9/1/2022
9/1/2022
Dear Friends in Christ,
Today, September 1st, is the first day of the Season of Creation which runs through the Feast of St. Francis on October 4th. During this one-month celebration Christians across the globe come together in prayer and action for “this fragile earth, our island home.” As the Season of Creation website explains, it is a time to “renew our relationship with our Creator and all creation through celebration, conversion, and commitment together.”
It all began in 1989 when Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I proclaimed September 1st as a day of prayer for creation, which was later extended into a season by the World Council of Churches. Beginning this Sunday, Saint Anna’s will once again recognize the Season of Creation, incorporating some of the themes into our Sunday worship through prayer and music.
This year’s theme is Listen to the Voice of Creation. Over the course of history many voices have been muted, including those who speak out against climate change, and especially the voice of creation itself. It is always the poor and the vulnerable who feel the effects of injustice the worst, and whose voices are not heard. This includes the effects of climate change. When white Europeans came to this nation they silenced the voices of the indigenous peoples, those who for centuries had lived gratefully and in harmony with this land. The 2022 Season of Creation theme raises awareness of our need to listen to those who understand the needs of the earth, and the more-than-human voices of creation; to pay attention to the ways in which our way of life is harming the earth, to the number of species becoming extinct, and to the people who are suffering the worst effects.
The symbol for this year’s celebration is the burning bush. In California we know the dangers and horror of wildfire all to well. Yet the fire God kindled to call Moses, did not destroy or consume but instead led eventually to the life-giving freedom of God’s people. This holy fire revealed God’s life-sustaining spirit and affirmed that God hears the cries of suffering and distress. God hears the cries of creation, and as people of faith who listen to God’s holy word, we too are called to listen to all that cries out from suffering and pain.
As the Psalmist declares, “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge… their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the Earth, and their words to the end of the world.” (Ps. 19: 1-4)
As the introduction to this year’s celebration states,
“During the Season of Creation, our common prayer and action can help us listen for the voices of those who are silenced. In prayer we lament the individuals, communities, species, and ecosystems who are lost, and those whose livelihoods are threatened by habitat loss and climate change. In prayer we center the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor. May this 2022 Season of Creation renew our ecumenical unity, renewing and uniting us by our bond of Peace in one Spirit, in our call to care for our common home. And may this season of prayer and action be a time to Listen to the Voice of Creation, so that our lives in words and deeds proclaim good news for all the Earth.”
We are called to hear the voices of the multitude of different life that inhabit this planet with us and to care for them as God would have us do. I invite you to join me and people of faith all over the world in prayer and reflection and in making this world a better place for all its inhabitants. Take a walk and look at God at work in the natural world; dig in the dirt; plant something; go to your favorite place in nature; pick up some trash; recycle; reduce your use of plastic; stop buying single use items; take a reusable bag to the store for your purchases. And above all, thank God for God’s creation, and pray the prayer for this year which can be found at this link:
https://www.ssjg.org/the-2022-season-of-creation-prayer/
Send me photos of what you do and we will use them during worship, or in the bulletin, or include them in one of the two weekly emails.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Jane+