Dear friends,
As more groups, committees and gatherings reconvene this September, I continue to hear the question, “How was your summer?” Officially, there are still two days left! The autumnal equinox will occur very early on Sunday morning. Happily, I think the whole Diocese will enjoy summery weather this weekend for these last hours of our summer season.
We know, however, that we experienced much more troubling weather patterns this summer that should concern us all. You’ll remember the endless string of dangerously humid days and the terrible wildfires that engulfed parts of our country, most notably the devastation in Jasper. Just yesterday I was looking at photos of the wildfires in Portugal and the flooding in central Europe. Our changing planet is in agony, and it is easy to despair.
The Season of Creation is a global ecumenical observance that has developed over the last few decades. The World Council of Churches established a season from Sept. 1 to Oct. 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. At our General Synod in 2019, the Anglican Church of Canada overwhelmingly supported a resolution to adopt the Season of Creation as an annual time of prayer, education and action, and to encourage dioceses to engage with it. Many parishes keep the Season of Creation with prayer, celebration and other activities that honour God’s created world.
As a Diocese, we are keeping our first diocesan celebration of the Season of Creation at St. James Cathedral tomorrow – at 2 p.m. Please join us!
This year’s theme is “To Hope and Act with Creation,” inspired by Romans 8:19-25. We can feel discouraged when we watch the news and experience climate change directly, and as individuals we might feel powerless to make any meaningful difference. But as people of faith we also hope – and we can pray. God has always worked for the renewing and sustaining of life on the Earth, and the redeeming work of Christ is the pinnacle of that. We can participate in God’s plan by working to safeguard the integrity of creation, as God has always called us to do from Genesis onward.
The incredible diversity of our Diocese is reflected not only in our people and our expressions of Church, but also in our ecology. We worship God on Great Lakes and smaller lakes, along rivers like the Humber, Otonabee, Trent, Rouge and Credit, in farmland watered by countless creeks, and in cities cleft by deep ravines. Our waterways nourish and refresh wildlife, trees and other plants. We invite you to bring to Saturday’s service a small jar of water from a lake, river or creek somewhere near your home or church. In a powerful symbolic act, these offerings of water from every corner of our Diocese will be mingled together and blessed in a ceremony by Anishinaabe Elder Laverne Malcolm. We will lift our voices in prayer and song and share the Eucharist – the central act of our faith in Christ, that renews us also.
Saturday’s service is an opportunity for us to bring our laments and praises together and to inspire each other in this hope and action. I truly hope to see you there, for the love of God’s earth.
Yours in Christ,
The Rt. Rev. Andrew Asbil
Bishop of Toronto
