WCC NEWS: Time for Creation 2011: A call to pray, reflect and act

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World Council of Churches - News

TIME FOR CREATION 2011: A CALL TO PRAY, REFLECT AND ACT

For immediate release: 12 September 2011

At a time when the impact of climate change is on the front page of
nearly every newspaper, magazine and web page, churches around the world
are calling for a renewed commitment towards the environment and
ecosystems.

During September, churches and organizations from Germany to Australia,
India to South Africa, the Pacific to North America, are observing the
“Time for Creation (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=ecd369237804142e3d67 )”, a month-long 
celebration
of creation and demonstration of concern for climate justice.

From 1 September to 4 October the World Council of Churches (WCC) is
calling upon Christians and organizations to observe this time to renew
their commitment towards the environment and eco-systems.

A “Time for Creation” is part of climate justice initiatives by the
WCC, through which the churches and faith networks are stressing the
ethical and spiritual aspect in debate on environmental issues.  To
transform this perspective into action, the WCC has been an advocate at
all Conference of Parties (COP) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change.  The next meeting is in December in Durban, South Africa.

Both starting and end dates of “Time for Creation” are based on the
concerns of creation in the Western and Eastern traditions of
Christianity. To signify responsibility for nature, the late Ecumenical
Patriarch Dimitrios declared 1 September a day of prayer for the
environment in 1989.

Also the Orthodox church year starts on 1 September, commemorating how God
created the world, while 4 October is commemorated by Roman Catholics and
other churches as the feast of Francis of Assisi, known as the patron
saint of the environment.

Oeku, an ecumenical organization working for environmental issues in
Switzerland, recently launched “Time of Creation” as part of its 25th
anniversary celebrations. Oeku has been celebrating this initiative since
1993, focusing this time on the International Year of Forests. Protestant,
Orthodox, Old Catholic and Roman Catholic parishes in Switzerland joined
different programmes held by Oeku.


Responsibility for Creation

The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) also started a campaign
“Remembering the Creator and Creation”. NCCI member churches are now
organizing special prayers, homilies, vigils and activities addressing
environmental concerns.

Since the United Nations has announced 2011 as the International Year of
Forests, in its campaign NCCI emphasises the “central role of people in
the conservation, sustainable management and development of our world’s
forests”.

A nationwide celebration of “Time for Creation” was also initiated by
several churches in Germany. This included liturgical celebrations,
sermons and lectures by public figures and events like “Listening to the
silence”, comprised of visits to the nature parks.

“God has given humankind responsibility for Creation until the time when
God will fulfil his creation of a new heaven and a new earth”, WCC
Central Committee member Fernando Enns said in his sermon during recent
“Time for Creation” celebrations in Berlin. Offerings at the
ecumenical prayer service in Berlin went towards the training programme
“Youth for Eco-Justice”.

Leading up to the UN climate negotiations (COP 17) in Durban, South Africa,
in collaboration with the Lutheran World Federation, the WCC is bringing
young Christians together for this training programme in the latter part
of 2011. Other advocacy initiatives with churches, ecumenical and faith
organizations hope to make a strong presence at COP 17.

By celebrating “Time for Creation” the WCC programme executive on
climate change, Dr Guillermo Kerber, hopes for a better contribution
towards eco-justice. “WCC’s policy on climate change reflects the
ecumenical understanding by stating ecological, economic, cultural, and
political dimensions of the climate change crisis, calling for a holistic
approach and stressing ethical and biblical perspectives, that climate
change is a matter of justice,” he says.

More information on WCC activities promoting eco-justice:
www.oikoumene.org/eco-justice (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=11a5f139addd687ebeca )

WCC climate justice campaign:
www.oikoumene.org/climatechange (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=8a02884fd6920561f803 )

Resources for Time for Creation (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=20325e51579130b5e1e6 )

Time for Creation on Facebook (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=d720a5d2b2c8da994236 )


The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness 
and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of 
churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, 
Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million 
Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman 
Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, 
from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.



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