The official Celebration Guide for the Season of Creation 2024 will be launched online on 5 June at 3 pm CEST. The live streaming in English will be available on YouTube. Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French interpretations will be available via Zoom for registered participants.
“The Season of Creation is a time for the global Christian community to come together and renew our commitment to caring for our common home. This guide will inspire and equip us to make a tangible impact in our communities.”
This year’s Season of Creation 2024 theme, “To Hope and Act with Creation,” calls participants to reflect on the biblical message of “The Firstfruits of Hope” (Rom 8:19-25), emphasizing our active role in praying and caring for our planet as we strive for a better future amidst current ecological challenges.
Background:
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 (WCC) 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 World Council of Churches, 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.
Activities and resources to celebrate the Season of Creation are supported by an ecumenical steering committee and a coalition of partners from around the world.
Promotional materials, including flyers organized by language are available.
More information about the Season of Creation
