Among the interesting additions to the church calendar since my Anglican upbringing in the mid-20th century is ‘Creationtide’. Alternatively named the Season of Creation, this falls each year in the interval between September 1 and October 4, roughly corresponding to the period that by tradition included the Harvest Festival.

This year a call has gone out to all churches to hold a special Climate Sunday service or event, at any time up to September 5, 2021. On that date a national Climate Sunday event is scheduled to take place. Regular readers of this paper will understand why I’m in favour of this.

What’s prompting this initiative? In November 2021, the UK is to host COP26 – the next global ‘climate summit’, delayed from this year – which many regard as an event of crucial significance. Christians of every hue are being urged to not just take steps in their own lives to tackle climate change but to raise their voices and call on world leaders to do the same.

Some people may ask: “Shouldn’t we pray to God, believing that He can fix things for us?” Certainly we should pray, and doubtless He could intervene on mankind’s behalf. However, as I understand it, God’s plan from the start was for mankind to be the ‘doer’ within the whole creation – using our God-given creativity to maintain, and enhance, the material world that is our home. Okay, so we’ve often messed things up instead.

It was a pretty messed-up world into which Jesus was born. His response during the three short years of his earthly ministry was to ‘un-mess’ things wherever he went, and then by his death and resurrection to kick-start the process of the ‘restoration of all things’ (Acts.Ch.3, v.21). In the same Spirit ever since, his followers have recognised the problems facing the world, prayed for wisdom and then got ‘stuck in’.

Perhaps our prayer should be that the delegates at COP26 will single mindedly seek the Lord for wisdom, before they do anything else. (See James Ch.1, v.5-6).

Simon Ratsey

Life Central Church