The Season of Creation runs annually from September 1 through October 4. The world’s 2.2 billion Christians are invited to pray and care for Creation during this time.
The Season of Creation unites the global Christian family around one shared purpose. It also provides flexibility in celebrating prayer services and engaging in a variety of actions to care for Creation.
The Feast of Creation of September 1, also known as Creation Day or World Day of Prayer for Creation, is the big celebration that inspires and nourishes the larger season that flows from it. Inspired by a rich tradition of the Orthodox Church, it was later embraced by most other churches. Besides being a moment to repent for our sinful desecration of the gift of Creation and pray for its healing, the feast honours God as Creator and commemorates the great mystery of the creation of the cosmos (learn more about the feast’s history and symbolism).
In other words, it is not just about celebrating “Creation as the created world” that God gifted us, but most importantly it is about celebrating “Creation as foundational mystery” of our Christian faith. In a nutshell, it is a moment to thank and praise God as Creator.
Christians around the world are invited to give particular attention to praying and caring for God's creation as part of the global Season of Creation. General Synod 2019 passed a resolution adopting the Season of Creation in the Anglican Church of Canada as a time of prayer, education, and action and encouraging dioceses and parishes to participate. Resources and events related to Season of Creation may be found on the Anglican Church of Canada website to help you plan.
Note: To avoid confusion it is worth noting that the Season of Creation is not a liturgical season like Advent or Easter but rather a time of intentional prayer and reflection.
This year, 01 September happens to fall on a Sunday, so it could be a special occasion to include the feast and mystery of Creation in the Sunday celebration. It is worth reminding the community about Sunday’s dual symbolism as both “the day of creation” (“the first day of the week” when God began the creative act, as per Genesis 1) and “the day of the resurrection.”
Are faith and science incompatible? In Where to Start: Faith & Science, you’ll learn how to approach this topic with humility and discernment, whether you’re in a classroom, at a dinner table, or in a Bible study. Led by BioLogos President and astronomer Deborah Haarsma, this is an introductory course to integrating faith and science, with optional “Going Deeper” sections throughout for a more thorough exploration of the topics.
Discover the necessary relational and intellectual tools to navigate important scientific, theological, and philosophical questions surrounding faith and science. This course will provide you with a solid foundation for engaging in constructive and respectful conversations in pursuit of truth.
Supporting your spouse seems like a given, right? Maybe your wedding vows didn’t express it in those exact words (or maybe they did), but the central tenet remains: the lifelong commitment you’ve made to each other includes supporting each other through whatever life throws your way.
When we think of supporting someone, we often associate it with them being in a weakened state or in a time of need. In marriage, that can certainly be the case. Other times, supporting your spouse can take a much more subtle form. Read on here ...
A new prayer resource published by the Anglican Church of Canada will be of interest to Anglicans who pray the Daily Office. Pray Without Ceasing invites Anglicans to deepen their faith, join with the wider Church in prayer and maintain formative patterns in the rhythm of spiritual life.
Praying the Daily Office stands as a cornerstone of Anglican spirituality, embodying our continual service and commitment to God. However, due to its layout, The Book of Alternative Services (BAS) presents challenges in following the Daily Office. Over the decades since the publication of the BAS, fresh language has emerged for litanies, canticles, prayers and psalmody.
Pray Without Ceasing transforms the Daily Office from the BAS by incorporating Anglican, Lutheran and additional ecumenical sources into a more comprehensive format for Morning and Evening Prayer. The book is structured into sections corresponding to the seasons of the Church year and features an updated Liturgical Psalter for the BAS. These enhancements have resulted in a clear, step-by-step approach to the practice of daily prayer and reflection, making Pray Without Ceasing a must-have resource.
Pray Without Ceasing is available as a coilbound book or in ebook format through the Anglican Church’s eStore.
"O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!"
Dolindo Ruotolo was the Italian Roman Catholic priest known for the "spirituality of surrender." A "novena" is a series of nine days of prayer and reflection. The 'Surrender Novena" captures the essence of both the prayer and the approach.
Day 1
Why do you confuse yourselves by worrying? Leave the care of your affairs to me and everything will be peaceful. I say to you in truth that every act of true, blind, complete surrender to me produces the effect that you desire and resolves all difficult situations. O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)
Day 2
Surrender to me does not mean to fret, to be upset, or to lose hope, nor does it mean offering to me a worried prayer asking me to follow you and change your worry into prayer. It is against this surrender, deeply against it, to worry, to be nervous and to desire to think about the consequences of anything ...
The Cathedral's Spirituality of the Seasons group met to make their own prayer beads on the afternoon of Wednesday, 22 May.
Originally scheduled as a Spirituality of Easter session, the date was postponed into Pentecost. Due to the popularity of the varied sessions, gatherings have extended but will break before the summer.
Deacon Debbie Edmondson led the beading session, providing instructions, materials and prayers for participants.
"Anglican prayer beads (also known as the Anglican rosary) were created as a tool for prayer. It is a prayer form which is a blending of the Marian (Roman Catholic) Rosary and the Orthodox Jesus Prayer Rope and encourages a wider range of prayers. It is a simple form of prayer available to all of God's children, and is a way of allowing God's Word to sink deeply into the soul and become prayer in us." (Download the resource: 'A Circle of Prayer: The Anglican Rosary for All of God’s People' from the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer)
Other members of the congregation (and beyond) have indicated interest in attending a beading session at a different time of day, and we hope to be able to offer this in the future.
[Pictured in photo: Sandra Noftell, Pamela Naugler, Janet Maston, Charlene Worrall, and Rachel Ranson]
“Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:10
One might be tempted to identify God himself as the deepest mystery of faith. In our times, being able to hold on to a worldview and way of making sense of reality that includes belief in God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, invisible yet revealed may seem increasingly uncommon. But ordering one’s life around love in such a way is no less life-giving than ever.
I entered the room and the lights were low. A voice spoke softly. “Al, I love you.” It was Al and Mary in the room. The doctor had shared with Mary that it would only be a day or two now. The recent period of declining health had brought Al into Hospice care. “Al, I love you,” Mary said again, quietly.
This couple had been married for over five decades. When they married Al worked a construction job. Mary was the homemaker who enjoyed giving attention to the small but important details. It was the 1960's and life seemed simple enough. Soon came the announcement that a baby was on the way. Their first daughter was born. Life changed. Mary and Al had to give up the freedom they enjoyed as newlyweds. They had new responsibilities, and they seemed to be the perfect little family. A couple of years went by and another announcement – a second girl. Resources were tight enough but so wasn’t the family. Some necessary adjustments and sacrifice and they were four. Another year and number three, a boy was more of a challenge. How would a three-bedroom, post-war bungalow accommodate? But dreams of a back porch combined with a new bedroom came to be, and then there were five.
The oldest had just graduated from high school when the diagnosis came. Al had multiple sclerosis. He would begin several decades with the disease that slowly chipped away at his physical abilities. Mary had gone to work for the first time since high school and loved it. But becoming the breadwinner wasn’t without its challenges. A colleague asked her one day if it was what she had signed up for. Her answer: “I do whatever I need to do.”
“Al, I love you.” When Mary and Al had stood in the little church back home and answered the question “Will you?” with “I will,” neither of them knew what would come. The commitment they made to one another was for a lifetime. Our most important commitments are like that. Love is like that.
When the boy Samuel heard the voice in the night call to him, “Samuel, Samuel,” he first thought it was his mentor. Old Eli told Samuel that when you hear this again, say “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” The message was for Eli and for the house of Israel – a word of harsh judgment. A word of challenge. God was about to punish Eli and the nation for their misdeeds, their blaspheming, their iniquity, wickedness, sin. Samuel was learning early that loving is seldom easy. Even though it may begin with hopeful excitement and joyful expectation, it would require something of him too.
The disciples were walking through the grainfield. We’re not told if they casually and unintentionally brushed the heads of wheat that day, grabbing a snack to curb the hunger of the moment. But it was the Sabbath. Pharisees looked on and immediately saw a violation of the age-old law.
We often find it easy to criticize the Pharisees. We blame them for their legalism and nitpicking the letter of the Law. But maybe we shouldn’t judge them just yet. It’s early in the Gospel of Mark. The Pharisees loved God. They had learned through years of study and service – sacrifice, that the way to love the Lord our God was to do as God commands. The law as it was revealed and delivered was complicated and extensive. Ten Commandments only hit the highlights. What about the Sabbath? To rest from work is a commandment. It includes instruction about the what and when to be sure but more importantly, like every rule, behind it is a good reason why. We are commanded to rest because we need it. But it's more than that. It’s also family time, a time to restore relationships, and do that which revives both body and soul. These days stores are open 24/7, hockey tournaments are strategically scheduled on Sundays, mobile phones dinging and danging at all hours of the day and night, and most weeks are packed full of trying to do it all. Sabbath convenience for us means work for someone else. The jury is still out. There’s a cost we haven’t yet counted. Pharisees loved God and they showed it by doing what God commanded.
Jesus was not about redefining the Law. He came not to abolish but to fulfill.
Jesus was not about redefining the Law. He came not to abolish but to fulfill. But he did bring a needed emphasis to the why. He upheld the importance of the spirit of the Law not just its letter. A re-focus on the why of a commitment may mean adjustment, change, reorientation, and almost always, sacrifice.
“Al, I love you.” Mary was there to the very end. Her words were perhaps the last Al heard before his eyes closed for the final time. They were far from empty. In them was the why of the commitments by which they both lived their lives. The commitments we make to love God, the commitments we make to love one another require sacrifice. They require adaptation, change, and giving. The commitments are not about us, they are almost always about the other and the greatest mystery may be, that we are the better for them. “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”
The Diocese of Fredericton is blessed with Camp Medley, Camp Brookwood, and the St. Michael’s Youth Conference, all of which offer our children and youth unforgettable summer experiences in God's creation.
In our Diocese we believe that no child should be turned away from summer camp because of their financial circumstances. It is hoped that with participation from people and parishes across the Diocese of Fredericton, this year’s Say Yes! to Kids campaign will encourage camperism by increasing the amount of sponsorship funds available to all three camps.
Join our Diocesan family as we seek to make the summer 2024 camping season as accessible and enjoyable to as many children as possible.
Make a donation to our Diocese of Fredericton Says Yes! to Camping Ministry team. DONATE ONLINE HERE.
Pray for the success of this year's Say Yes! to Kids campaign and for youth ministries in your community, in our diocese, and across the Anglican Church of Canada.
P.S. You can also mail a cheque, payable to the Anglican Foundation of Canada, with "Fredericton Says Yes!" in the memo line to the address below. Or watch for your Spring AFC newsletter and make your donation using the donation form and business reply envelope.
A five-part presentation and conversation series called 'Living with Dying' will held in the Cathedral on five consecutive Wednesday evenings in May and June.
The series will consider many of the important topics related to death and the dying process. Topics will include: End of life care options (with presentations from Palliative Care and Hospice professionals); Medical assistance in dying (with a lawyer sharing legal dimensions and interpretations of MAiD legislation); and Christian teaching on death and dying.
All sessions will run from 7:00 p.m. until approximately 8:30 p.m.
15 May: Introductory Session ~ An informal conversation facilitated by Dean Geoffrey Hall, introducing some of the big ideas and considerations around end-of-life issues. We'll look forward in this session also to hearing from audience members about the most pressing concerns & questions on their minds regarding living and dying well.
22 May: Palliative Care Session ~ Palliative Care is a way to care for patients with life-threatening illnesses, with a focus on quality-of-life – including the physical, social, emotional, and spiritual needs of patients and their families. We look forward to having the chance in this session to meet and chat with some members of the local (hospital-based) and extramural palliative care teams.
29 May: Hospice Care Session ~ Hospice Fredericton provides excellence in end-of-life care and bereavement support to palliative patients and their families. Come along to this session to meet a representative of the specialized team from Hospice House, our city's 10-bed residential facility. (*Special note: The "grief library" at Hospice House is named in honour of our very own Penny Ericson!)
5 June: MAiD Session ~ In June 2016, the Parliament of Canada passed federal legislation that allows eligible adults in Canada to request medical assistance in dying. Come along to this session to hear from a practicing lawyer updates and about legal dimensions and interpretations of the Medical Assistance in Dying legislation.
12 June: Faith Perspective Session ~ Our concluding session of the series will consider the important Christian teaching(s) regarding end-of-life questions and considerations. Come join facilitator Archbishop David Edwards for this conversation.
Thy Kingdom Come is a global prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray for more people to come to know Jesus. What started in 2016 as an invitation from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to the Church of England has grown into an international and ecumenical call to prayer.
Join the global wave of prayer calling all Christians to pray between Ascension and Pentecost for more people to come to know the love and peace of Jesus Christ. We hope that you choose to participate in this global prayer movement. This year, a special emphasis is suggested as we pray for youth and young families.
Christ Church Cathedral will participate from 09-19 May 2024, with group and individual prayer initiatives. View the Guide for Eleven Days of Prayer for information about events, resources for all ages, and readings to help you focus. Printed copies are available at the Cathedral and Hall. Resources such as a Prayer Journal and Novena are also available to download for free on the Thy Kingdom Come website.
Thy Kingdom Come begins with Ascension and ends with Pentecost. Celebrate the Ascension of the Lord on Thursday 09, May at 7:30 p.m. in the Cathedral. Celebrate Pentecost on Sunday, 19 May at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. in the Cathedral.
In the days between Ascension and Pentecost, it has been the habit of many Christians, for centuries, to make the focus of our prayers the same as those first believers. Christ’s last instruction to His disciples on the day of his Ascension is to ‘wait for the gift my Father promised’ (Acts 1:4).
Join us on weekdays during Thy Kingdom Come for a local discussion (45 min) about the series of reflections by Bishop Anthony Poggo, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion on passages from Revelation. We begin at 5:15 p.m. Friday 10 May in the Memorial Hall boardroom or via Video Conference (see our calendar).
Committoattending the Daily Office in the morning (8:45 a.m.) and the evening (4:45 p.m.) in the Cathedral. Join us for this prayer Tuesday - Friday during Thy Kingdom Come (due to the Victoria Day holiday on Monday, May 22). It takes about 15 minutes.
In other words, it is not just about celebrating “Creation as the created world” that God gifted us, but most importantly it is about celebrating “Creation as foundational mystery” of our Christian faith. In a nutshell, it is a moment to thank and praise God as Creator.
