Season of Creation 2021
From 1 September to 4 October, Christians around the world take part in acts of worship and action focused on how we live in relationship with and care for God’s creation.
UCA President Rev Sharon Hollis has shared a video message inviting Uniting Church congregations to participate in the Season of Creation. The international theme for the 2021 Season of Creation is A home for all? Renewing the Oikos of God. Oikos is the Greek word for “home,” or “household.”
“The season of creation is an invitation to look closely at creation, to see and know that all creation is part of the oikos, the household of God,” says Rev Hollis in the message below. “We show our love of God by caring for the earth and by being passionate advocates for this broken, beautiful, scarred and glorious creation.”
As part of the video, the President invites people to watch an excerpt from the 16th Assembly Bible Study where Nungalinya teacher and bible translator Wangarr Dhamarrandji from Galiwin’ku (Elcho Island) speaks in Djambarrpuŋu language about the way reflecting more closely on creation enables us to understand God’s love. Wangarr says, “If we see God’s creation, looking closer to our surroundings and we see closer to God’s creation, we also see God’s love in that creation.
Rev Hollis invites people to listen to the wisdom of our First Peoples, to think about the changes we can make to care for the environment, and to be passionate advocates for the planet, especially acting on climate change. DOWNLOAD the President's Season of Creation Message and watch below.
The Assembly will be sharing prayers across the four weeks of Season of Creation. See resources below and stay tuned on our platforms: Subscribe to our weekly newsletter or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
Season of Creation Resources
Watch the 16th Assembly Bible Study in full
Read about the Assembly Climate Action Plan
The Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) Ecological Stewardship and Climate Justice team has provided a liturgy, activities and Sunday School Bible Studies:
https://unitingworld.org.au/a-home-for-all-season-of-creation-2021/
The Synod of WA produces "Sustainable September" resources:
https://ecochurcheswa.net/worship-resources/
View the international Season of Creation resources: https://seasonofcreation.org/ and see Uniting Church curated resources here: https://seasonofcreation.com/
Season of Creation resources shared by the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC):
https://www.arrcc.org.au/season_of_creation_resources
Season of Creation Prayers
This blessing for the final week of the Season of Creation comes from Jessica Morthorpe, Christian environmentalist and founder/Director of the Five Leaf Eco-Awards.
We need the blessings of the Season of Creation even more than usual this year.
May it be for us a time of deep connection with the God of life, who loves and is present within every creature and all of creation.
Especially for those in lockdown but able to exercise outside, may we find comfort and solace in being with God in nature.
May we feel God’s presence with us in every leaf, rock and creature.
May we gather for worship with the community of creation, though we cannot worship with our usual human church communities.
In our gathering, may we reconnect with who we are as God’s creatures, and wonder with humility at our place as part of the
complex interdependent web of creation.
May the sun shine on our faces, The rain wash away our tears, And the earth stand firm beneath our feet.
May you find hope in new leaves, new buds, new babies,
And whatever you are carrying, may it feel smaller beneath the stars.
In these days may our eyes be open for God’s face shining through creation, and our ears be open to the words of creation’s songs of praise.
May we worship among the wattle in a cathedral of the sky, and see God in the promise of a sunrise, the glory of a sunset.
May the scent of eucalypt and petrichor be our incense.
May the rhythms of our liturgy be breath and wind and wave.
May the bees give their sermons, and the birds their wisdom. May ripples and dandelion seeds carry our prayers to the ears of God.
May the freedom from walls widen our hearts and fill them with compassion,
And may we find peace in celebrating the rituals of time, season and growth.
May this be for us a sacred time to remember God’s first gift to us, and our first responsibility – to love and care for creation.
A time to reconnect, a time to care, a time to plan beyond the Season of Creation and make creation care part of everything we do.
Let us put our love of God, and our love of creation, into action.
If your church is doing great things for the environment, or even if you’ve just started on this journey, the Five Leaf Eco-Awards - a national ecumenical environmental awards program for churches - would like to support and reward you for your efforts. Please visit our website and fill out our survey today so we can celebrate your achievements: https://fiveleafecoawards.org/
This prayer from comes Hee Won Chang, candidate for ministry in the Synod of NSW/ACT and Growing Faith Circle Panel member, in both English and Korean.
온 우주 만물을 창조하신 하나님,
단조롭던 이 세상에 알록달록 수만가지 색상을 입히신 하나님,
작은 풀잎 하나조차 당신의 숨결이 닿지 아니한 곳이 없습니다.
당신의 숨결을 우리에게,
이 세상에게,
온 우주만물에게 나누어 주신 하나님,
살랑살랑한 바람소리, 흔들리는 나뭇가지들이 내는 소리, 다양한 음율의 새들의 지저귐과 벌레들의 소리, 잔잔히 부서지는 파도소리…당신이 만드신 모든 자연과 피조물들이 내는 소리에 우리 소리를 보태어 당신을 찬양하고 찬양합니다.
우리와 함께 호흡하시는 하나님,
당신의 아들 예수 그리스도가 걸었던 이 땅에, 생명의 기운이 넘실대던 이 땅에,
온갖 탐욕, 약탈과 점령이 판을 치며, 서로가 서로를 정복하고, 땅을 점령하며, 동물들의 야성은 길들이며 몰아내고 편리함이라는 포장속에 우리가 살기에 좋은 세상을 만들었다 자부했지만, 우리가 만든 세상은 기후변화의 위기에 직면하고 있습니다.
오, 주여! 우리의 죄를 사하여 주시옵소서.
당신의 숨결이 거니는 이 땅위에 생명의 바람이 회복의 역사가 강같이 흘러넘쳐 모든 곳을 치유하시고 이 세상이 당신이 보시기에 좋았던 모두를 위한 집이 될수 있도록, 당신과 진정으로 함께 호흡 할수 있도록 이 땅을 걸었던 복된 소식을 전했던 예수 그리스도의 이름으로 기도합니다. 아멘.
Creator of the universe,
God of all things,
Colour-full God,
You fill a once monotone world with so much hue and brightness, even the tiniest leaf is touched with your breath and colour.
You share your breath with us, this world, and the universe.
Your creation sings their delight
through the sounds of gentle breeze,
dancing tree branches,
melodies of birds and bugs,
crashing and rolling of the waves…
And we add our voice to this symphony of creation and sing you praise and glory.
God who breathes with us,
Your Son, Jesus Christ, has walked this earth sharing life and Spirit.
Yet this earth is filled with greed, plundering, and conquest. We colonize one another, we plunder the earth, we tame the animals and removed them from their homes. We disguise our evil with efficiency and development and pride ourselves for making this place a ‘good’ world. But the world we created is facing climate emergency. Our world is screaming out in terror and agony.
Oh God! Forgive us for we have sinned.
May your breath of life, healing and reconciliation roll down like a river so that your Creation is restored and truly becomes a home for all. Allow us to truly breathe with you. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ who has walked this earth and proclaimed Good News.
Amen.
This prayer comes from the young people of Willoughby and Northbridge Uniting Church.
Rainbow God
We give thanks for the colour with which you fill this beautiful place we call home.
We give thanks for the comfort and love of your wonderful creation
Creation that flies, creation that swims, creation growing, and creation that moves beyond what our eyes see.
Giving God
You embody what it means to love and be kind.
You are with us, your people young and young at heart
You create safe spaces for all living things in this world, and for that we give thanks.
But at times, we forget to be kind to living things. We forget to share your love beyond humans.
We take advantage of the wondrous breath with which your creation fills us.
We think of animals being mistreated and becoming extinct.
We think of the human cruelty on land, sea and sky.
Like humans; animals, nature, creatures and Mother Earth feel pain too.
Help us to ease the pain of your true creation,
Help us to stretch our hands and feet to love beyond our comfort,
because it’s time to speak for those who can’t.
It’s time for us to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves,
it’s time to care more and
It’s time to be kind, to every kind.
We put our faith and trust in you during this season of creation.
Amen.
The team at Leprena UAICC Tasmania has shared with us the following resources, a blessing by proud Palawa woman Alison Overeem, The Spring Song by Fanny Cochrane Smith, who they describe as "family, cultural matriarch and our compass", and a map showing the First Nations of Tasmania (click to enlarge).
Assembly National Consultant Rev Dr Apwee Ting shares this prayer in both Indonesian and English. Watch and share the video
Prayer for Creation (Indonesian)
Keindahan anugerah ciptaan Tuhan
Prayer for Creation (English)
Working for Justice Circle Advocate Rev Loni Vaitohi shares this prayer in both Tongan and English.
Prayer for Creation (Tongan)
‘E ‘Otua Mafimafi mo Aoniu, ko e tupu’anga ‘o e me’a kotoa pe, ko e mo’ui’anga ‘o e me’a kotoa pe ‘i natula moe ‘univeesi. Na’a ke fakatupu ‘i ho’o ‘ofa, pea ‘i ho’o ‘ilome’a na’a ke fokotu’utu’u ke fekau’aki ‘a e me’a mo’ui kotoa pe ki he ma’uma’uluta mo lelei a’ ho’o fakatupu. Ko ho langilangi ia.
‘Oku ke fakateunga ‘a e lile ‘o e vao, ko e me’akai ‘a e manupuna ‘oku ‘ikai ke ngalo. Na’a moe lango moe he’e ‘oku ke tufa honau ‘inasi, pea ko e tangata fakamaama ‘oku topono ‘i ho feleoko.
‘Oku mau kole fakamolemole atu, kimautolu ko ho’o fanga pele, he ‘oku mau ‘efihia he kupenga ‘o e ta’e topono, he tauhele ‘o e mafai, moe ‘ahi’ahi ‘o e tu’unga. Kuo mau ta’etoka’i ho’o fakatupu ‘o mau ta’etoka’i ai ‘a e ‘Afiona, kuo mau si’aki ‘a e ngaahi tapuaki ‘o ‘emau fekau’aki, ‘oku mau taki taha fai pe ma’ana pe, pea ‘oku tangi ‘a mamani mo natula ha tokoni mei he Langi.
‘Eiki e keke afeitaulao ‘o toe manava mai ho’o manava mo’ui ki ho’o fakatupu mo natula pea ke tuku ‘a e Laumalie Ma’oni’oni ke tataki kimautolu ‘i he uki kuo fai he fa’ahi ta’u ko eni, kae lava ke fakaakeake ‘a homau ‘a takai ki he ‘emau lelei kotoa. Fakafonu ‘ofa homau loto, fakaloto lahi’i kimautolu ‘i ho’o kelesi, ke mau tutupu mo mo’ui fakataha mo e me’a kotoa pe ‘i natula moe ‘univeesi ‘o talaki ai ho langilangi.
‘I he huafa ‘o ia kuo ha’u, ‘oku ne ha’u, pea tene ha’u, ke fakafo’ou mo fakaakeake, ke liliu mo taukapoi’i – ko Sisu Kalaisi ko homau ‘Eiki pe ia. ‘Emeni.
Prayer for Creation (English)
Almighty and all-embracing God, the origin of all that is, and life giver to all in nature and the universe. You create out of love, and in your wisdom made us a family, a household dependent on each other for the welfare of the whole.
The lilies of the valleys you enriched with colours, you provide food for the birds of the air, the locusts and the flies are not forgotten. And, you satisfy the needs of humanity from the abundance of your stores.
We plead for forgiveness of our selfish and careless use of your creation. We are trapped in the nets of our own greed, ensnared by the traps of power, and our continued search for status. We have neglected your creation because we have neglected you our God, and your creation is crying out for help.
Lord of creation look favourably upon us and forgive us. Breathe new life into us and all of your creation, let your Holy Spirit lead us in the call of this Season of Creation, that we may renew our relationship with all things and each other. Fill our hearts with you love, encourage us with your grace and empower us with your wisdom, that we may equally share your resources and equally accountable for the welfare of the whole universe. That we may live together in an Eden of harmony and peace.
In the name of Him who came, is coming, and will continue to come, to restore, to revive, and to save – Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.