Churches have begun observing this year’s Season of Creation from 1 September to 4 October. At a time when communities around the world battle extremes of floods and drought, this year’s theme of ‘Living Water’ is an important call to care for God’s creation and our common home.
The Season of Creation – with the ‘Feast of Creation in Christ’ on 1 September/first Sunday as the centre - celebrates God as Creator, and invites churches to love and care for the gift of creation.
The observance was first established in 1989 by Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I, who proclaimed 1 September as a Day of Prayer for Creation for the Orthodox Church. It was subsequently adopted by wider Christian Communions. In 2007, the Third European Ecumenical Assembly proposed extending the single day of prayer into a five-week ecumenical season, leading the World Council of Churches to invite global Christian communities to celebrate. Pope Francis established a Catholic World Day of Prayer in 2015 following his Encyclical Laudato Si’.
In 2026, the Feast of Creation in Christ has been adopted into the Revised Common Lectionary, which shapes the Christian year and liturgical calendar in many churches.
Global Prayer Service Opens the Season
The season opened on 1 September with a Global Prayer Service for Creation Day or for the Feast of Creation in Christ. The online meeting focused on the theme of Living Water (Ezekiel 47:9, 12). It featured prayers, readings and perspectives shared by representatives from several communions, including the United Reformed Church, World Council of Churches, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Dicastery for promoting integral human development (the Roman Catholic Church), the Lutheran World Federation, the Pacific Conference of Churches, the Middle East Council of Churches and the Anglican Communion.
The World Council of Churches general secretary, the Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, said ‘Ezekiel saw water flowing from the temple until it reached the sea and made it fresh, trees on its banks bearing fruit for food and leaves for healing. That is the promise this Season of Creation holds before the churches: where the waters of God's presence flow, what is dying can live again. Many of our member churches are among the communities already living this crisis, in drought and flood. For them, prayer and action are not two callings but one: the churches are called to become part of the river's healing, not to stand at the bank and watch.’
John-Paul Roberts from Green Anglicans shared a reading from Revelation 22:1-7, which depicts the power of the ‘river of the water of life’ which watered the ‘tree of life’, yielding crops of fruit and its leaves providing ‘healing of the nations’.
The Revd Dr Rachel Mash, Coordinator of the Anglican Communion Environmental Network, Green Anglicans and the Season of Creation Global Ecumenical Committee, led those gathered in the Lord's Prayer, prayed for those experiencing flooding or drought from climate change, including those in Nepal and Guatemala.
Pope Leo encourages authentic ecological conversion
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass for the Care of Creation at the Laudato Si’ Village in Castel Gandolfo on 1 September, marking the annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and the beginning of the five-week Season of Creation.
The Mass was developed by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.
Pope Leo’s homily emphasised that caring for God’s world is a personal and collective responsibility and encouraged an ‘authentic ecological conversion’.
‘Let us place in “silent mode” the many noises generated by human activity, so that we may hear the melodious voice of creation, through which God, the Author of all things, speaks to us.
‘This task of contemplation, which disposes us to an encounter with the Lord, is a first step towards an authentic ecological conversion, where the effects of our encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in our relationship with the world around us’.
Anglicans mark the Season of Creation around the world
Several churches around the world are observing the Season of Creation.
Cape Town, South Africa: An ecumenical celebration was hosted on 1 September, involving Green Anglicans, Central Methodist Mission, Cape Town Groote Kerk Kaapstad, St. George's Cathedral, St. Mary's Cathedral, St Paul's Anglican Church and Cape Town Evangelical Lutheran Church. An address was given by the Catholic Metropolitan Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cape Town, the Most Revd Dr Sithembele Sipuka. It spoke of the pain of the people of Nepal and Tibet who have lost their lives as the melting glacier fell into the river, creating devastating floods. It also referenced water scarcity and the potential of drought in Cape Town, challenging those present to take the call to care for Creation seriously.
Central America: The newly installed Primate of IARCA, The Most Revd Ramón Ovalle Leiva, released a pastoral letter inviting Christians and churches to contemplate water as a ‘source of life, as a gift from God and as a human responsibility’. He encouraged the renewal of ‘our awareness that creation belongs to God and that we are his creatures and his servants, not its absolute owners’.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally has spoken about the significance of Creationtide: 'In the Season of Creation, we turn again to Christ, through whom all things were made and in whom all things hold together. In his incarnation, death and resurrection, God’s love is revealed not only for humanity but for the whole created order. To care for creation is therefore an essential expression of Christian discipleship and an integral mark of the Church’s mission: to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and to sustain and renew the life of the earth. As we follow Christ, we are called to share in his reconciling work, seeking justice, healing and hope for the earth and for all who dwell within it.’
The Church of England: The Rt Revd Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich, shared his hopes for the Feast of Creation saying: ‘It is a Festival that speaks into the heart of the major environmental concerns of our time – climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution – recalling us to creation being held together in Christ. We delight in God’s creation, but also know that we are complicit in its destruction. This Festival can and will help with the change of hearts and minds that is so urgently needed, leading us to action, so that all creation may continue to join in the song of praise to the Creator.’
Anglican Consultative Council: In July this year, the Anglican Consultative Council passed a resolution encouraging Member Churches to adopt the Feast of Creation. The Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, the Rt Revd Anthony Poggo said: ‘May this be a day when we celebrate the wonderful mystery of Creation in Christ. May we acknowledge where we have failed to be good stewards, and let us reaffirm our commitment to care for this wonderful Creation that is God’s gift and God’s delight.’
Find out more
Several Anglican churches and environmental groups have developed liturgical resources available for use during the Season of Creation including The Church of England, Green Anglicans, The Anglican Church of Canada and others.
Learn more here
Find out about the Season of Creation