Season of Creation
“We are a part of God’s creation. We pledge to be more effective advocates for economic and climate justice, safeguarding the planet and its resources for future generations.”
Thirteenth Assembly Message
LWF Assembly Resolution on Climate Change Read more
In 1989, Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I declared 1 September as a day of prayer for the care of creation. In the following years, other Christian World Communions endorsed this initiative, and today many churches in the ecumenical family observe the “Season of Creation” (also known as Creation Time) between 1 September and 4 October, the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, as observed by some Western traditions.
During the Season of Creation, the LWF joins our ecumenical family in preparing the 2024 Celebration Guide.
For the Lutheran communion, this liturgical season of prayer and action has become an opportunity to affirm LWF’s commitment to address a central crisis of our time—climate change. Echoing our governing body decisions since 1977, the Thirteenth LWF Assembly encouraged “LWF member churches to emphasize the importance of eco-theology as a framework for integrating spiritual and ethical values into environmental stewardship, articulating our theological basis for the care of creation, sharing technical knowledge, and advocating for climate justice.”
Honoring this commitment, the LWF invites its member churches worldwide to join in the annual “Season of Creation,” united this year around the theme, “To hope and act with creation”. As people of faith, we are called to lift the hope inspired by our faith, the hope of the resurrection. This is not a hope without action but one embodied in concrete actions of prayer and preaching, service and solidarity. The Celebration Guide contains spiritual and liturgical material, practical ideas for celebrating the Season of Creation and suggestions for participating in campaigns to reduce fossil fuel use. Its symbol, “The first fruits of hope," is inspired by Romans 8:19-25.
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