The Church year is divided up into seasons many of which are familiar even to none churchgoers – Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter for example. However, the season of Creationtide which runs from the beginning of September to the beginning of October is less familiar. Creationtide was adopted by churches in Britain and Ireland in 2008, bringing Christians together to pray and work for the protection of the environment. It is a good time to especially reflect on God’s creation and our response to being stewards of this beautiful planet incorporating as it does the time which most churches celebrate Harvest Festivals and concluding at the Feast of St Francis, a saint well known for his love of creation.
Most of us feel we need to do what we can to respond to what is now often referred to as the climate change emergency and we want to be good stewards of God’s creation. The Church in Wales has made a commitment to reach net zero carbon by 2030. Yet it can all feel overwhelming. What can we do? I know I drive a petrol car and at the time of writing I cannot afford to switch to an electric vehicle. Our church has gas central heating and we are not in a position to change that immediately. But the Church in Wales has made it clear that we need to begin with small steps and build up towards larger targets.
Here at St Deiniol’s we are working towards receiving our Bronze Eco Award. You can find out more information about Eco Church at ecochurch.arocha.org.uk and one thing you might spot are the bird boxes and bug hotels we have installed in our churchyard to encourage the wildlife that make their home there.
As Christians we are called not only to support our own local communities but to speak out with and for communities most impacted by climate injustice and the loss of biodiversity. Once again, we might think “what can we do?”. At St Deiniol’s we have been raising money for the charity “Toilet Twinning”. Lack of good sanitation affects the poorest people in our world. Bad sanitation means people are more likely to become sick. Illness keeps people from working, children miss school, parents have to pay for medicines or food and fall into debt. Toilet Twinning funds hygiene education via community-led workshops and the sourcing of local materials for families and communities to build their own toilets and you can find out more about it by going to https://toilettwinning.org.
And the other vital thing as Christians we need to do is to pray – pray specifically for the environment and for a just world that will help all of God’s creation to flourish. That is what the heart of Creationtide is about – giving ourselves space and time to celebrate and cherish God’s gift to humanity in creation and to pray that we are stirred into action to tread more gently on the earth and care for our shared environment and for each other. The message of Creationtide has to be that we seek to do what we can to look after God’s wonderful world, even if we feel we are only taking “baby steps”. Every Little Helps as the advertising slogan goes. Rev’d Canon Andrea Jones, Rector, St Deiniol’s Church, Hawarden