The Season of Creation, September 1st through October 4th, is celebrated by Christians around the world as a time for renewing, repairing and restoring our relationship to God, one another, and all of creation. October 4th is the The Feast of St. Francis, which is why denominations around the world, including the Episcopal Church, use the month of September to promote creation care.
What about Earth Day? For Christian churches, Earth Day posed a problem. It was frequently the weekend after or even the weekend of Easter. It was difficult to plan and hold another big church event after all the planning and practice that went into Lent, Holy Week and Easter. So because St. Francis is the patron saint of animals and the environment, ecumenical organizations developed a plan to celebrate a Season of Creation in the harvest month before his Feast Day.
This year, amid crises that have shaken our world, we’re awakened to the urgent need to heal our relationships with creation and each other. During the Season this year, we enter a time of restoration and hope, a jubilee for our Earth, that requires radically new ways of living with creation. We enter a time that calls us to pray for environmental protection and conservation and to adopt a lifestyle based in simplicity and service of others.
How can we celebrate the Season of Creation in these strange times? For resources we can turn to the Season of Creation website where we find messages from church leaders, news, and a downloadable guide which includes prayers and Bible studies. There is also a marvelous guidebook from the Anglican Church of South Africa with resources for worship, study and small groups.
What will you do to observe the Season of Creation? You can start with the resources that you can find on our church website in the first Creation Care blog. There you will find classic books to read, websites to visit, organizations to support and a large section on sustainable products and shopping. Pick something from these resource pages and adopt it for the Season.
What could our church do to observe the Season of Creation? Do you have some ideas for worship, study, or community involvement? Please send your ideas to Father Karl or me. Even in this time of Zoom meetings and worship streaming, we can surely find a way to honor creation as a Christian community.
