That We May All Be One
Beloved in Christ,
As a young adult exploring Christian faith, I was excited to discover that Episcopalians live by a calendar called the Church Year. To my great relief, I learned that life was not just one “damn day after another,” but a cycle of special days and seasons that celebrate the person and work of Jesus Christ and the lives of the extraordinary men and women whose lives and witness are icons of faith, hope and love. These feast days have wonderfully enriched my life, filled my imagination and freed me to center my life on Christ.
The Season of Creation (September 1-October 4) represents the first addition to the Christian calendar since the great schisms that divided the Church—in 1054 the breaking of communion between the Orthodox Churches of the Christian East and the Roman Catholic Church, and then the Protestant Reformations of the Sixteenth Century. In seeking to honor Creation, Christians are also taking a step toward Christian unity for the sake of our shared heart for the care of Creation. By participating in Creation Season, St. John’s is participating in the movement of Christian unity.
In the face of environmental catastrophe, Creation Season is a place to begin or renew our commitment to the care of Creation. Our worship forms us ethically and moves us to action. The way that human beings facilitate a movement for things we care about is by doing ritual together. It helps us develop shared values and a shared imagination for how we might implement them. Liturgy stimulates people to reflect on particular ways of implementing Creation care in their own contexts. Liturgy invites perspective on our commitments to Creation that we don’t make room for in our busy lives and the calendars we tend to live by: civic, cultural, commercial, academic, and so forth.
The Season of Creation is not anthropocentric (centered on humans). We share it with all animals and creatures. Look for this inclusive perspective in the prayers we say in our Sunday celebration of the Holy Eucharist. God cares for the sparrow, too.
Reflecting on the fact that other churches and traditions are celebrating the season moves us to reflect on Christian unity. Creation Season prompts us to conversation about what we see in Creation and about how we understand the relationship between God, humans and other ceatures. We are naming our need not just to celebrate God’s saving work in Creation, but to do so together. If we are going to embrace a cosmic vision, it matters to do so on the same day, under the same sun. Creation Season is an answer to the Jesus’ prayer, “that we all may be one.”
What are your cares and concerns, hopes and dreams for the church and the world? How might St. John’s grow in discipleship through our participation in the Season of Creation? How can we reach out our hands in love to all God’s creatures?
Faithfully in Christ,
Greg+
The Reverend Gregory Bezilla
Interim Rector
