If you have been at church in the last few weeks you might have noticed that I have been talking a lot about “critters” and getting increasingly excited. Part of that was about the blessing of the animals, which we did on October 2, but part of that was because we are about to once again recognize and celebrate Creation Season at St. Peter’s. From October 9 through November 20 our worship will look and feel a little different—the readings will include an excerpt from a non-scriptural source, the prayers and confession will have a creation emphasis, and the music will include a lot about “all things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small.” Thanks to Peggy Hatch and Leslie Ross, some of God’s beloved plant life will be in the church and, thanks to each of you participating, over the course of the season the church will be filled with pictures of God’s beloved creatures as we bring them in and hang them on the pews and balconies. I am looking forward to proudly hanging my picture of slime mold from the reading desk! (It really is beautiful).
We observe Creation season to formally recognize and celebrate the theological truth that God created all that is, in an awe inspiring, dynamic process from the Big Bang through the marvel that is evolution, and that all of creation is an expression of God’s own life. The poetry of Genesis tells us that God looked at all that God created and declared it to be good. In other words, creation is good, the universe is good, we are good—made in God’s own image and beloved of God.
Sadly, throughout the ages, many Christians have read Genesis to mean that humans are the most important thing ever, and that the earth exists solely for us—as one big resource. This has led to all sorts of destructive behavior and to the current ecological crisis which humans have created. I certainly do not have the answer to, the fix for, this crisis. But I believe that by paying closer attention to the rest of God’s beloved (everything that is not human) and recognizing that we are in a web of relationship with everything that is, we may learn to think less of ourselves and more of others, may begin to get back into right relationship with the world and with God. And I believe we are called to look around us in awe, behold the wonders of creation and tell each other, tell our children, the story of the earth. The story of the beauty and creativity we see around us and affirming to each other that all of this is birthed and midwifed by God.
Come and join us this Creation season—marvel with us at the beauty of the earth, the skies, the seas, all that is in them, and the God who created and loves every blessed thing.
Peace,
Claire