By Rev. Lee Gable, Pastor of Fredsville Lutheran Church and Iowa Faith & Climate Network Board Member
The air is decorated in bird song, the breeze makes the flowers gently dance as sunlight filters through the branches above. Breathe deep, in, out…become aware of the gift of Creation that holds us beautiful and beloved. We are created to live and thrive in harmony with all of Creation.
Our religious traditions have cycles of prayer and practice that reflect the seasons and cycles of the Creation around us. As a Lutheran pastor one of the seasons that I have come to hold near is the Season of Creation, practiced September 1-October 4. This is a season of intentional time to root our lives of prayer in the holy ground beneath our feet. A movement germinated in 1989 from the Eastern Orthodox tradition as a Day of Prayer for Creation, has now cascaded across the globe as a season of prayer and action that bookends with the day that recognizes Saint Francis of Assisi, author of the Canticle of Creation and whose ministry has inspired the care of Creation for 800 years.
The Season of Creation invites our creative engagement, to weave together our prayer practices with the environment. This might include bringing more seasonal creation elements into your sacred space or taking our communal prayer on a sojourn into the open air. What language in prayers and rituals could be adopted for a season to reflect community with creation? Could bird songs become part of our music, offering a connection to voices of creation’s choir? How might the groaning of creation, wildfires, water pollution, climate change and more be recognized and held in tension with our apathy and action?
The Season of Creation, as embodied in the Christian tradition, has an annual theme and resources to focus our efforts. These are available at seasonofcreation.org. This year’s theme is “Living Water”.
Water is essential for daily life among all people of every faith tradition. How might we become more aware of water’s presence and role in our sacred stories? The waters of history flow in the present, through our rituals, gardens, and communities. How might we be intentional about recognizing our relationship to water in daily life?
The Season of Creation is also an opportunity to put our faith and prayer into meaningful action, through education, community projects, and advocacy; a contemporary investment that seeds the future health and viability of Creation. What are the environmental stresses that your community is facing? How might your personal and communal prayers and rituals creatively include physical actions of hope for the life of the world, tree planting, pollinator blessing, renewable energy adoption, community gardens, prairie restoration, green team formation, and who might we partner with? How might you bring awareness to positive action from the heart of your faith community into the world? Our stewardship flows to our neighbors downstream and in generations to come.
People of faith across traditions are grounded in relationship with the Creation. Our sacred texts, rituals, liturgies, music, and prayerful practices take place upon the earth we call home. No matter the shape of the landscape or the view out your window you exist in a great web of connection, wind and water cycle, sunlight and cloud cover, plant and animal life, we are a global community. May we live in a life-giving relationship with our neighbors and mutual reciprocity with all of Creation.