Tag Archives: God’s Creation

Creationtide

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A Five-Week reflection of God’s Creation

The Season of Creation, also known as Creationtide, is recognised by all denominations globally to reflect specifically upon God’s creation and for us to consider what role we play within it. It is a five-week period from 1st September to 4th October where Christians and Churches are asked to pray and use their voices to advocate creation. During this period St Peter’s will join in prayer to give thanks for God’s Creation and to recognise not only its beauty but also the fragility of our world.

This season culminates in our Harvest Festival service on Sunday 12th October at 10.30am. This year any produce collected will go towards helping The Well at Kibworth. During the period of Creationtide, we pledge to commit ourselves to preserve our world and do what we can to encourage others to do so.

Maxine Johnson, Lay Reader St Peter’s Church, Church Langton

We are all aware of how important being in nature is and how it can help us become less stressed and much calmer. Taking a few minutes to sit outside with a cup of tea and being aware of our surroundings can be so beneficial. Indeed praying outside can be a powerful part of our day. When was the last time you had a minute or two in peaceful reflection?

Earlier in the year, St Peter’s was delighted to support the pupils of Church Langton Primary school’s Gardening club. The PCC decided to give every child a giant sunflower seed to grow during the Summer months. Many thanks to all the pupils who took part, especially everyone who took photos to share at school and church.

Creation Tide - Photo of sunflowers - Image shows a lovely pot of sunflowers with watering can at the side. Copyright protected.
Sunflowers grown by school pupils

As we move into Autumn we hope the seedheads will provide much needed Winter food for the birds. Indeed our churchyard would be an ideal place to lay any surplus too.

We give thanks for the creation of our planet, for the creation of all creature large and small, for the circle of life and its continued beauty.
As one of our favourite hymns says;

For the beauty of the Earth
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies.

For the wonder of each hour,
Of the day and of the night;
Hill and vale and tree and flow’r
Sun and moon and stars of light.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise. “

Members of the PCC Church Langton

Arocha UK Awards Bronze Eco to St Peter’s Church Langton

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Smiles were all around when a certain email popped into our in box recently. What is it all about? You might well ask! St Peter’s now qualifies as a Bronze Eco Church. After filling in questionnaires on the Arocha UK website, we discussed our care for the churchyard, the flowers and the creatures that inhabit it, as well as the care for our building and our hopes for its future use by our community. We applied to Arocha Uk and were delighted to receive our Bronze Eco Award. We made promises to help protect God’s Earth and its creatures from extinction by reducing pollution, landfill and food waste. This promise applies to St Peter’s Church building and churchyard but also to us as individual members of the church community.

Join us on our Eco Journey

There are a number of initiatives we aim to support at the start of our Eco journey. The churchyard is already a haven to wildlife, (see the example below) but we want to install bug houses and bird boxes and hedgehog houses go encourage more. Can you help us make them or install them? If so, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us here by email or reply to this post on our Facebook Page.

See below, just one example of the extraordinary natural habitat found in the churchyard. These tiny fungi form an almost magical landscape and appear in the autumn.

Photo of tiny fungi mushrooms looking like a magical village for woodland sprites and fairies.
The fairy village – tiny fungi growing in St Peter’s Church yard

Just One Thing

We pray to encourage our community to join us in pledging to do “JUST ONE THING” however small to help restore the Earth’s balance. Lifestyle Change does not have to be massive it can be as small as not using paper handkerchiefs, reducing the use of cling film and single use plastic such as bottled water or it could be to set the washing machine to a lower temperature.

Could you think about making a pledge and letting us know? We’d love to hear what you and your family have decided to change in your household. Every step we all take, however small, makes a huge difference.

Fair Trade Produce

The use of Fair Trade produce is so important to ensure that farmers in third world countries have a fair salary and have good working conditions. Would you consider buying Fair Trade produce for your pledge? We want to promote the use of Fair Trade produce in St Peter’s especially during our much-loved Cream Tea Sundays.

PHoto shows a white tea pot and milk jug with a plate of jam, scones and butter on a white tray
Time for tea!

What is YOUR Carbon Footprint?

Finally, one last thought to ponder is to check your own carbon footprint on the website CreationCare.org.uk where you can get your own personalised carbon footprint number. Use this number to update every six months or whenever you have time. What a great thing to do with your children and grandchildren by introducing them to carry on the legacy of caring for God’s Earth.

Visit St Peter’s church and churchyard

St Peter’s is open every day for contemplation and quiet prayer. It welcomes you for those moments when you need a quiet space to get away from the pressures of everyday life or just for somewhere to sit for a while. St Peter’s is always there for all.

Creation is given as a gift to us all and we share responsibility to protect and nurture it.

Alison Thurlby PCC member
Echo family at St Peter’s Church Langton
Feel free to send us pictures on St Peter’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/stpeterschurchlangton