The Season of Creation is September 1 - October 4, and churches from every corner of the diocese have been celebrating.

St. Christopher's, Pensacola really had it on the ball this year! See if you can find a project that inspires you from this extensive programming list, and try it out with your congregation. For example, this bulletin cover (right) was created from nature photos submitted by parishioners.

• Altar - This table (photo below) was up all month at the altar and folks were invited to place something meaningful to them, to remind us that we’re in a worshipping community that includes the wider creation.

• Special speaker every Wednesday evening (native plants; Longleaf Pine ecosystem; Natural History of the Gulf of Mexico, with special eco-parable about the endangered, Rice's Whale; local Extension agent Carrie Stevenson talked about "creepy" or unusual critters, compost and crawfish). Children's programming also had creation care theme.

• Native plant giveaways on two Sundays during coffee hour - plants and educational material.

• One Sunday the altar flowers were from a local flower farm, Blossom Lane Farms, using ecologically healthy growing practices (photo below).

• Every Sunday some part of the sermon related to creation care, including one Sunday featuring parts of Teilhard de Chardin's beautiful Mass on the World (start watching around 29:15). Many, many creation-themed hymns.

• Donated a well-received raffle basket with a creation care theme for BayLights. Contents included Jim Antal's book Climate Church, Climate World, Robin Wall Kimmerer's book The Serviceberry, wine in cardboard bottles, Smithsonian-approved migratory bird friendly coffee, beeswax wrap, dental floss in cardboard container, etc.

• Donations for our local county animal shelter collected as part of our Blessing of the Animals - food, treats, toys, blankets, and cash.

• Bulletin Board with a tree... folks invited to write a CC commitment on a paper leaf and stick it on the tree. Will remain up another month or so.

Rev. Bob Donnell at All Saints, Mobile used a special liturgy, prayers and sermon for Sun Day on September 21, and handed out solar energy advocacy postcards that had been decorated by member children to parishioners to complete and mail to the Public Service Commission. All Saints will host a St. Francis Day sunset service on Saturday, October 4 at 6 p.m. (flyer below).

Did we miss your church's Season of Creation special activities? Please send us your stories and your pictures!

Province IV and V Monthly Gathering

Monday, October 13 at 12:00 pm CT

Creation Care and Church Culture – Confronting the Iceberg 

A Follow-Up Discussion from the Episcopal Creation Care Gathering

The plenary speakers for the recent Episcopal Creation Care Gathering (ECCG) at Proctor Camp and Conference Center (Canon Meredith Day Hearn and Canon Katie Forsyth) introduced participants to some models of change useful in confronting the iceberg that is church culture (most of it is under water). For this Monday gathering, some of those who attended those sessions will lead us in conversation about how these models might be of practical help to those on the front lines of creation care ministry.

We will first reintroduce the change models, so those who were not at the conference can participate as well. We will then discuss how these models could help explain our current ministry situations and identify possible ways forward.

Here is a preview of one of them:

Change = Dissatisfaction x Vision x First Steps > Resistance

This means that any change in a community must come from a multiplied combination of dissatisfaction with the present, vision for something different, and some practical first steps, the total of which must be greater than the resistance to change. If any one of the three is missing (zero), there will be no change. This is the Gleicher-Dannemiller change model. How can this and other models help us understand the barriers and opportunities in our creation care ministries? Come join us for this conversation.

Gus Speth, founder of the prestigious World Resources Institute and co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council, stated that he once thought that with good science and policy they could solve the environmental crisis, but he was wrong: the root cause is spiritual. In this webinar, economist Robin Gottfried analyzes the fundamental causes of social and environmental degradation and proposes that the church has a unique and critical role to play in addressing today’s environmental and social challenges. Moreover, by doing so, it might truly become what it is called to be.

Robin Gottfried is Emeritus Professor of Economics and founding director (retired) of the Center for Religion and Environment at Sewanee: The University of the South. He directs the Center for Deep Green Faith’s certificate program in Contemplation and Care for Creation and serves on its board.

"The Antidote to Doom Is Doing"

Sustainable Views: Navigating Policy and Regulation

by Michael Mann and Katharine Hayhoe

We can, and must, use our voices to advocate for change through voting, advocacy, activism and informed dialogue.

"I Believe" from the Feast of St. Francis resource, “Spreading Seeds of Peace and Hope for Creation,” from the Catholic Climate Covenant: