A Call to “Hope and Act with Creation”
Friday 30th August 2024This September, our diocese joins Christians across the globe in celebrating Season of Creation – a month-long campaign inviting us to renew our relationship with God and His Creation.
Our theme this year is “To Hope and Act with Creation”, a testament to the hope that fuels our Christian faith and a challenge to take concrete actions of prayer, preaching, service, and solidarity to bring last change to our planet and its people.
Over the coming weeks, we will be celebrating this theme by celebrating all of the wonderful work and projects across our diocese that give us hope, combining it with a renewed challenge to each and every parish to take just one small action to help care for our common home.
An Invitation from Bishop John
Addressing the diocese in his latest Pastoral Letter, released this weekend, Bishop John said: “The Season of Creation presents opportunity to promote our understanding of the complexity of Nature and the environment and to show, as Pope Francis says, how “each and every one of us has our part to play”.
“More recently in Laudate Deum, Pope Francis acknowledges that personal, family and community habits are contributing and helping to bring about large processes of transformation.”
Bishop John paid tribute to the incredible work being carried out in schools across the diocese, urging parishes to be encouraged and motivated by the enthusiasm of our school children and work towards supporting those efforts in our churches.
Celebrating the fantastic work already being carried out by our parish communities, Bishop John urges more parishes to take action, providing hope for future generations that real change can be achieved in our efforts against our ecological crisis.
He said: “There is something to be celebrated as we see action across our diocese. But we need to do more. This year’s theme for the Season of Creation is “To Hope and Act”, and reflects our need to respond with urgency.
“Our simple actions in our daily lives can make a significant impact on the environment, and we must all make changes to our daily routines and work to create change across our wider communities.”
“I ask you all during this Season of Creation to reflect on what more you can do to care for creation and to use the resources that we have made available to help you in your journey to take action.”
How we can help
To help and encourage you to respond to Bishop John’s call, we will be sharing top tips from our Laudato Si’ Centre team along with case studies from key projects, packaged up in four main themes: Land and Biodiversity, Recycling and Waste, Solar Energy, and Social Action.
We invite you to explore our stories of hope over the coming weeks and consider how our top tips might support you to kickstart your own project in your parish community.
For advice and guidance on your own parish project, or to arrange a visit to our Centre, please contact our Laudato Si’ Centre team, who are on hand with a wealth of wisdom, tools, and resources to help you on your way!
Email laudatosi@dioceseofsalford.org.uk or click here to download our brochure.
Tagged | Bishop John | Environment | Laudato Si' Centre | Parishes | Season of Creation
