As the summer draws to a close, at A Rocha UK we move into one of our favourite times of the year: the Season of Creation. Also known as ‘Creationtide’, the Season of Creation is a period in the church calendar dedicated to God as Creator and Sustainer of all living things. Churches use this time to hold special services to dig deeper with creation care theology, pray for the natural world and take action to safeguard and care for our common home.
So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that as a Christian nature charity we get excited during this time!
The Season of Creation started on 1 September with the Feast of Creation (also known as Day of Prayer for Creation, or Creation Day) and ends 4 October with the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. But, how did it come to be?
In Orthodox Christianity 1 September has been long observed as a “Day of Creation”, marking the day God began the creation of the universe, as described in Genesis. Building on this tradition, in 1989 the Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I proclaimed 1 September as a day of prayer for the environment; a day to offer “prayers and supplications to the Maker of all, both as thanksgiving for the great gift of Creation and as petitions for its protection and salvation.”
On 4 October, churches from Western traditions commemorate Francis of Assisi, who is well known as the patron saint of ecology and author of the Canticle of Creatures, a famous hymn reflecting our relationship with all of God’s creation.
The proposal to make these five weeks into a time to celebrate creation was made by the Third European Ecumenical Assembly in Sibiu, Romania, in 2007. The year after, the World Council of Churches invited churches to observe a ‘Time for Creation’ through prayer and action for creation. Churches Together in Britain and Ireland adopted the concept in 2008. Then in 2015, Pope Francis designated September the first as a World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation, for the worldwide Roman Catholic Church.
Like its roots, the spirit of the Season of Creation is ecumenical with organisations and denominations from across major Orthodox, Protestant and Catholic traditions coming together over the years to encourage the 2.2 billion Christians worldwide to engage on ecological issues during this period.
The theme of Season of Creation 2024 is to ‘Hope and Act with Creation’. This is an invitation to put our ultimate hope in God, as the Sustainer of all things and respond with action, to safeguard and protect our common home – nature. That’s why, over this period, A Rocha UK will be equipping Christians and churches with resources to dig deeper with us.
