Why? Because we are celebrating the Season of Creation which begins on Sunday 1 September and goes through to Friday 4 October.

Why these dates? Joining the Orthodox church and World Council of Churches, Sunday 1 September is designated by the Vatican as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and Friday 4 October is the Feast of St Francis of Assisi whose life and love for all of God’s creation is celebrated well beyond the Catholic Church.

The ‘Season of Creation’ is a wonderful point of unity, ecumenical at its heart, and reaching out beyond the Christian Church to all who share a love and concern for creation. This year the theme is ‘To hope and act with Creation.’ You can read Pope Francis’ 2024 message here.

There are many resources available and these find their foundation in Laudato Si Pope Francis’ 2015 Encyclical Letter ‘On Care for our Common Home’, and his more recent Apostolic Exhortation Laudate Deum which focuses on the climate crisis and is addressed to all people of good will.

Of all Pope Francis’ writings, Laudato Si found a home in the hearts and minds of a range of Catholics, Christians, governments and community groups around the world. Many have developed Laudato Si Action Plans. Our schools – both staff and students - picked it up with passion. There is much that interested parishes could gain from engagement with their school communities in this space.

All this brings me to Creation Sings, an event which is part the Diocesan Liturgy Council’s recent initiative, Sacred Heart Beat. To read more about that click on the link.

Creation Sings, as its name suggests, is a singing event along the lines of the many communal choirs that are so popular at the moment.  This celebration of the Season of Creation will take place in the Sacred Heart Cathedral on Saturday afternoon 21 September beginning at 2.00pm. We will start in the tradition of community choirs and learn a song together in praise of creation. This learning will be followed by a prayer during which we will sing our song.

The prayer will also feature photos of your favourite places in creation that invite you towards wonder, awe and peace. To submit your photos please email them to rose.mcallister@mn.catholic.org.au by 16 September.

The prayer will celebrate God’s call for us to be good stewards of creation. Please bring cuttings of your favourite plants to exchange with other participants. In this way we all take home something new to plant, to nurture and to grow in our garden.

After the prayer, and once we have sung our hearts into one voice in praise and wonder of creation, we will move across to Cathedral House to continue the celebration with a wonderfully fresh afternoon tea.

Creation Sings is for everyone who shares a mind and heart ‘to hope and act with creation’. Think about the title for a moment. We ‘hope and act with creation’ because we are part of creation. And so, in us and through us, creation sings!

Please spread the word. You are welcome to turn up on the day without registering. Those who register will receive a video of the song we are going to learn and the lyrics. Registration also assists us with catering for afternoon tea. 

For further information and registration click here.

We look forward to seeing you and all your family and friends at Creation Sings. 

Other ways of celebrating the Season of Creation include:

• Season of Creation Weekend. Further information and registration details are here.
• The Season of Creation Formation Friday on 6 September in the Diocesan Library beginning at 1.00pm. Register here: https://forms.office.com/r/U0q0qUp4JQ
• Thursday 12 and Friday 13 September online keynote presentations, workshops, discussions and spiritual experiences are available. Information/Registration at: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1231165
• Saturday 14 September people are gathering at the Diocesan Hub in the Resource Centre, Newcastle West to hear about and discuss regenerative projects within and beyond our diocese, and to consider how we can contribute. Morning tea and lunch supplied as part of registration. Information/Registration at: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1231165

Diocesan Liturgy Council Update

To keep abreast of the work of the Diocesan Liturgy Council click on the link and then the ‘Council News’ drop-down menu where you will find the latest meeting Report.

Acknowledgements

Images: © Diocese of Maitland Newcastle Liturgy Council. All rights reserved.

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