Today is World Prayer Day and the beginning of the Season of Creation. From now until the Feast of St. Francis on October 4th, we will celebrate God’s creation through the lens of this year’s theme, “Living Waters”. The liturgy inspiring this year’s them is from Ezekiel 47: 9, 12:
Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. […] Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing. (Ezekiel 47: 9, 12)
The symbol above depicts water flowing from the Temple of God. As the water grows deeper, it brings life to dead areas and restores fertility to damaged or barren ecosystems. Through living water comes healing; but in order to receive new life, we too must step into the water and become part of God’s river of life, taking part in the healing of creation.
During the Season of Creation, we will celebrate those things SCNs and SCNAs have done in the past and present to heal and protect water. On September 23rd, we will join together as a congregation in a prayer service for creation.
To begin your Season of Creation, below is a prayer of thanksgiving for water:
Prayer of Thanksgiving for Water
Almighty and ever living God, we thank you for your love in all creation, and especially for your gift of water to sustain and cleanse all life. Christ is the living water, cleansing, refreshing, and making all things new. So now we offer our thanks for the waters that bring beauty to all that we enjoy, the wild places, the bush, the mountains, coast and the sea. We give thanks and praise for all good lands, for the trees and pastures, for our plentiful crops, and for the living water that quenches them.
(Adapted from Anglican Aotearoa NZ Prayer Book)