Season of Creation 2026

Season of Creation 2026 : 1 September – 4 October

In recent years, September has become a special time of reflection, prayer and action for God’s Creation in the calendars of many church communities around the world.

Celebrating the Season of Creation acknowledges God’s Creation as a divine, continuing act that summons us to love and to care for a gift that has been created for us all.

According to an ancient Byzantine liturgical tradition – the 1st of September symbolises the day of God’s creation of the world. And, the 4th of October has become a day that honours Saint Francis of Assisi – the author of the ‘Canticle (or, psalm-like song) of the Creatures’ that praises God through the beauty of creation. Saint Francis is regarded by many Christians to be the patron saint of animals; and, of ecology (i.e. the relationships between ‘creatures’ : both to each other and their physical, chemical and biological environments).

The timing of the Season of Creation means that it is also an excellent way of rooting our traditional harvest festivals in firm theological ground; and highlighting the pressing issues we face today.

The Season of Creation has been supported by 'Churches Together in Britain and Ireland' since 2008.

A global ecumenical steering committee was established in 2016; and, the first Ecumenical Prayer Service for Creation was held at Assisi on 31 August 2018

This steering committee is made up of representatives from both a wide range of different Christian denominations; and, important ecumenical, inter-faith organisations such as the World Council of Churches. There are also faith-based charities on the steering committee – like A Rocha International and Christian Aid : who are working to protect and restore the environment in countries around the world. And, there is also an Advisory Committee that provides guidance to the global ecumenical Steering Committee.

Note : One of the principal sources of the material that has been used in these pages (and, in the printed flyer that has been distributed to Christian communities in the Greater-Larne area) has been the Season of Creation website that supports the work of the Season of Creation Steering Committee; and, no infringement of copyrighted materials is intended

No personal data will be collected or stored for anyone who attends the Season of Creation gatherings; or, searches for information about these events on this website.

It is also pointed out that the local Season of Creation gatherings are being hosted by what we pray will become a steadily expanding group of like-minded Christians in Larne; and, these events are not associated with any particular Church denomination or charity.

Why we are celebrating Season of Creation 2026

It is appreciated that many of our local Christian communities regularly praise God’s wondrous Creation and pray for it’s protection during their usual Church services. However – with growing anxiety over the impacts of our changing climate – it is felt that it is important to begin giving a special additional focus to ‘Caring for Creation’.

And – in a world that is being flooded with overwhelming information – we should not allow ourselves to be distracted from the crucial acts of:

Expressing gratitude for God's wondrous creation;

Praying for the healing and protection of our common home; and,

Reflecting on the individual and collective actions that we are being called to take.

As co-workers with the Creator, our relationship with non-human creation should be grounded in the biblical vision of Creation as an interconnected community of life. This is a relationship that should be viewed as a sacred partnership and a mutual custodianship rather than one of domination (Gen 9: 8–17; Hos 2: 18; Ps 24: 1).

We pray that as Christians in our local community gather together during the month of September, we will encourage each other to do more to cherish and protect the world around us.

Theme, symbol & historical context of Ezekiel 47

Although the complex environmental challenges that we now face may have hastened the need to set aside a special time of reflection, prayer and action for God’s Creation : the idea of celebrating a Season of Creation draws on deep roots in scripture. And, on Christian traditions that have become an integral part of the relationship between God, humanity and the created order.

The theme for this year’s Season of Creation is ‘Living Water’; and, draws on Ezekiel 47: 9, 12 – poetic verses that articulate a vision of Life-giving Water flowing out from underneath a restored holy temple. And, a river of water growing ever deeper and deeper – restoring barren land; reviving lifeless-water; renewing everything that lives upon the Earth; and, sustaining Creation.

The prophet, Ezekiel, writes about being progressively immersed in this river. This exemplifies the deep transformation that we need to embrace in order to be able to heal others and our common home.

The symbol for the Season of Creation 2026 is a church building surrounded by water. It depicts water flowing outwards and bringing healing. However, to receive this new life, we too must step into the Living Water and immerse ourselves deeper and deeper. By receiving the Living Water and trusting in God’s grace, we will be renewed and inspired to work together with others in healing creation. And, contributing to a more just and life-giving world for both the human family and non-human creation.

The historical context of Ezekiel 47

This year’s verses are set amid national catastrophe; exile; and, loss. Jerusalem has been destroyed by the armies of Babylon; and, the Temple of Solomon has been razed to the ground. Many of the people of Israel have been taken into exile in Babylon and are far from their homeland. They weep and lament by the rivers of Babylon (Ps 137).

Ezekiel is a priest who is commissioned by God to be a prophet (Ezek 3; 33:1-9); and, the Book of Ezekiel is set at the beginning of the sixth century BC – after the conquest of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar.

Ezekiel is among those Jewish exiles who were taken to Babylon during the second deportation (around 597 BC). He therefore witnessed the idolatry and unfaithfulness of a rebellious nation. And, also the denial of those exiles who refused to see what was happening right before their eyes; as well as, the despair of those grappling with the loss of their homeland and who were unwilling to see anything but what was happening right before their eyes. Through his symbolic actions and dramatic visions Ezekiel was able to show both of these two different groups that:

they could embrace God in the worst of times; and,

that God was also at work in the wreckage and rubble – building a future generation who would return to Jerusalem and build a Second temple.

It therefore appears that Ezekiel was living among people who were remarkably similar to those we see around us today.

An Ecological Reading of Ezekiel 47

It is important to stress that:

It is not possible to unpack all of the nuances of Ezekiel’s vision in the space of only a few hundred words. But, his vision encourages participation, not passivity. And, it is therefore hoped that, by coming together to reflect on these verses of scripture during the month of September, we will be able to help each other to deepen our understanding of Ezekiel’s powerful vision of healing and hope.

The time when Ezekiel 47 was written suggests that it is a theological vision of God’s power to heal broken relationships with humankind and to renew all things. But, we must be cautious about taking this as a direct prophecy about reversing the cumulative ecological damage that humankind has inflicted on God’s Creation during what many are now calling the Anthropocene era.

In Ezekiel 47, the prophet uses mytho-poetic symbols of divine presence to announce a divine reversal. This is an eschatological image of God’s final renewal of creation : and, it concerns God’s ultimate purposes rather than a specific environmental forecast.

Ezekiel did not use the modern term the “Dead Sea”, but most biblical scholars agree that he was clearly alluding to a river that no-one could cross emptying into the sea. The hyper-saline Dead Sea symbolises a place without life: a place where there are no fish and no plants; and, there is also no outlet — life flows in and dies. The vision of fresh water healing salty water; and, turning the salt-sea (ha yām) into a life-filled body is a powerful symbol of renewal – with the passage echoing the imagery of Genesis, where God brings order and life out of chaotic waters.

The Dead Sea’s transformation appears to principally be a theological metaphor for the restoration of Israel’s covenant with God. With a restored temple helping to return God’s presence to the centre of Jewish life; and, helping to renew Israel’s moribund morality and failure of imagination.

But, spiritual renewal and ecological renewal should also not necessarily be viewed as separate entities – they may well be mutually reinforcing. And, Ezekiel’s vision is of a right relationship with God that will produce healing; and, move outwards into ‘barren lands and lifeless waters’.

Ezekiel 47 reassures us that the Holy Spirit will flow into the most dead and hopeless places; and, it affirms God’s commitment to healing and restoration. It also suggests a form of life that has moved beyond scarcity and failed seasons with the striking image of trees bearing fruit every month. And, even though prophetic visions often use hyperbolic imagery, this particular image appears to be ‘intentionally impossible’ in order to signal a regeneration of imagination – not merely an incremental improvement in aspects such as agricultural practices.

Furthermore, it is important to recognise that Creation may not be instantly renewed through things like technological advances alone. Taken as a whole, the Book of Ezekiel implies that spiritual healing will be needed. And, there may be some swamps and marshes that do not instantly become fresh – even though recovery may be taking place elsewhere.

Nevertheless, it is strikingly clear that Ezekiel did envision that life would become unbelievably abundant in God’s restored order. And, this is a powerful challenge to the rhetoric of ecological-despair and ecological-fatalism that often raises its head in today’s world.

Prayer : Season of Creation 2026

Holy God, whose Spirit hovered over the waters at the beginning, we gather as part of your community of all creation, thirsty for your grace. We give thanks for the gift of water : the veins of our common home that sustain the cedar and the whale, the pasture and the city. We are grateful for the local waters that nourish our home and our fellow creatures. We give thanks that in your well-watered garden, every drop is a sacred testament to your love.

Yet, we confess that we have treated this gift as a mere commodity. We have choked the seas with our waste and watched the warming tides rise in judgment. We lament the cracked earth of the drought-stricken; and, the salty tears of the climate refugee. Melt our frozen hearts, O God; and, let your healing waters flow.

Lord of all Life, you promised that wherever the Living Water flows, everything shall flourish. Stir in us a calling to care for water — to protect the watershed, defend the rights of water, and honour the dignity of the thirsty. May your Word be a spring within us, gushing forth for the healing of the nations.

May God our Father who brought water from the rock sustain us in these difficult times. May Christ our Lord who is the Living Water refresh us for the work of restoration. And, may the Holy Spirit carry us on currents of grace until justice and righteousness become an ever-flowing stream.

Amen.