Every year, Christian Churches around the world keep the period 1st September to 4th October as the Season of Creation. The theme this year is ‘to hope and act with Creation’.
In the letter of Paul the apostle to the Romans, the biblical image pictures the Earth as a Mother, groaning as in childbirth (Rom 8:22). St Francis of Assisi understood this when he referred to the Earth as our sister and our mother in his Canticle of the Creatures.
The times we live in show that we are not relating to the Earth as a gift from our Creator, but rather as a resource to be used.
And yet, there is hope and the expectation for a better future. To hope in a biblical context does not mean to stand still and quiet, but rather groaning, crying, and actively striving for new life amidst the struggles.
Just as in childbirth, we go through a period of intense pain, but new life springs forth.
Jesuit Missions has produced resources for schools and parishes and ideas for action. We are holding events in London and Glasgow.
We are running a postcard and email campaign to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, asking that the UK government support strong action on climate change at the COP29 climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November.
Visit our resources page below for more information!
Image: Unsplash/Noah Buscher
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Evangelii Gaudium, para 270
“Jesus wants us to touch human misery, to touch the suffering flesh of others. He hopes that we will stop looking for those personal or communal niches which shelter us from the maelstrom of human misfortune and instead enter into the reality of other people’s lives and know the power of tenderness.“