Message of Pope Francis for the Season of Creation:
“If we learn how to listen, we can hear in the voice of creation a kind of dissonance.
On the one hand, we can hear a sweet song in praise of our beloved Creator;
on the other, an anguished plea, lamenting our mistreatment of this our common home…”
Read the Message of Pope Francis in full here
The Season of Creation is an annual ecumenical celebration of prayer and action for our common home; a time to renew our relationship with our Creator and all creation through repenting, repairing, and rejoicing together. During this season, we join our sisters and brothers in the ecumenical family in prayer and action for our common home.
During the season this year, we enter a time of restoration and hope, that requires radically new ways of living with creation. In the same way that we have become accustomed to being muted during this COVID era, many voices speaking out for the world are not being heard. So this year we are invited to listen to those excluded voices.
The Season of Creation unites the world’s 2.2 billion Christians around one shared purpose. With so much injustice all around us, now is the time for Christians everywhere to come together and show the world how to love each other and creation.
The symbol we are reflecting on this year is the burning bush from Exodus 3:1-12. Today, sadly fires are a frequent occurrence across the world due to the devastating effects of climate change. By contrast, the fire that called to Moses did not consume or destroy the bush. This was a flame of the Spirit that revealed God’s life sustaining presence. Moses was told to remove his sandals, for he was standing on holy ground in God’s presence. May this symbol move us to remove the “sandals” of our unsustainable lifestyles that disconnect us from creation and our Creator, contemplate our connection to the holy ground where we live, and listen for the voice of creation.
KEY CLIMATE DATES 2022
LINKS TO EVENTS & ORGANISATIONS
Resources are available online for prayer and worship services,
lectionary notes and sermon notes. There are also event checklists to help you plan things like ecumenical prayer services, and guidance on getting involved in advocacy. Please look at the guide on the website for a full pack of resources.
https://seasonofcreation.org/
On social media use the hashtag #SeasonOfCreation to share your events, actions, prayers and love for people and planet!
Join the English Language Season of Creation Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/176079929597903
SEASON OF CREATION VIDEO COMPETITION 2020
Another chance to watch our winning videos from 2020!
St Patrick’s Church, Neasden
&
St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School, Ealing
CAFOD Care of Creation Rosary
Joyful mysteries of the rosary to nourish your commitment to care for the earth.
For Groups
This resource was produced by the Archdiocese of Liverpool Justice & Peace Commission with CAFOD Liverpool.
There are 30 sessions which can be used by groups in parishes or other settings.
The sessions follow the liturgical year, complementing the gospel readings with ideas for prayer and action.
The book can be downloaded electronically for free or purchased in print form.
Journey to 2030
The Journey to 2030 is a campaign focused on the next 10 years. This year they invite us to ‘Wake Up!’ to the urgency of climate breakdown.
Their main aim is to help church communities to be active in caring for our common home, using their varied resources and skills to make a difference.
They are encouraging the church to lead the way in tackling climate change and the ecological crisis.
Worldwide Church
Help create a home for all
As followers of Christ around the globe, we share a common role as caretakers of God’s creation. We see that our well-being is interwoven with its well-being.
We rejoice in this opportunity to care for our common home and the brothers and sisters who share it.
From September 1 to October 4, Christians around the world celebrate the Season of Creation. Join in this season of care.
Get inspired, download the Vatican Guide or register your event on the Season of Creation website.
Global Healing & Global Caring are film-based events for parishes, groups and individuals. Free to download, they set out to inform, challenge and equip people to engage with the urgent call from Pope Francis to Care For Our Common Home.
PRODUCED by CaFE (Catholic Faith Exploration) on behalf of the Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales.
CARING FOR CREATION ON ZOOM!
BOOKS
There is No Planet B
Mike Berners-Lee (2019)
‘There is No Planet B’ gives the big-picture perspective on the environmental issues and poses major questions about how we live and think.
The subtitle of the book is ‘A Handbook for the Make or Break Years’ which aptly describes its content and purpose.
As well as analysis, you will find practical and inspiring ideas for what can be done to help humanity thrive on this – our only – planet.
Theology and Ecology in Dialogue
Dermot A. Lane
(2020)
This book builds bridges between theology and ecology.
It challenges theology to re-imagine who we are, who the Spirit is, who Christ is, where creation is going, and what is the role of liturgy in society—all in the glare of the climate crisis.
In listening to ecology, Lane seeks to open a conversation between religion and science in the context of climate change.
Time to Act
Jeremy Williams
(2020)
Written by members and friends of Christian Climate Action, this book sets out the moral and religious case for joining the struggle against climate change.
It reflects on the Christian tradition of non-violent direct action, and offers deeply moving testimonies by those engaged in such protests today, along with powerful sermons, prayers, liturgies and other spiritual resources.
Why not read one of these with your Book Group?
Or start a Book Group!
Farm Street Jesuit Church and Grosvenor Chapel, Mayfair, held a joint Ecumenical Service in Mount Street Gardens to mark Climate Sunday 2020
Climate Sunday has been organised by the Environmental Issues Network of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, supported by charities including CAFOD, Christian Aid, Tearfund, A Rocha UK, and Operation Noah.
Local churches are encouraged to hold a Climate Sunday any time during a one-year period from 6 September 2020 – the first Sunday in the annual Season of Creation.
Free resources are being provided to suit every tradition and style of worship. Each church is invited to do one or more of three things:
1. To hold a climate-focused service to explore the theological and scientific basis of creation care and action on climate, to pray, and to commit to action.
2. To make a commitment as a local church community to taking long term action to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Join with other churches and wider society by adding its name to a common call for the UK government to take much bolder action on climate change in advance of COP26, and to strengthen its credibility to lead the international community to adopt a step change in action at COP26.
The culmination of the campaign will be a national Climate Sunday event on Sunday 5 September 2021, to share church commitments and pray for bold action and courageous leadership at the COP26 UN climate talks in Glasgow in November 2021.
Visit the Climate Sunday Website
See also:
UN Climate Conference of Parties (COP26) – Glasgow, 1-12 November 2021 – Delivering the Glasgow Climate Pact
UN Climate Conference of Parties (COP27) – Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, 6-18 November 2022
Diocese of Westminster Justice and Peace Commission 