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CREATION TIDE (Creation Time) September 1st to the 4th October (or second Sunday in Oct)
(See also pages on Harvest Festival, Creation Tide and Season of Creation and LOAF for useful links and resources)  A Time of Creation in the Church Calendar Resolution of the European Christian Environmental Network adopted at its meeting in the Evangelical Academy in Loccum on October 31 1999 The Second Ecumenical European Assembly adopted the following resolution: "We recommend that the churches consider and promote the preservation of Creation as part of church life at all levels. One way would be to observe a common creation day, such as the Ecumenical Patriarchate celebrates each year. Rationale: The seriousness of the ecological dilemma for the future of the human race means that churches' consciousness of it must be raised. Commitment to preservation of the creation is not an issue among many others but an essential dimension of all church life.'" The European Christian Environmental Network (ECEN), having considered and discussed this resolution, submits to churches and to all organisations and people concerned the following recommendation: 1. We welcome the resolution of the Second Ecumenical Assembly in Graz. We urge the churches to put it into practice through a common and concerted effort. 2. The theme of creation is present in the worship of all Christian traditions. For example, many Protestant churches celebrate harvest worship services and in the Roman Catholic Church the Day of Saint Francis is acquiring increased significance. The proposal of the Ecumenical Patriarchate adds a further occasion of celebrating the Creator. September 1st is meant to be "a day of thanksgiving for the great gift of creation and of petitions for its preservation and healing". In response to the proposal of the Ecumenical Patriarchate the churches should introduce into the church year a period explicitly devoted to the first article of the Creed, the confession of "God, the Father, Creator of Heaven and Earth". At present the theme "Creator and Creation" has no firm place within the church calendar. The various periods and days of the church year have as their focus the second and third articles of the Creed. 3. We propose that the period from September 1st to the second Sunday of October be observed as a period of celebration of the Creator and Creation. We have noted with interest that certain church have begun to use this period as an occasion to strengthen within the churches the consciousness of responsibility for creation. . - We suggest that the churches introduce this period into their calendar. Such a period of the Creator and Creation can serve as occasion for a common witness of the churches. With a view to this we have prepared a file with suggestions which may facilitate a creative use of the period. ____________________________________________ Christian Ecology Link supports the resolution made above. If you are a member of Christian Ecology Link we invite you to take the time to ask your church both locally and nationally what they are doing to observe the period from September 1st to the second Sunday of October as a period of celebration of the Creator and Creation ?
A Dossier of Material with useful material about WATER and about CREATION TIME has been prepared by ECEN. It can be obtained as a doc file 262 KB. The contents page of this file are given here.
(See also pages on Harvest Festival, Creation Tide and Season of Creation and LOAF for useful links and resources)
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