Soon we will be hearing much about the Church’s Laudato Si’ Action Platform which is intended to bring the Universal Church together in action to Care for Our Common Home. The Action Platform launches on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, October 4, 2021, following a month-long worldwide ecumenical celebration of prayer and action to protect our common home known as the Season of Creation. This global celebration began in 1989 when the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch proclaimed a World Day of Prayer for Creation and is now annually embraced by the worldwide ecumenical community.
This year the theme is A Home for All? Renewing the Oikos of God. In Genesis God set a dome over the Earth. From the word “dome” we get such words as “domicile” and “domestic” — God puts us all — all people, all life — under the same domed roof — we are all in the house, the oikos of God. And God gave us humans the ministry to take care of and cultivate this oikos of God. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others have called the oikos of God “the Beloved Community,” a community in which all are equal members, though each has a different role.
Think of this period from September 1 to October 4 (Season of Creation) as a quasi-liturgical season dedicated to prayer for Creation. Prayer is a powerful experience and a tool to raise awareness and foster transformational relations and ministry. Let this Season be a gateway to our commitment to the Laudato Si’ Action Platform.
See, www.seasonofcreation.org for a more complete compendium of ideas for celebration and themes for each week of the Season — e.g.:
A Just Home for All People
Wisdom from Our Home Planet
Peacemaking as Home-Building
Praying for Our Home Planet and its People
A Home and a Hope for the Future
Some activities include:
Ecumenical Prayer Service for the Season of Creation
Integrate creation related themes into Sunday Liturgies
Organize a Creation Walk or Pilgrimage
Encourage Sustainable Living Practices
This year the theme is A Home for All? Renewing the Oikos of God. In Genesis God set a dome over the Earth. From the word “dome” we get such words as “domicile” and “domestic” — God puts us all — all people, all life — under the same domed roof — we are all in the house, the oikos of God. And God gave us humans the ministry to take care of and cultivate this oikos of God. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others have called the oikos of God “the Beloved Community,” a community in which all are equal members, though each has a different role.
Think of this period from September 1 to October 4 (Season of Creation) as a quasi-liturgical season dedicated to prayer for Creation. Prayer is a powerful experience and a tool to raise awareness and foster transformational relations and ministry. Let this Season be a gateway to our commitment to the Laudato Si’ Action Platform.
See, www.seasonofcreation.org for a more complete compendium of ideas for celebration and themes for each week of the Season — e.g.:
A Just Home for All People
Wisdom from Our Home Planet
Peacemaking as Home-Building
Praying for Our Home Planet and its People
A Home and a Hope for the Future
Some activities include:
Ecumenical Prayer Service for the Season of Creation
Integrate creation related themes into Sunday Liturgies
Organize a Creation Walk or Pilgrimage
Encourage Sustainable Living Practices