August 29, 1996

Lutheran Resource Center
630 Hwy 18 East
Clear Lake, Iowa 50428

Dear Friends:

Our worship service on Rally Day included the enclosed "Litany of Creation" which was written by Barb Geerts, a member of our congregation. She used the first chapter of Genesis as her model. The Reader parts were read by older children from our Sunday school. At six points in the reading, colorful posters done by another of our members were held up by smaller children. These illustrated the days of creation.

Why did we choose this theme? Because the first lesson in the "Witness" series this Fall is on Creation.

In preparation for Rally Day, the teachers sent post cards of invitation to their students two weeks in advance. Then, I sent a letter to parents one week in advance. Since their children would have a part in the service (even though it would be small), a number of parents and children were in worship who don't normally show up.

I hope you will enjoy reading Barb's litany.  There are some clever lines in 
it.

In Christ's love,

Quentin J. Fleming
Pastor

Pastor Quentin J. Fleming
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
2900 23rd Avenue a Moline, IL 61265 a (309) 762‑5423

Litany of Creation

Reader 1: Before there was anything, before there was sky, or earth, or sea, there was God.

Reader 2: Well God, who is more powerful than any of us can imagine, decided to make something from all that nothingness. And so the spirit of God new over the place where only emptiness and darkness had been, and created light. Light for plants to grow, and animals to hunt by, and people to read by, even though plants and animals and people were still on the drawing board.

Congregation: And He took a step back and looked at the light He had made, and He saw that it was good, very good.

Reader 1: God gave the light a name. He called it "Day.' And he gave the darkness a name, too. He called it "Night."

Reader 2: And the beautiful new sun set, and the beautiful new sun rose, and a day passed, the first day.

Reader 1: Then God drew an imaginary line in the air, and told the waters to move above or below it. And the waters moved because they had been ordered by God.

Reader 2: Below the line, the waters would become clouds, and rivers, and lakes, and seas of a new planet. Above the line, the waters would become part of the sky.

Congregation:  And it was so, because God made it so.

Reader 1: And God gave the deep, blue sky above a name. He called it, "Heaven."

Reader 2: And the beautiful new sun rose, and the new sun set, and another day passed, the second day.

Reader 1: Then God looked below, at the planet which He had shaped like a snowball in his hands, and all that could be seen was water. Water everywhere. God forced the water from the places that were to be dry land, and the waters stayed back at his command, creating giant islands we call continents. As before, he named what he had created. He called the dry land "Earth," and the waters he called "Seas."

Congregation: And God stepped back and looked at what He had done, and He saw that it was good, very good.

Reader 2: On the earth, He made the plants and trees grow ‑ ail kinds and shapes and sizes. And on the apple tree grew apples, and on the orange tree grew oranges, each with its own special seed and fruit, as God had commanded it.

Congregation: And God stepped back and looked at all that was growing and bearing fruit, and He saw that it was good, very good.

Reader 1: And the new sun rose, and the new sun set, and another day passed, the third day.

Reader 2: Then God created light to brighten the darkness, as well. In the black velvet sky he hung the moon, much less bright than the sun, but bright enough that creatures wandering the night, creatures that were still on the drawing board, could see what path to take.

Reader 1: Then He formed the stars and, gathering a handful, tossed them far into the darkness that surrounded Earth, and there they stayed, because He had commanded them. God knew that by studying the moon and the stars and their place in the Heavens, His creatures would be able to tell the seasons, and find their way when there were only stars to go by.

Congregation: And God stepped back and looked at the moon and stars, and He saw that they were good, very good.

Reader 2: And the sun set, and the sun rose, and another day passed, the fourth day.

Reader 1: Then God filled the empty seas with fish. Big fish and little fish. Fishies with scales and fishies with tails and fishies with sails ‑ every kind of fish you could imagine.

Reader 2: The skies He filled with birds  ‑ birds with big beaks, and webbed "feets," and even some parakeets.

Congregation: And God stepped back and looked at the fish and the birds he had made, and He saw that it was good, very good.

Reader 1: Then God blessed all the winged creatures that flew and all the scaly creatures that swam, and told them to go out and make more birds and fish. And so they did.

Reader 2: And the new sun set, and the new sun rose, and another day passed, the fifth day.

Reader 1: All that remained was to fill the land with creatures. God created animals of all shapes and sizes to roam the earth ‑ moose and monkeys, pigs and pachyderms, cattle and kittens and lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Some walked on paws, some on hooves, some jumped and some slithered.

Congregation:  And God stepped back and looked at all the land creatures He had made, and He saw that it was good, very good.

Reader 2: Then God created something that was so very special, He made it to look just like Him. He gave the creature a name. He called him "Man."

Reader 1: God put man in charge of everything He had made: the Earth, the plants, the fish, the birds, the animals. And He gave Man a partner, named "Woman," because God did not want Man to be lonely.

Reader 2: Then God blessed Man and Woman and told them to have many children, and let their children have children, and so on, until their families filled all the Earth, which He had given them for their use.

Congregation: And God stepped back and looked at Man and Woman, and everything else that he had made, and He saw that it was good, very good.

Reader 1: And the new sun set, and the new sun rose, and another day passed, the sixth day.

Reader 2: And on the seventh day God, who had created the universe, finished his work and took time to rest. He blessed that day of rest, and made it a holy thing, because it was as special as He.

Congregation:  And the new sun set, and the new sun rose, the seventh day.

Reader 1: This is creation's story, as told in the book of Genesis. But it does not end there. Each day is a new creation, a day to worship our all‑ powerful God, who made everything from nothing...

Reader 2: ... and who saw that it was good, very good.