From Season of Creation’s “Invitation to Join Season of Creation 2022.”

The Season of Creation is the annual Christian celebration to listen and respond together to the cry of Creation: the ecumenical family around the world unites to pray and protect our common home, the Oikos of God. The Season “Celebration” begins 1 September, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends 4 October, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology beloved by many Christian denominations. Following the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we begin the Season of Creation “Preparation” to reach local leaders and call our communities to participate actively by raising awareness of the theme, and how to respond to the cry of creation where the Lord calls us in our diverse contexts.

2022 Theme

This year we will unite around the theme, “Listen to the Voice of Creation.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, many have become familiar with the concept of being muted in conversations. Many voices are muted in public discourse around climate change and the ethics of Earth-keeping. These are voices of those who suffer the impacts of climate change. These are voices of people who hold generational wisdom about how to live gratefully within the limits of the land. These are voices of a diminishing diversity of more-than-human species. It is the voice of the Earth. The 2022 Season of Creation theme raises awareness of our need to listen to the voice of creation.

The Psalmist declares, “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the Earth, and their words to the end of the world.” (19: 1-4) Creation never ceases to proclaim, but do we listen? During the Season of Creation, our common prayer and action can help us listen for the voices of those who are silenced. In prayer we lament the individuals, communities, species, and ecosystems who are lost, and those whose livelihoods are threatened by habitat loss and climate change. In prayer we center the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor.

Listening to the voice of creation offers members of the Christian family a rich entry point for interfaith and interdisciplinary dialogue and practice. By listening to the voice of all creation, humans from all cultures and sectors of life can be joined in our vocation to care for our common home (oikos). May this 2022 Season of Creation renew our ecumenical unity! And may this season of prayer and action be a time to Listen to the Voice of Creation, so that our lives in words and deeds proclaim good news for all the Earth!