Creationtide 2024 Diocesan Materials Unveiled

Beloved in Christ,

Below you will find the materials for the Season of Creation (1 September–4 October), created by the Diocesan Environmental Group (DEG.) For this season of growth and hope we have chosen to focus on the parables of seeds and planting. It is our hope that these resources will support your congregation as you look, with hope, towards caring for the Creation with which God has entrusted us.

Download the PDF of the Creationtide 2024 materials here. Further resources and downloadable options will be available from the Diocesan Environmental Group page over the coming days.

You will find an A5 sheet for each week of the Season of Creation. These sheets have been purposely designed to easily insert as a page in your pew notes or newsletter. The lessons have been created to provoke both individual reflection, as well as lending themselves to group discussion or study. One strategy for engagement could be to replace the lectionary Gospel text for each week of Creationtide with the parables we have suggested. This would allow for the preaching that deepens the conversation surrounding work towards reducing our environmental impact as individuals and as a church. Churches could partner, or regions could collaborate, to offer weekly bible study using the materials in person or online. The DEG will also be sponsoring a weekly Zoom Bible study and discussion group for anyone who would like to participate (time and day to be announced later).

At the conclusion of the Season of Creation, the Diocesan Environmental Group will be hosting a Diocesan Eco Pilgrimage to St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow. On 5 October, (please note the change in date from late August!) all in the Diocese are encouraged to attend the day at our cathedral when we will have a chance to hear from outside organisations who can help us with our eco mission through ecological considerations for our church grounds, environmental improvements to our buildings, and expanding our thinking about how we engage with the “stuff” in our lives (circular economy, repair workshops , etc.). The day will be bookended in worship, feature an animal blessing at noonday, and provide a chance for all churches to display examples of the eco work in which they are engaged.

Members of the DEG are available to consult with your congregation’s vestry, eco group, or membership regarding ways to get started on or dive deeper in your journey to reduce harmful emissions and preserve this “fragile earth, our island home.”

Yours Sincerely,
The Rev Canon Audrey O’Brien Stewart
on behalf of the Diocesan Environmental Group