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2019 Season of Creation guide now available
(LWI) - The 2019 guide for the annual Season of Creation campaign engaging the global church family in prayer and action on behalf of creation is now available. The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) invites its member churches and congregations to join in this year’s initiative and use the ecumenical resource featuring the theme “Web of Life” with a focus on biodiversity.
Introducing the theme and accompanying material, the Season of Creation Steering Committee states: “We lament that God’s creatures are disappearing from the Earth at a rate we can scarcely comprehend. From humble insects to majestic mammals, from microscopic plankton to towering trees, plants and creatures from across God’s dominion are becoming extinct, and may never be seen again. This devastation is, in itself, a tragic loss.”
The practical guide explores the theological significance of biodiversity and the land that nurtures the web of life. It offers an ecumenical prayer service, ecologically themed Bible readings, links to eco-theological commentaries and songs. It also suggests how congregations can launch campaigns and join in local and global initiatives to nurture and protect the ecosystem.
“Human beings are called to care for creation. Lutherans affirm that our baptismal promises motivate us to protect all creatures and faithfully keep the land from which we live, work and worship,” says Rev. Dr Chad Rimmer, LWF study secretary for Lutheran Theology and Practice.
The Season of Creation initiative goes back to 1989 when the Ecumenical Patriarchate initiated a day of prayer for the creation, which has since been embraced by several Christian World Communions including the LWF and other church organizations. The annual prayer and action period begins on 1 September, the Day of Prayer for Creation, and ends on 4 October, the feast day of St Francis, considered the patron saint of ecology in many Christian traditions.
At its recent Council meeting the LWF reiterated the Lutheran communion’s commitment to climate justice in a resolution on the conservation of biodiversity, which addressed the theological basis for protecting the integrity of God’s creation. The governing body referred to an intergovernmental report warning of the imminent extinction of around 1 million plant and animal species.
