A message from Hallam’s environmental leaders
We would like to highlight the Season of Creation this year – the weeks between The World Day of Prayer for Creation on September 1st and the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi on October 4th – and encourage care for the poor and for the earth to be brought to our prayers and practical efforts during this time.
Recent heatwaves, drought and fires in the UK and Europe are bringing the results of our overconsumption and lack of care for the earth closer to our attention. But climate change has been affecting our brothers and sisters in ‘far-off’ places such as Sudan, Somalia and Bangladesh for many years, with encroaching desert, drought, and devastating heatwaves and floods. Millions of families in Ethiopia, Kenya and South Sudan are now facing a terrible food crisis.
The following text from the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference introduces the theme for this year’s Season:
Listen to the Voice of Creation
The theme for the Season of Creation 2022 is “Listen to the Voice of Creation”. “I have heard their cry…I know their sufferings…Come, now! I will send you…I will be with you” (Ex 3: 1-12). The burning bush is the Symbol for the Season of Creation 2022. Today, the prevalence of unnatural fires are a sign of the devastating effects that climate change has on the most vulnerable of our planet. Creation cries out as forests crackle, animals flee, and people are forced to migrate due to the fires of injustice. On the contrary, the fire that called to Moses as he tended the flock on Mt. Horeb did not consume or destroy the bush. This flame of the Spirit revealed God’s presence. This holy fire affirmed that God heard the cries of all who suffered and promised to be with us as we followed in faith to our deliverance from injustice.
In this Season of Creation, this symbol of God’s Spirit calls us to listen to the voice of creation, to the voices of those who suffer the impacts of climate change, to the voices of those who hold generational wisdom about how to live gratefully within the limits of the land. These are voices of the Earth. The global Christian family is called to awaken to the urgent need to heal our relationships with creation and with each other and to encourage our parish communities to do the same, “for we know that things can change!” (Laudato Si’, 13)
Background to The Season of Creation from the Bishops Conference of England and Wales can be found here, along with links to resources on Live Simply, making the parish green and decarbonising: Season of Creation – Catholic Bishops’ Conference (cbcew.org.uk)
From the lead Bishop on the Environment, Bishop John Arnold, comes the following urgent message: https://hallam-diocese.com/we-need-to-sprint-towards-climate-action/
And for joining in worship with our brothers and sisters across the world during this year’s season: Global Catholic Church preparing for Season of Creation – Laudato Si’ Movement (laudatosimovement.org)
With hope and trust in the Holy Spirit,
Angela and Columba.
Find some Live Simply monthly suggestions: Here
