Jubilee for the Earth – Season of Creation 2020 has begun

On 1 September 2020, this year’s Season of Creation has begun. The Season of Creation is a time to renew our relationship with our Creator and all creation through celebration, conversion, and commitment together. During the Season of Creation, sisters and brothers in the ecumenical family join into common prayer and action for our common home. Initially, ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I proclaimed 1 September as a day of prayer for creation for the Orthodox in 1989. In fact, the Orthodox church year starts on that day with a commemoration of how God created the world. The World Council of Churches was instrumental in making the special time a season, extending the celebration from 1 September until 4 October. Following the leadership of Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I and the WCC, Christians worldwide have embraced the season as part of their annual calendar. Pope Francis made the Roman Catholic Church’s warm welcoming of the season official in 2015. In recent years, statements from religious leaders around the world have also encouraged the faithful to take time to care for creation during the month-long celebration.

The season starts 1 September, the Day of Prayer for Creation, and ends 4 October, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology beloved by many Christian denominations. Throughout the month-long celebration, the world’s 2.2 billion Christians come together to care for our common home. The overarching theme for the Season of Creation in the year 2020 is “Jubilee for the Earth”. Find out more at https://seasonofcreation.org/about/#2020theme

The World Evangelical Alliance Sustainability Center runs a social media campaign titled “The Bible and the SDGs” (SDGs = Sustainable Development Goals, a UN framework) during this year’s Season of Creation in partnership with the Ghana-based but globally active Church of Pentecost. From 8 September until 25 September, the campaign will feature daily posts highlighting one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals along with a biblical reflection on that goal’s theme and some project examples, how Evangelicals in various countries around the world take care and contribute to the attainment of that specific SDG.

For more information on the work of the WEA Sustainability Center, please check out the following social media channels:

https://www.instagram.com/creationstewardship/ https://twitter.com/weasc https://www.facebook.com/weascbonn/