke and said, "Let there be light." (Cup hands around mouth.)
  
• And there was light! (Arch hands over head like you are making a big sun.)
  
• And God said, "This is good!" (Make an"OK" sign with fingers.)
  
• God separated the day from the night. (Push arms away from sides of body.)
  
• God separated the heavens from the earth. (Push one arm up and one arm down vertically away from body.)
  
• God separated the water from the land. (Push arms away from front of body as if pushing something away from you.)
  
• And God said, "This is good!" (Make "OK" sign.)
  
• God made plants to grow. (Squat down, put hands and arms together over your head, and slowly stand upward and reach high.)
  
• God made the stars at night. (While hands are still high over head, open hands and fingers wide, and wiggle fingers.)
  
• And God said, "This is good!" (Make "OK sign.)
  
• God made the fish in the sea, and the birds in the air. (Put hands together, fingers closed, and move them like a fish tail swimming; then put arms out at sides and flap like a bird.)
  
• And God said, "This is good!" (Make "OK" sign.)
  
• God made animals on the land. (Let children imitate different animals they know--bunnies hopping, dogs barking, etc.)
  
• And God said, "This is good!" (Make "OK" sign.)
  
• Then God made people in God's own image. (Smile and point to self, then look to heavens.)
  
• God said to the people, "Take good care of my world!" (Point finger and shake it in front, as if shaking it at someone.)
  
• And God said, "This world is good!" (Make "OK" sign and have all say "This is Good!" with happy smiles and great joy.)

(Deborah Payden, Source: Church Educator/August 1993. Used by permission of Education Ministries, Inc., Prescott, AZ.)

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A Prayer of Thanks for God's Creation

God has given us a special day each week, Sunday, a day for rest and worship, a special day to say "Thank you" to God for this wonderful world. What are some of the wonderful things in God's creation? [Give some beginning helps: the sun that shines brightly in summer; rainbows; rivers and creeks . . . jot down on paper the ideas the children give.]

Let's pray together a prayer of thanks. You can pray the words after me. [Using short phrases, pray "Thank you, God, for . . . " (naming one by one the things just listed by the children), and helping them repeat each phrase. Continue throughout the prayer, closing with "Thank you, God, for this world . . . and all the wonderful things you have created. Amen."

(June Adams Gibble, Director, Congregational Nurture, Church of the Brethren)

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Affirmation of Faith

We believe in God who loves us and wants us to love each other,
This is our God.
We believe in Jesus who cared about children and held them in his arms. He wanted a world where everyone could live together in peace.
This is Jesus Christ.
We believe in the Holy Spirit who keeps working with us until everything is good and true.
This is the Holy Spirit.
We can be the Church which reminds people of God because we love each other.
This we believe. Amen.

(Source: "For All Who Minister," A Worship Manual for the Church of the Brethren, p. 98. Written by children and used in worship during the World Council of Churches' Seventh Assembly, Canberra, Australia, 1991. Used by permission.)

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Song: The Whole Wide World is in God's Hands
Tune: "He's Got the the Whole World in His Hands"

The whole wide world is in God's hands [repeat 3 times]
The whole world's in God's hands.

Decide with the children other phrases you can sing such as:
The sun and the moon are in God's hands [repeat 3 times]
The whole world's in God's hands.

Other phrases:
The nighttime stars are in God's hands . . .
The rivers and streams are in God's hands . . .
The birds and the bees . . .
The little grey squirrel . . .
The hills and the mountains . . .
The great big ocean . . .
Apple trees and pear trees . . .

(June Adams Gibble, Director, Congregational Nurture, Church of the Brethren)

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Sermon Ideas:

Miracle Seed
(Need: several types of seeds in a tray, a package of seed for each child.)

I have miracles in this tray. Want to look? Know what they are? (seeds) Isn't it amazing that little specks like these grow into (carrots) and these into (beans), and these into (flowers)?

In spring I get all excited to help God with these miracle seeds. He makes the seeds and I help by planting, watering, weeding, and enjoying the miracle that happens.

You know I imagine God likes to watch what happens to the miracle seed He plants inside us. As we grow He likes to see if we use our eyes to see the little surprises of watching a caterpillar on his travels, or hear the geese fly over on their long journeys or touch warm dirt in a garden or smell newly opened flowers. I think He watches to see if we notice all the people who care about us. He wants to see if His miracle seed grows love inside us: love for His world created for us, love for those who love us, love for ourselves, and love for the ones hard to love.

God put the seed inside us and is the gardener tending the seed. If we grow love, we can do loving things to show the inside love. Will you decide to grow love?

Here are your own seeds to tend and grow. (Pass out seed packages.)

(Source: "Church Worship," December 1990. Used by permission of Education Ministries, Inc., Prescott, AZ.)

Only God Can Make a Tree
This notice has been posted in the forest reserves of Portugal for over one thousand years.

"I am the heart of your hearth on the cold winter nights; the friendly shade which screens you from the summer sun; and my fruits quench your thirsts as you journey on.

I am the beam which supports you house, the board of your table, the bed on which you sleep, and the timber which builds your boat.

I am the handle of your hoe, the door of your home, the wood of your cradle and the shell of your coffin. I am the bread of kindness and the flower of beauty. You who pass by, please . . . listen to my prayer--HARM ME NOT."

(Source: "Spread a Little Sunshine," Camp Tawingo Publications, R.R. #1, Huntsville, Ontario POA 1KO. 1987. Used by permission.)

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Closing Prayer
(Invite the children to repeat the following prayer after you or make up a prayer of their own.)

Dear God:
We love this wonderful earth which you have created, but we are worried about many things which can cause it harm.
We understand that there are many problems with our environment.
We ask you, God, to help us find ways to take better care of the earth.
We know that there are many people working to help the earth and we would like to find our own way to be good stewards of creation.
Amen.

(Source: United Church of Canada. Used by permission.)

Resources Involving Children and Ecological Concerns

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