The Wonder of the Cross – 40 Days with the Music of Vicky Beeching
Day 28 – Saturday after Lent 4 – Call To Worship
To Read:
From the Scriptures:
Then God said, “Let us make humans 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.”
27 So God created humans in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God 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.” 29 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. 30 And 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. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
(Genesis 1v26-31)
From Vicky Beeching:
Call To Worship
The blazing sunrise, endless oceans
The spinning planets all reveal their Maker’s power
They shout His glory, they shine His beauty
Their voices cry an invitation to us all
They are summoning every soul
Summoning every soul…
This is a call to worship
Let it echo all around the earth
This is a call to bow down
Give God the glory He deserves
We have gathered, to praise our Maker
We’ve come to worship Him for we have heard the call
Let every nation all creation
Join us worshipping the holy God of all
As we cry out to all of this world
Cry out to all of this world…
Chorus – repeats
To the North and the South
Let this invitation resonate
To the East and the West (repeats)
Overflow with praise
Chorus – repeats
To Listen: Call To Worship by Vicky Beeching
To Reflect:
Did God make the world in six days? Will God end the world with a final apocalypse at Megiddo?[1] I’m not sure that I know either way. And to be honest I am not sure that I need to know either way. Down the ages it seems that we are obsessed with the way things began and things end as if that gives us some kind of control over our destiny.
For me, even though I relish scientific method, it is not the ‘How’ of the world coming into the being or ending that matters. Nor is it the ‘Why’ the world is here and will inevitably end. For me it is more about the ‘Who’ made the world and will eventually bring it all to a close. What we see in the world around us reveals the nature of the One who made us and all creation.
For this reason the writers of the early chapters of Genesis, even though they knew the human penchant for wilfulness, begin by reminding us again and again ‘and it was good’. A goodness that reflects the goodness of a God that breathes life with every word and cherishes all that is made.
And so today’s song reflects the song of creation and the praises of the Psalmist. Calling us to simply look up and, seeing all the glory that surrounds us, surrender our lives in worship and obedience. We are called to worship the Creator not the creation. However it is creation that bears the fingerprints of God’s love and the touch of God’s breath and calls us to worship.
For this reason the faithful should not flinch when named as tree-huggers and Net-Zeroniks. This is our calling. We care for the creation because we know it reflects the Creator. And if we care enough for trees and bugs and flowers and streams we may even learn to care for each other….
The Anglican Communion has Five Marks of Mission[2] which remind us that the whole of our life and faith is to be a witness to the love of our Beloved. Turning down the heating in your church building is just as much about sharing the Good News as is preaching the Gospel as is feeding the hungry as is working for the change of unjust structures. It is not for nothing that people who care for creation are sometimes labelled eco warriors…
We are not all called to be the ones at the front of the church preaching the Good News. Not all of us will find ourselves leaving our homes to become a missionary. Not everyone has the opportunity to bear witness to Godly ways of living in the Public Square. But all of us can learn to ‘hold lightly to the things of the earth’[3] and in so doing come to worship our Beloved alongside the symphony sung everyday by Brother Sun and Sister Moon.
To Pray:
Though our mouths were full of song as the sea,
Our tongues of exultation as the fullness of its waves,
And our lips of praise as the plains of the firmament:
Though our eyes gave light as the sun and moon:
Though our hands were outspread as the eagles of heaven,
And our feet were swift as hinds,
Yet should we be unable to thank Thee,
O Lord our God and God of our fathers,
And to bless Thy Name
for even one of the countless thousands
And tens of thousands
Of kindnesses which Thou hast done by our fathers and by us.
(Jewish Prayer Service of the Orthodox Synagogue for the Festival of Tabernacles)
To Do:
In your own home: Try to use less fossil fuels.
In your church: Explore becoming an Eco Church.
If you already are an Eco Church explore going to the next level of award.
Find out more here: https://ecochurch.arocha.org.uk
oooOOOooo
If you would like to find out more about Vicky and her work here is a link to her Wikipedia entry. For a fuller picture her autobiography ‘Undivided’ is highly recommended
Please Note: These reflections are also published on my blog: suffolkvicarhomes.com on Bluesky as @suffolkvicar.bsky.social, and on my public Facebook page Suffolk Vicar – Rev Andrew Dotchin.
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Acknowledgements:
These Reflections, ‘The Wonder of the Cross – 40 Days with the Music of Vicky Beaching’ are copyright © Andrew Dotchin 2026 and may be reproduced without charge on condition that their source is acknowledged.
All of the music on the video clips are from YouTube and are © Vicky Beeching.
If you enjoy listening to her songs please consider buying her recordings. A full discography and other information about Vicky can be found on her website vickybeeching.com.
Scripture quotations are from The New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Prayers are from A Diary of Prayer compiled by Elizabeth Goudge and are copyright © 1966 The Estate of Elizabeth Goudge.
[1] For an overview of the history of Megiddo read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Megiddo
[2] For an explanation of them read here: https://www.anglicannews.org/features/2020/02/the-anglican-communions-five-marks-of-mission-an-introduction.aspx
[3] Part of the weekly prayers made by members of the Third Order of the Society of St Francis: https://www.tssf.org.za/the-daily-obedience/
Suffolk Vicar 