Litany of Gratitude for July 2 2017 -- #Canada150

God made known in creation;

for rocks and trees and skies and seas..your hands the wonders wrought

for sweeping prairie skies and waving grasslands,

for striking mountain peaks and deep valleys,

for lakes and rivers, for forests and tundra

...for all these gifts

God of all to you we raise words of gratitude and praise

God who is present in the new things of life;

for those brave adventurers who struck out to explore a new place

for the people they met along the way who offered wisdom, and guidance and support,

for those who set the wheels in motion so that something new and different could begin, something that would grow from a notion into a nation

...for all these gifts

God of all to you we raise words of gratitude and praise

God of community;

for the people who have challenged us to become a better, more caring community

for those who have helped us learn that we can be a community even while not being the same

for those who have stood up to speak for the members of our communities who were being abused, or oppressed, or simply ignored

for those who have made us better, those who have helped us draw the circle of what it means to be “Canadian” wider

for all our neighbours, near at hand or living many provinces away

...for all these gifts

God of all to you we raise words of gratitude and praise

God who calls us to make use of your gifts;

for lumber shaped from forests to build ships and houses and cities,

for gold and iron and copper and other minerals mined from the rock

for coal and oil and natural gas, giving energy for us and the world,

for the fruit of the earth, the food which sustains and strengthens us

...for all these gifts

God of all to you we raise words of gratitude and praise

Gift Giving God, we thank and praise you for the wonders of your love we see around us.

And the people all said AMEN