Genesis One for Many Voices
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Reader: In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.
ALL Voices make breathe sounds
3Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
One: In the evening we give thanks for..... Voices: spontaneous thanks
Another: In the morning we give thanks for...... Voices: spontaneous thanks
Reader: And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
One: As God once lifted the horizon’s dome, God now lifts our hearts with words of praise......
ALL Voices give spontaneous praise
Reader: And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.
Another: For the wonders of water we give thanks as we name them.... Voices name ways water is part of our lives
Reader: God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas.
ALL Voices say: AND GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.
Reader: Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it.
ALL Voices say: AND GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.
Reader: And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness.
ALL: AND GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.
Reader: And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth
across the dome of the sky.” So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind.
One: For the wonder of creatures that fly and swim as we name them.... Voices: name fish and birds
ALL: AND GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.
Reader: God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
24And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. 25God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind.
One: For the wonder of creatures that creep, crawl, run and prance as we name them.... Voices: name animals
ALL: AND GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.
Reader: 26Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” 27So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have
dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”
One: We give thanks for people we know and have known as we name them....
ALL Voices name names
Reader: God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
Another: We give thanks for the plants of the earth, provided to nourish our bodies.... Voices: name favorite plants and vegetable foods.
ALL Voices: God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.
Reader: And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. 2And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 3So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.