We are in the Season of Creation – this Ecumenical (Inter-Church) season has been observed since 2020 from 1st September to 4th October and serves as a reminder of our part within God’s creation, and that we are not apart from or above the created world around us. We are called in this season to renew our commitment to be stewards of the earth and to care for it and one another.
The Theme for this year’s Season of Creation is ‘Living Water’ taking its theme from imagery within our Scriptures, especially Ezekiel Chapter 47 verses 9 & 12. We are considering the necessity of water for life, and the need to preserve the waters of the earth for the use of all living things, including ourselves! Much more detail, including the celebration guide for this year, can be found at here .
We begin this season by observing the newly establishes Festival of the Creator transferred from 1st September to 6th September and we will finish, as we move into our Season of Stewardship, on 4th October as we mark the feast of St Francis of Assisi.
Also during this time we are reading The Serviceberry by Anishinaabe Scientist and Author Robin Wall Kimmerer; video reflections on themes in this book will be shared online on Sundays on the St John’s Website.
As part of this Season of Creation you will notice a new Eucharistic prayer. These words come to us from Salal & Cedar (a church without walls in the diocese of New Westminster). Salal & Cedar are a community committed to re-connecting to the creation values and land covenants at the core of our tradition. They are part of the Watershed Discipleship Movement that refers both to watersheds as natural geographic divisions, and to the fact that we are at a watershed moment in terms of the climate crises. Salal and Cedar is deeply committed to a learning and listening relationship with Indigenous land protectors, taking direct action in climate matters, participating in alternative economies such as mutual aid, and creating land based liturgical resources.