On September 1 people around the world are coming together to pray for God’s creation, and to observe the Season of Creation between that day and October 4 – the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. NC Interfaith Power & Light is joining with the Global Catholic Climate Movement, the World Council of Churches, GreenFaith, and others to encourage Christians worldwide to celebrate our love and care for all creation.
The Season of Creation, running yearly between September 1 and October 4, is that time of the year when 2.2 billion Christians are invited to pray and care for creation. September 1 was proclaimed as a day of prayer for creation (World Day of Prayer for Creation, or Creation Day) by Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I for the Orthodox in 1989, and was embraced by the other major Christian European churches in 2001 and by Pope Francis for the Roman Catholic Church in 2015.
And it has happened that in recent years many Christian churches have started celebrating the “Season of Creation” (also known as Creation Time) between that date and October 4, which is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi (author of the Canticle of the Creatures in the 13th century) that some Western traditions observe. It is meant to give flexibility to celebrate prayer services for creation in alternative dates throughout the month, while engaging in different actions to care for creation throughout the season. Several statements from the past few years have called to observe this month-long Season of Creation, such as those of the Catholic Bishops of the Philippines in 2003, the Third European Ecumenical Assembly in Sibiu in 2007 and the World Council of Churches in 2008.
It’s a time to offer thanks for the awesome gift of creation.
To acknowledge our responsibility for caring for the earth, and to protect life.
To ask for the Godly strength to put our beliefs into action.
Click here for a wonderful collection of prayers and resources. Churches around the world will be taking part. I hope you’ll join us in prayer. The earth needs our faith and it’s also important that we stand together with people all around the world who are already suffering from climate change. This is why the Season of Creation is about action as well as prayer. Throughout the month we will be calling on governments to commit to sign and ratify the Paris Climate Agreement as soon as possible. We need your prayers, your faith and your voice. Join us!
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