Each year, Creationtide is celebrated from 1 September to 4 October, with prayers for the protection of creation and the promotion of sustainable lifestyles.
The Church’s national Climate Sunday is scheduled for Sunday 5th September 2021, during Creationtide. The national Climate Sunday service is to take place in Glasgow Cathedral, and online. Over 1600 churches across Britain and Ireland have already held a Climate Sunday service. Our shared commitments are now to be presented to the UK Government.
We want to make the national Climate Sunday service to be as well attended as possible. Participants can register via Eventbrite.
Here are the key details:
When: Sunday 5th September, 4pm, but the livestream will open with videos at 3.30pm
Where: Livestreamed from Glasgow Cathedral
How do I join?: Register on this link.
What’s it all about?
The service is taking place in Glasgow ahead of the worldwide UN climate summit (known as COP 26) to be hosted by the UK government in November.
The Climate Sunday service will include music, singing, worship and prayers from all the nations of the UK and a range of supporting churches and organisations. Its purposes are to:
- Lift the COP 26 process and all involved in it before God
- Present churches’ asks for COP 26 to government
- Celebrate what churches (at local, national and international level) are doing to care for creation
- Demonstrate to government the level of churches’ engagement and commitment, and our desire and capacity as a partner for climate action
- Reinforce the nature of the worldwide Body of Christ, and our commitment to each other.
Climate Sunday has already attracted attention beyond the Church. For example, the Climate Coalition, a largely secular grouping of 100 agencies with a combined membership of 22 million, has warmly welcomed this initiative.
So what is your church doing for Climate Sunday?
Over the last several months, local churches have been holding their own their own Climate Sunday service.
Has your church yet set aside a Sunday to focus on prayers and action on global heating and climate change? Never has this been better timed than in 2021, with the climate crisis so starkly illustrated by floods and wildfires across several continents.
If your church has yet to do so, time has not run out. Why not plan a service during Creationtide, either before or after 5th September? Why not hold a Climate Sunday when you are celebrating Harvest this year?
Remember to register your church’s participation.
In response to the climate crisis, the Church of England and many dioceses including the Diocese of London are working to achieve net-zero carbon by 2030. We need to influence others in government and society, and at the same time we have to take action ourselves.
One element that can be included in any Climate Sunday service is to declare a climate emergency, and take part in the Climate Emergency Toolkit. This initiative was created by Christian charity Tearfund. This immense crisis will only be seriously addressed if we keep up the pressure for action at every level. We can increase our impact by partnering with local communities and speaking up for the scale of change we need.
This is also a great opportunity to launch your church’s participation in Eco Church, if you have recently signed up or are about to. We have recently reached the milestone of over 100 Eco Churches registered in the Diocese of London, including 33 award winners. Read more then visit Eco Church’s website.
Resources
- Plentiful resources are available in support of Creationtide, Climate Sunday and Eco Church:
- Creationtide is supported by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland;
- Members of St Stephen’s Church Ealing have produced a booklet with reflections and actions for use during Creationtide (‘To read more’, below);
- Doxecology is a collection of 13 contemporary, congregational worship songs on themes of creation, ecology and Christian hope, may also be used during Creationtide;
- Climate Sunday resources can be found on the Climate Sunday website, including service plans, prayers, music and hymns, readings and more;
- The Bishop of Edmonton has prepared Prayers for Climate Sunday.