"Rogation" is connected to the Latin word for "asking," and refers to a traditional time of praying for agriculture. Traditionally celebrated on the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of the Sixth Sunday in Easter, Rogation Services have been a time to pray for planting and for those working with the land. In rural areas, many people bless the elements used in farming, the fields, the seeds and that animals. In urban areas a blessing of gardens, and local businesses can be done. It might also be a time to show gratitude for soil, water and growth, and to challenge congregation members to think carefully of the food they eat, their care of water, earth and seed. The following are some ideas of prayers and services for Rogation.
Rogation Prayers of Blessing
(from Sundays and Seasons, copyright 2003, Augsburg Fortress, p. 195, from Worship From the Ground Up: a Worship Resource for Town and Country Congregations, Dubuque Iowa: Center for Theology and the Land)
Prayer for Seeds (hold seed aloft)
Creating God, you have given seed for the sower and bread to the people.
Nourish, protect, and bless the seeds which your people have sown in hope.
By your loving and bountiful giving, may they bring forth their fruit in due season,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for the Soil (hold soil aloft)
Giver of life, we give you thanks that in the richness of the soil, nature awakens your call to spring
We praise you for the smell of freshly tilled earth, the beauty of a cleanly cut furrow, and a well-plowed field.
We ask that you help us to be good stewards of the land.
In the name of the one who gives us new life, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen,
Prayer for Water and Rain (hold water aloft)
Sustaining God, we receive the fruits of the earth from you. We give you thanks for the smell of the earth after rain,
for its welcome cooling, and its necessary hydration for the land.
We ask that the rain come as often as it is needed
so that crops may flourish and the coming harvest be indeed bountiful. Amen.
Rogation Process and Service from the Minnesota Episcopal Environmental Stewardship Commission:
NOTE: The Environmental Stewardship Commission is suggesting that congregations plan a Rogation Day celebration. This event asks God’s blessing on the fields, gardens, orchards, seeds, etc. to be used in food production that season. The service may follow a Sunday service or it may be a separate celebration which traditionally culminates in a celebration of Eucharist. In a rural setting the procession could be to the farms or fields. In urban areas it can be to gardens or fruit trees. It could be all in the churchyard.
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Song: All Creatures of our God and King [Hymn 400 (Hymnal 1982)]
Canticle 12. A Song of Creation. Page 88, Book of Common Prayer (BCP)
Reading: Mark 4:26-32
Homily (optional)
Prayers:
Leader: For favorable weather, temperate rains and fruitful seasons, and that there may be food and drink for all your creatures, we pray to you, O Lord. Amen
For your blessing upon the lands and waters, and all who work upon them to bring forth food and all things needful for your people, we pray to you O Lord. Amen
For all who care for the earth, the water and the air that the riches of your creation may abound from age to age, we pray to you, O Lord. Amen.
The Procession: Proceed to the places of blessing, using for each a prayer:
Leader:
Almighty and everlasting God, Creator of all things and giver of all life, let your blessing be upon this (seed, livestock, plow, forest, orchard, field, garden, _____________) and grant that it may serve to your glory and the welfare of your people; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Thanksgiving Prayer #1:
Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love.
We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side.
We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us.
We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.
Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom. Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.
(from page 836 BCP)
Song: For the Fruit of all Creation, [Hymn 424 (Hymnal 1982)] or other suitable
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This service was assembled by the Rev Dcn Helen Hanten, St. Andrew's by the Lake Episcopal Church, Duluth, MN, found at http://www.env-steward.com/worship/rogation.htm
