Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
The annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation is 1 Sept. It is widely celebrated throughout many churches and marks the beginning of the “Season of Creation,” a time each year from 1 Sept. – 4 Oct. that invites us to reflect — in our prayer, our preaching, our conversion, and our decisions — on our responsibility as stewards of God’s creation and, in particular, our care for the earth and its resources.
We invite our parishes and missions to use the weeks ahead to explore more deeply how our faith commitments call us to take seriously our responsibilities toward God’s creation in all of the choices we make, as individuals and as communities.
Our care for God’s world is among the most pressing moral issues Christians face today. Young people in our communities know this, and they are watching to see how serious we are about living out our faith commitments in our choices.
Your action as a leader is fundamental. In this moment of struggle for our common home, we must unite our hope and commitment to give life to a better future for new generations.
The Episcopal Church’s Office of Creation and Climate Care offers several resources for congregations to use in marking this season together. These include:
- The Feast of Creation Celebration Guide for 2024, which provides multiple resources for celebrating The Feast of Creation
- Season of Creation: An Ecumenical Celebration, a gathering of liturgical resources authorized for use in our worship
- Liturgical Materials for Honoring God in Creation, an earlier resource prepared by the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Church Music
We encourage you to explore and utilize these resources to plan for the weeks ahead.
In addition to our life together in worship, there are several things your community can do to strengthen our work and witness in caring for God’s creation. These include:
- Appointing someone in your community with passion and energy around these issues to be your representative to the Climate and Creation Care Ministry Initiative
- Focusing on Climate and Creation Care in the context of formation programs for children and young people
- Organizing a weekend pilgrimage or hike for your congregation
- Undertaking an energy audit at your church or providing the resources for your members to do so at home
We give thanks for all the many good initiatives we know are taking place in our communities as we become more fully engaged in our tasks as God’s stewards, and we pray God’s blessing for creativity and energy in the season ahead.
With thanks,
Anita Urassa Chair, Climate and Creation Care Ministry Initiative
The Right Reverend Mark Edington Bishop in Charge
