A time to reflect

Jackie Macadam learns more about the growing importance of Creation Time in the Church calendar.

“During September many churches throughout the world will be marking the Season of Creation, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. Many of us will include concerns for, and celebration of, creation in our worship and discipleship throughout the year, but for me the Season of Creation is important as it intentionally connects me with the church across many traditions and particularly across the planet as we recognise that the climate crisis is a global phenomenon which disproportionately affects the poorest in the global family.” [The Rev Lindsey Sanderson, Moderator, United Reformed Church National Synod of Scotland, from the Eco-Congregation Scotland web page for Season of Creation.]

“CHRISTIAN churches cherish their calendar. It shapes the spiritual life of your local congregation,” says the Rev David Coleman, Environmental Chaplain at Eco-Congregation, Scotland.

“Creation Time, sometimes called the ‘Season of Creation’ fills a striking gap in that calendar, offering – without any bigstick compulsion – an opportunity ‘to renew our relationship with our Creator and all creation, through celebration, conversion, and commitment together’.

“Churches of every size and denomination throughout Scotland are members of Eco-Congregation. For them, an unjust exploitation of the Earth’s resources dishonours God, and our call to worship God through care for the poor, and cherishing of Creation means we cannot ignore such destruction and do nothing.

“At its most basic, your church calendar will be Christmas, Easter and Pentecost; usually with Lent and Advent thrown in. Each has their own distinct character and spiritual benefit for local congregations as well as national churches, and potential for reflection on mission, discipleship and evangelism, as well as the building of community and resilience,” he says. “These are spiritual gifts in response to the needs of the Church. They say who we are. “They’ll ‘know we are Christians by our love,” but does that love extend to the life of the world that God ‘so loved’?

“This ‘Season of Creation/CreationTime’ makes space to address that mission challenge.

“‘Creation Time’ is the name given to what elsewhere is the Season of Creation, an ecumenical, global initiative opted into by many different churches, developing year by year. With a far greater awareness of the urgency of the crises of nature and climate, hugely impacting the lives of many churches and their communities, it grew from the suggestion of the ‘Ecumenical [Orthodox] Patriarch’ 35 years ago, to observe September 1 as a day of worship and reflection on God’s Creation.

On the suggestion of the World Council of Churches, this became a ’Season’ running until St Francis of Assisi Day on October 4.

“Eco-Congregation Scotland, working with the Church of Scotland has been providing lectionary-based and thematic resources for some years to encourage churches to make the most of this space in the calendar. I was on the global steering group which approved this year’s theme ‘To hope and act WITH’ Creation, and curates the original resources which are available online, on the Eco-Church Scotland website, and via ‘Weekly Worship’. These include text notes, sermon-length videos, prayers and more.

“Earlier this year, at a major ecumenical conference in Assisi, Italy, academics and those, like me who are involved in ministry with churches, committed to partnership with Creation, to look at formally embedding in the calendars of world churches, a season of celebration, reflection and action, especially at the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed approaches, and the reference to Creation is the only aspect not yet reflected in a traditional festival.

He adds: “It’s vital to distinguish between such deep-rooted festivals and the bandwagon of ‘favourite charity special Sundays’. These remain a valuable feature of campaigning/fundraising in Scottish churches but the Season of Creation is in a different category: global, local, and very ecumenical. In Scotland, resourced by EcoCongregation Scotland it’s responsive to our need for truth, challenge, and prayerful transformation faced, as we are, both with the brutal urgency of the crisis of climate and nature, and the impoverishment of our relationship with fellow creatures and the Earth.

“ ‘Creation Time’ carries a historic endorsement from the General Assembly – but what matters most, is that your local church, encouraged by their leadership, respond to the invitation of the Season as seems good to them and the Spirit.

“This disconnection arises from generations of intimidation from secular and commercial philosophies, and from a ‘colonial’ mindset which seeks control, rather than collaboration – a general imposition of our will on nature if you like. “The flip side of that, is that we feel worthless if we can’t fix things, whereas, in reliance on grace, we find value in participation and commitment. Christian attention to human responsibility for damage done to homelands, habitats and cycles of life, has previously struggled to make the leap from ‘it’ to ‘who’. We’ve seldom listened to the prophetic voices and personalities of Creation, so vibrant in the poetry of Scripture, and interpreted by climate science. The more we’re aware of this crisis, the more our faith response makes sense.

“‘Creation Time’ carries a historic endorsement from the General Assembly – but what matters most, is that your local church, encouraged by their leadership, respond to the invitation of the Season as seems good to them and the Spirit.

“That’s why Eco-Congregation Scotland has worked for some years now with the Church of Scotland, providing resources to support your worship in the Season, as also to celebrate the inspiring prayer and action of local churches throughout the year. Worship; study groups; litter-picks; public outreach; celebration; new green commitments. Make Creation Time a real festival of this Season!”

Dr Murdo Macdonald, Policy Officer with the Church’s Society, Religion and Technology Council, says: “A playground favourite for some of us may have been the chase-catch game ‘What’s the time, Mr Wolf?’. The game involves a group of children repeatedly asking the question of another of their number (Mr Wolf), who has his back turned. The wolf’s response on each occasion is a time (eg 4 o’clock), which requires the children to take than number of steps closer to Mr Wolf – until on one occasion the wolf suddenly turns and shouts ‘Dinner time!’, and tries to catch one of those asking before they are able to run back to their safe zone.

The writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us that there is “a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecc 3 v 1). We all live in time, and find it difficult to envisage anything outside of time – even though, as the writer of Ecclesiastes also reminds us, God has “set eternity in the human heart” (Ecc 3 v 11).

“So, when it comes to Creation, what IS the time? Our lives are often governed by dates and appointments – whether that’s needing to clock in at work, having an appointment to go to the dentist, or indeed that it actually is dinner time! You will be reading this at a particular time of day, on a specific date. It may just be an ordinary day, or might be significant in some way.

“Throughout history the Church has recognised particular days, festivals and seasons. Embedded in the creation story is the recognition that God set aside a day as holy (Gen 2 v2,3) – a sabbath echoed in the commandments (Ex 20 v 8-11). As we read the Old Testament, we see many holy days, holidays and festivals. These are often instituted by God, sometimes as a reminder of a past redemption (as in the Passover), sometimes as a reminder of the annual goodness of God in the provision of another annual harvest.

“ Creation Time too is an opportunity to reflect on the danger zone to which too many aspects of our natural environments are drawing closer...

“The modern church also often operates to an annual calendar, recognising specific times and seasons. Many of these, such as Easter and Advent, are well known; some of us mere Presbyterians may be mystified by or unaware of others (‘Ordinary time’, anyone?). Creation Time is a relatively new innovation, growing as it did from September 1 being observed since 1989 as a day ‘of protection of the natural environment’. Ten years later the European Christian Environmental Network (ECEN) widened this proposal, urging churches to adopt a Time for Creation stretching from September 1 to October 4, recommending that the period be dedicated to prayer for the protection of Creation and the promotion of sustainable lifestyles that reverse our contribution to climate change.

“Yes, ‘What’s the time, Mr Wolf ?’ is a silly childhood game,” he says, “but on reflection perhaps there are lessons to be learned too. Each time the players ask the question “what’s the time?”, they inevitably find themselves closer to the danger zone, within reach of Mr Wolf, should he declare it dinner time. Creation Time too is an opportunity to reflect on the danger zone to which too many aspects of our natural environments are drawing closer, often as a result of our foolishness and profligacy.

“Creation Time, and the celebration of God’s Creation, gives us all a time to reflectand to pull back before it’s too late.”