A Time Called…Creation Time

Creation Time (also called The Season of Creation) falls within the season of Pentecost.  In the United Church it begins the Sunday after Labour Day and continues through Thanksgiving Sunday.  It’s a chance to celebrate what it means to be Church against the real, urgent and increasing  threat of climate and other environmental crises.  It’s also a time to rediscover  the meaning of a distinctive human calling of justice, care, guidance and partnership with – as well as dependence on – fellow creatures with whom we share so much.

The colour of Creation Time is orange, a warm colour, associated with enthusiasm, creativity, fruitfulness, endurance, and strength as well as with sunrise and sunset, fall and harvest, and the changing seasons.  It is the red of passion tempered by the yellow of wisdom.

This year we will be using weekly Creation Connections as suggested in Gathering, a resource for worship planners.  You are invited to use the Creation Connections for your own reflections on God’s Creation and our place in it.

Week One

Today is the first Sunday in the season of Creation, a period of the church year when we take the time to think about what it means to be Church against the real, urgent and increasing threat of climate and other environmental crises.

Today we are asked to consider what song creation might be singing to God and to humanity at this time –  What would the melody and harmony sound like?  What words or sounds would be used?

Sometimes, a tune can say so much more than an image or words. We are going to watch a video from The Guardian where the creators turn almost 150 years of global temperatures into music. The higher the temperature, the higher the pitch of the note. And the louder the note, the more carbon there is in the atmosphere.  Please note that this video was created in 2016 and that 2023 is now the warmest year on record.

Symphony for Global Warming –

One:  Let us pray:
All: God, as we enter uncharted territory around global climate change, help us to follow the words of Jesus, to love one another.  Through our actions, help us to show our love for the whole of Creation, not just our tiny piece of it.  When we do not know what to do, help us to learn and work together in your name.  Amen.

Week Two 

One: It is our second Sunday in the season of Creation.  Last week, we considered what song creation might be singing to God and to humanity at this time.

This week, we are asked to consider the questions:  How many times must the earth forgive us?

And… what would the earth’s forgiveness be like?

Today’s video is called “Nature is Speaking,” and features Julia Roberts as Mother Nature.  It is from Conservation International, a group that is working to improve the lives of people everywhere by protecting oceans, forests and other living ecosystems.

Let us pray:

All: God, as we enter uncharted territory around global climate change, help us to follow the words of Jesus, to love one another.  Through our actions, help us to show our love for the whole of Creation, not just our tiny piece of it.  Let us humble ourselves and acknowledge our place as just one of many creatures within the Creation. When we do not know what to do, help us to learn and work together in your name.  Amen.

Week Three

This week is the third Sunday in the Season of Creation.  It is also the Sunday before National Truth and Reconciliation Day, or Orange Shirt Day.  Today, we are asked to consider how creation feeds us – physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally.  Do we take more than we need to sustain us each day?  Are our physical, mental, spiritual and emotional lives in balance?  Today we will be watching a video called, World Out of Balance.

 World out of Balance

One:  Let us pray:

All: Creator God, as we enter uncharted territory around global climate change and its effects on people throughout the world, help us to follow the words of Jesus, to love one another.  Through our actions, help us to show our love for the whole of Creation, not just our tiny piece of it.   On this Sunday before Truth and Reconciliation Day, help us to be open to ancient ways of connecting with Creation.  When we do not know what to do, help us to learn and work together in your name.  Amen.