World Day of Prayer for Creation

From September 1 to October 4, Christians around the world mark the Season of Creation, a relatively recent development in the liturgical calendar.

The practice began in 1989 when Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I proclaimed September 1 a day of prayer for the environment. In 2000, a Lutheran congregation in Australia developed a four-week celebration of creation — and the idea spread throughout that nation and beyond. Eventually, the Vatican picked up the practice and the World Council of Churches promoted the new liturgical season.

During these weeks, Christians are urged to recognize the theological centrality of God the Creator, Creation itself, the human vocation of caring for Creation, and doing justice on behalf of the Earth and all of her inhabitants. This year, in the United Church, our Season of Creation is September 10 to October 8 (Thanksgiving Sunday).

The World Day of Prayer for Creation is not a kind of off-handed “thoughts and prayers” dismissal. It is an invitation to experience faith differently, to center Creation and the Creator, and to learn the Bible and theology anew. This day invites us to metanoia — a profound change of heart and life, a genuine conversion toward a Creation-based vision of God, nature, and neighbor. (Source:  https://dianabutlerbass.substack.com/p/world-day-of-prayer-for-creation)

Let us join together with people around the world on this World Day of Prayer for Creation.

PRAYERS

— The Church of England

Create in us a new heart and a new vision, O God,
that the gifts of your Spirit may work
in us and renew the face of the earth.
May we be one with you

so that our work is yours
and your work is ours.
Lead us to transform our lives
to reflect your glory in Creation.
— From “Prayers of Intercession for Creation Time 2012,” prepared by Sister Catherine Brennan SSL and Sister Ann Concannon

All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe
and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.

Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth,
so precious in your eyes.

We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle
for justice, love and peace.
— Pope Francis

Loving God, even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she places her young near Your altar. You are attentive to all you have made.

God, who listens to every living thing,
Help us listen as you do.

Loving God, help us provide refuge to every animal and plant with whom we live. Help us be attentive to all you have made.

God, in whom all creation subsists,
Help us listen as you do.

Loving God, when Jesus cried out and gave up his Spirit, the earth shook and the rocks split. You are known by the whole of creation that listens to you.

God, to whom all creation responds,
Help us respond to you.

Loving God, help us hear and know you just as the earth and rocks do. Help us to learn from the way in which we see creation recognize your glorious beauty.

God, to whom all creation responds,
Help us respond to you.

Loving God, you are present in your creation and seek to heal her wounds. You can be found walking in the garden. Open our eyes to see you, the gardener.

God, who is present with your creation,
Help us be present too.

Loving God, we often abandon your creation and cause its wounds. Help us to follow in your footsteps and learn to walk in the garden like you.

God, who is present with your creation,
Help us be present too.

Loving God, who hears every voice, knows each cry of injustice, and is attentive to the suffering of the earth: teach us to listen. Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may listen to the world you have created and not close ourselves off from it. Reveal to us the ways in which we have failed to hear your voice in how we treat the earth.

God, who listens to every living thing,
Help us listen as you do. Amen.
— Intercessory Prayers for Creation, from Season of Creation: A Celebration Guide for Episcopal Parishes

WPUC Butterfly Garden

Creating God,
You have called us to be in loving relations with all the Earth,
living with respect in creation,
choosing love and seeking justice at all times.

Instead, humankind has acted in hateful ways,
exploiting natural resources,
choosing power and seeking wealth in the present over future abundance.

We need your help to fight for a better future!

Help to reawaken our love for Creation,
that is so magnificent that we, with all our creativity and knowledge,
could never articulate it; 
and so passionate that we, with the personal price and communal cost,
would still fight for it.

Help to deepen our relationships and love for each other:
Affirming the wisdom of youth strikers,
so that we are not discouraged by empty platitudes and naysayers; and
Growing our community of allies,
so that we can create a sustainable and faithful response to the imminent climate crisis.

For the sake of your majestic creation, and
For the love of all our relations.
Help us to fight for a better future.

Amen.

—A prayer for the Fridays for Future Climate Strike movement by Alydia Smith