21: Oceans

'Father of Creation,

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

You created a world of wonder,

You declared it to be good.

Your Spirit hovered over the waters of the Deep,

You Spoke and breathed life into being.

On the third day, you made the oceans,

On the fifth day, you filled the sea with every kind of living thing.

You declared it to be good.

And we declare them to be good,

For our lives are inexplicably linked with the life of the oceans.

For the Atlantic, Arctic, Pacific and Indian,

We give thanks.

For currents, waves and tides,

Oceans that were full and filled

With bountiful and beautiful biodiversity,

Teeming with a vast array of life.

The earth is the Lord's,

Let the seas roar, and all those who dwell in it.

Sharks and Rays,

Shellfish and Crustaceans,

Sea Turtles and Reptiles,

Whales and Dolphins

Sea Birds and Fish.

We declare them to be good.

The earth is the Lord's,

Let the seas roar, and all those who dwell in it.

The Short-Snouted Seahorse,

Picasso Trigger Fish,

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna,

Participate in the Symphony of Praise.

Indian Humpback Dolphins,

Peekytoe Crabs,

Caribbean Reef Sharks,

Participate in the Symphony of Praise,

In this time of climate breakdown,

The oceans are our allies,

A Habitat of Hope,

Producing Oxygen,

Absorbing Carbon,

Regulating our weather patterns.

Father of Creation,

God of Compassion,

We have moved East of Eden,

We are Homesick Exiles

Creation Groans,

The Seas are Dying.

We have opened the door to the sin of ecological violence,

And it has overwhelmed us.

Through the greed of exploitation.

Ocean Destruction through drilling and mining,

Lord have mercy.

Ocean Acidification through carbon emissions,

Christ have mercy.

Let the seas roar, and all those who dwell in it.

Overfishing leading to Extinction,

Lord have mercy.

Plastic pollution bringing Sickness and Death,

Christ have mercy.

Deoxygenation through use of fertilisers,

Lord have mercy.

Unrestrained capitalism has unleashed hell

Against the Seas and Oceans,

And all those who dwell in it.

Father of Creation,

God of Compassion,

We have sinned and done evil in your sight,

As unrestrained capitalism, fed by consumerism and profiteering,

Plunders and Pillages,

Ransacks and Rapes

The Seas and the Oceans.

What have we done? Lord have mercy.

What have we done? Lord have mercy.

Father of Creation,

God of Justice,

We remember the story of old,

How the world turned wicked and violent,

And you responded with a flood.

Father of Creation,

God of Justice,

So, we will reap what we have sown,

For ecological violence results in rising seas.

In your justice, remember mercy.

In your righteous anger, remember mercy.

Father of Creation,

Healer of all hurts,

Your kingdom includes the reconciliation of all things,

And this includes the oceans and seas.

In your mercy, call us afresh,

To be agents of reconciliation,

So that we would

Tend and keep,

Guard and protect

The oceans and seas,

Until that day when death will be no more,

And your Son will calm the raging sea,

Amen.'