Resources deepen engagement with creation care

This year, Anglicans in our diocese have more resources than ever to help them observe the Season of Creation.

The Season of Creation is a global ecumenical movement that invites Christians to engage intentionally in action and prayer for God’s creation from Sept. 1, the Orthodox Day of Prayer for Creation, to Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Our diocese has officially observed the Season of Creation since it was adopted by General Synod in 2019, though individual parishes had begun celebrating it even earlier. The global Season of Creation website provides a scripture-based theme and related resources every year, but local churches are also encouraged to develop their own.

The Bishop’s Committee on Creation Care has produced several resources in keeping with this year’s theme of “Living Water.” The Rev. Adrienne Clements has offered a liturgy used at St. Hilary, Cooksville last fall for the dedication of a rain garden. The Rev. Andrew Kuhl, of the parish of Craighurst and Midhurst, has created a watershed mapping exercise that invites parishioners into a deeper understanding of their local watershed and its challenges. The Rev. Dr. Alison Kemper has gathered prayer resources on the theme of water, while I have collected advocacy and action ideas for parishes and individuals to help protect water in our communities and beyond. The Rev. Canon Susan Spicer, co-chair of the committee, offers a theological reflection tying together the theme of “Living Water” and the flourishing of creation, which is the goal of the Anglican Communion Forest. All these resources can be found on our diocesan website.

In March 2024, church leaders from around the globe met in Assisi, Italy to explore establishing a new feast in the Western Church calendar to celebrate God’s original and ongoing acts of creation. In 2025, General Synod, along with other church bodies around the world, adopted the Feast of the Creator to be held on Sept. 1 or another date during the Season of Creation. This spring, Council of General Synod approved a trial use liturgy to be used for this feast. Readings for the feast have also been added to the Revised Common Lectionary.

As the Rev. Dr. Rachel Mash, coordinator of the Anglican Communion Environmental Network, explains, the Feast of the Creator (or Feast of Creation in Christ, as it is also known) is not simply a “Christian Earth Day.” Rather, it has deep roots in the theological understanding of the Triune God as Creator, and specifically of Christ’s role as the one “through whom all things were made” and in whom “all things are held together.” The Feast of the Creator thus takes its place among the other Christological feasts of the church year, lifting up the role of Christ in creation.

The Feast of the Creator reminds us, in the words of Wendell Berry, that “our destruction of nature is not just bad stewardship, or stupid economics, or a betrayal of family responsibility; it is the most horrid blasphemy.” As we observe it, and the Season of Creation, this year, may we be drawn deeper into God’s love and care for all his creatures, including the waters which give us life.