I’m on an astronomy retreat this week with The Othona Community in Bradwell on Sea, Essex. Rhythms of the community are dictated by brief morning and evening reflections in the close-by 7th century chapel built by St Cedd and swimming! That is because the only a proportion of the guests are here for the Astronomy; for a greater proportion, this is a family holiday with a guest star, Ivy who at 18 months has, I think, managed to charm everyone.
Every activity here is shared in some way by the guests and I was invited first to take an evening reflection, yesterday to say grace at lunchtime, and today I have been on lunch-time washing up duty, which is no small task with 90 guests. Thankfully the community has invested in modern cleaning equipment which is powered by off-grid electricity: an impressive feature which makes hosting such a large holiday-time population, practicable.
This, being my first summer week attendance here, I was a bit taken aback to be asked to lead Monday evening’s reflection, illuminated by candles and torches. As it happened, just as I was about to leave on Saturday for the 85 mile journey to the edge of eastern Essex, I spotted a copy of the Celebratory Faith and Science service we held in All Saints, Landbeach in 2014. So I was able to put together a brief service order built around the strands of that earlier event. We sung Let The Cosmos Praise its Maker and the Cosmic Doxology, both of which you will find below. We also used the modern concept Psalm 24 which can be found at the link below
Let The Cosmos Praise its Maker,
Tune: Praise My Soul The King of Heaven (Praise) OR Picardy (Reflection)
Let the Cosmos praise its maker,
In its known and unknown tongues,
Giving thanks for all existence
In its multitude of forms;
From immense to subatomic,
From primaeval to new-born.
All the fundamental forces
Dance before his heavenly throne,
Giving praise with saints and angels
For the mighty deeds he’s done;
Bringing matter out of nothing
As the universe was formed.
Let us, as his much loved creatures
Seek how we might understand
All the glory of creation,
All the beauty that he planned,
And his cosmic gift, salvation
Through Christ Jesus, God in man.
Trevor Thorn © 2018
A Cosmic Doxology
Tune Blaenwern (Love Divine)
Christ before us, Christ within us,
Christ to left and Christ to right.
Christ whose love enfolds all creatures,
Christ the source of life and light.
Christ the cosmic Lord of glory,
Christ who battled sin’s great curse,
Christ the risen and ascended
Sanctifies the universe.
Psalm 24 as a modern reflection (Video link at end)
Verses can be spoken or chanted.
The three Responsories can sung by all to the tune Truro/ Jesus Shall Reign Where'er The Sun.
The whole cosmos is the Lord's and everything in it:
every particle of matter throughout the universe.
All human beings, the earth’s wild creatures and resources:
and unknown beings who may live on planets far beyond our reach.
(Responsory 1)
Lift Up your heads, you galaxies,
Bright Nova form a dazzling path,
That your great King of Glo-o-o-ory
Through all your realms may nobly pass
It was God commanded the deep realm of space, Come forth:
and it sprang into instant being.
He established light and dark; light to see the wonders of our generous planet:
darkness to invite us to see the vastness of creation.
(Responsory 2)
Who is this great and glorious King?
The Lord, Creator of us all,
It was His Word establish-ed
Prime forces and base particles.
Who shall travel beyond, into the eternal presence of The Lord:
or who shall dare to approach that holy place?
Even those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who love righteousness and Godly justice, and who despise greed and iniquity.
These will receive blessings from The Lord: and be welcomed into his kingdom of love.
They will be a renewed generation of those who revere God,
who stand in awe at the unfolding of the magnificence of his creation.
Lift Up your heads, you galaxies,
Bright Nova form a dazzling path,
That your great King of Glo-o-o-ory
Through all your realms may nobly pass
(c) March 2023
There is a YouTube Video posted on the Sing of God and Science channel. You will find it at
