Celebrate Season of Creation!

Celebrate Season of Creation

Each year, the ecumenical worldwide church celebrates the Season of Creation, beginning with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on 1^st September until the feast day of St Francis of Assisi on 4^th October.  There will be a number of items in this Queensland District eNews during this season to focus on creation care.

Lutheran Earth Care Australia and New Zealand (LECANZ) was established in 2020 to support and encourage the church to care for God’s good creation.

LECANZ encourages congregations to participate in the Season of Creation, as best fits their circumstances.  One suggestion is to have a focus on creation care during one of your worship services.  To assist with preparation of such a service, the Commission on Worship, in cooperation with LECANZ, has developed worship resources that are available through the Worship Planning webpage.  These resources include an option to reflect on this year’s international theme of “Let Justice and Peace Flow” using the prophet Amos’ image of a mighty river of justice.

Another notable recent event has been the publication by the LCANZ of a theological statement: “Caring for God’s Creation”.  This statement provides the scriptural basis for why creation care is an integral part of God’s mission.  It also lists suggestions for how individuals, congregations and agencies can be part of that mission. These suggestions include development of discipleship and worship resources, recognizing some of the exciting work already being done in this area around the church, learning from Australia and New Zealand’s indigenous wisdom in caring for country, investigating how our congregations and agencies can operate more sustainably, and providing care and support to local and global communities that are most affected by the current environmental crisis.  In all of these actions, we wish to respect the diversity of opinions around the tension between development and conservation.  The statement also acknowledges our wish to work collaboratively with other ecumenical, government and community initiatives to care for creation.

LECANZ ‘s website (lutheranearthcare.lca.org.au) includes a link to the Season of Creation worship resources, and to the Theological Statement, as well as many other suggestions for how creation care can be part of our Christian discipleship.

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. (Psalm 24:1)