Season of Creation

Dear Friends in Christ,

The Season of Creation begins tomorrow, September 1st, and runs through the Feast of St. Francis on October 4th. The celebration of this Season began when Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I established a Day of Prayer for Creation for the Orthodox in 1989. Later, the World Council of Churches extended the celebration into its current pattern.

During the Season of Creation, using prayers, readings, and liturgies created over the global Anglican Communion and beyond in our Sunday morning liturgy, Saint Anna’s will join with billions of Christians around the world to celebrate in prayer and action our Gospel calling to protect the Earth that God has entrusted to our care.

Each year has a theme provided by the ecumenical organization to which we belong as members of the Anglican Communion. The Rt. Rev. Marc Andrus, Bishop of California, represents the Episcopal Church on the steering committee. This year, the theme for the season is “Let justice and peace flow”. As the SoC handbook states:

“The Prophet Amos cries out: “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24) and so we are called to join the river of justice and peace, to take up climate and ecological justice, and to speak out with and for communities most impacted by climate injustice and the loss of biodiversity. As the people of God, we must work together on behalf of all Creation, as part of that mighty river of peace and justice.”

The Episcopal Church’s Season of Creation Celebration Guide for 2023 suggests using the five-fold pattern of Pray, Learn, Act, Advocate and Bless as an approach so that these may be considered as guiding themes for each of five Sundays in the Season. Over the course of the next five weeks, I will be exploring each of these themes and offering suggestions and resources for you to consider. We will begin this week with prayer. This week I invite you to pray about climate change and ask God to show you how you might participate in caring for God’s creation. You might want to consider attending the Global Ecumenical Online Prayer Service (6AM PST) or praying the 2023 SEASON OF CREATION PRAYER over the course of the week, either in its entirety or taking a part each day.

Creator of All,

From your communion of love life sprung forth like a

mighty river and the whole cosmos came into being.

On this Earth of overflowing love, the Word was made

flesh and went forth with the life-giving waters proclaiming

peace and justice for all creation.

You called human beings to till and keep your garden. You

placed us into right relationship with each creature, but we

failed to listen to the cries of the Earth and the cries of the

most vulnerable. We broke with the flowing communion

of love and sinned against you by not safeguarding the

conditions for life.

We lament the loss of our fellow species and their habitats,

we grieve the loss of human cultures, along with the lives

and livelihoods that have been displaced or perished, and

we ache at the sight of an economy of death, war and

violence that we have inflicted on ourselves and on the

Earth.

Open our ears to your creative, reconciling and sustaining

Word that calls to us through the book of Scripture and the

book of creation. Bless us once again with your life-giving

waters so that the Creator Spirit may let justice and peace

flow in our hearts and overflow into all creation.

Open our hearts to receive the living waters of God’s justice

and peace, and to share it with our suffering brothers and

sisters, all creatures around us, and all creation.

Bless us to walk together with all people of good will so

that the many streams of the living waters of God’s justice

and peace may become a mighty river all over the Earth.

In the name of the One who came to proclaim good news

to all creation, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

May this prayer and our prayers deepen our response to the living God and strengthen our resolve to follow Jesus in this critical time for all of Creation.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Jane+

More information and resources for various activities and events outside of the primary Sunday morning worship service may be found on the website: SeasonOfCreation.org