The Feast of Creation in Christ
Dear <<First Name>>,
General Assembly this year commended the observance of the new Feast of Creation in Christ to be observed on the first Sunday of September each year and to create and curate resources. I’m pleased to say that there is a suite of resources on the Worship Notes page – the normal Notes we produce and links to ecumenical resources too.
Grounded in an ancient, 5th Century, liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church, the Feast of Creation in Christ is a day to praise God as creator and ponder the great mystery that everything was created in and through Christ. In response we are inspired to care for the created world in these times of ecological crises. In 1989 the Ecumenical Patriarch, His All-Holiness Dimitrios I, invited churches around the world to join in prayer for Creation – many churches responded leading to this new Feast being adopted. New readings for the Lectionary have been offered too.
We’re not often used to hearing the term “Feast” in the URC in relation to church events. Yet the major celebrations of the Church’s year – Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and Trinity are all “feasts”. We probably only feast now at Christmas but there’s no reason why we can’t have a feast on the other celebrations too. For early September crisp varieties of apples and pears have started to appear, blackberries and autumn raspberries are at their peak, and plums, damsons and figs are abundant. Cakes, crumbles, homemade ice cream and yoghurt could all be made with these ingredients. Why not have a whole meal after worship? Beans and sweetcorn are in season as are salad and tender crops, beetroot, carrots, kale and leak – and you might just have some pumpkins and winter squash in the south of the UK.
Why not encourage your congregation to bring and share food made from these ingredients (and more) as we celebrate the Feast.
With every good wish
Andy
The Rev’d Andy Braunston
Minister for Digital Worship