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Interfaith Services
Alleluia, Alleluia, Glorious in his faithfulness.
Father-like, he tends and spares us.
Well our feeble frame he knows; in his hands he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes; Alleluia, Alleluia widely as his mercy flows.
Angels help us to adore him
ye behold him face to face sun and moon bow down before him dwellers all in time and space;
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Praise with us the God of grace
Music Praise My Soul, John Goss (1800-80) Words H.F. Lyte (1793-1847) based on Psalm 103
1: STEWARDSHIP OF THE EARTH
All sit for The Reading
chanted in Arabic, from the Qur'an, Surah 56, 63-74. A translation reads:
Have you considered the soil you till? Is it you who bring the crop or are We the real agent of growth? Were it Our Will We had turned it into chaff and that would have meant for you a sorry jest, as you say: 'The loss is heavy on us, we are disconsolate.'
Have you considered the water you drink? Was it you who made it fall from the rain-clouds, or are We the rain-maker? Had We so willed, bitter water had We sent. How is it that you
have no gratitude?
Was it you who made the tree to grow or are We
Have you considered the fire you kindle? the source of its being? We devised it for a point of recollection and to provide solace for those who pass through desert ways.
Praise, then, each of you the Name of your great Lord.
All stand to say together the first Affirmation led by The Dean with the words:
Let us say together the first Affirmation:
We affirm our respect for the whole of the natural world and acknowledge our responsibility for exercising our stewardship with care and consideration for all its elements.
2: HUMAN WORTH
All sit for The Reading from the Misnah Sanhedrin 4.5
It is for this reason that, according to the biblical account, only one human being was created in the beginning: to teach us that anyone who destroys a single soul is considered by -117
