All across our diocese, chaplaincies have been praying and taking action together this Creationtide. Here are some stories – please get in touch to share yours by emailing communications@europe.anglican.org.

In Llanos del Peral, Father Marcus reminded us of God's love and the responsibility we bear for the Earth. He shared this picture on Facebook which depicts the whole sky heavy with dust, a reminder that creation will always have the last word. His added his prayers for healing, wisdom, and love to mend the Earth. 

In Geneva's Holy Trinity Church, they observed the Season of Creation with weekly themes, exploring the current environmental challenges, especially for the vulnerable. The Bible teachings highlighted the path toward repentance and action, sparking practical steps for their young people in Junior Church and Youth Group like clean-ups, tree planting, reducing carbon footprints and advocacy work. 

Meanwhile, in Bergen Anglican Church, the focus was on cultivating green habits. Small, everyday choices that make a significant impact on the planet. From reusing batteries to thrift shopping and reducing paper consumption. As well as celebrating meaningful days like Earth Day and United Nations Environment Day, keeping the environment close to their hearts. 

At the Anglican Church of Luxembourg, a special Creationtide meeting was held, diving into the challenges facing Luxembourg's forests.  

The Arnhem Nijmegen chaplaincy organised a special service where congregants made individual pledges. These pledges, aimed at cultivating eco-friendly habits, included reducing meat consumption, using cars less, buying second-hand clothes, and engaging in environmental activism. The congregation presented their pledges during the service, prayed for them, and symbolically covered the world with their intentions. 

In Helsinki's St. Nicholas' Anglican Church, their all-age service highlighted the power of water and the Spirit to transform the world around us. They passed around fossils and pottery from the sea to show how the water physically smoothed their jagged edges. Just as the water smoothes the fossils edges, we can have a similar effect by bringing peace to difficult situations and by responding to the sharp injustices in our world. 

St. Leonard's in Assisi marked the Season of Creation with an olive tree planting ceremony. The ecumenical procession bore witness to justice and peace, echoing the hope that justice and peace will flow abundantly. 

While the Anglican Church of the Resurrection, Bucharest, partnered with a local charity ‘Asociața Parcul Natural Văcărești’ for a project called "Natura dintre Blocuri" (Nature between the Blocks) to promote urban biodiversity. This initiative includes creating a wild garden, installing bat and bird boxes, and housing bee hotels on the chaplaincy roof. The project aims to increase biodiversity in the area and inspire other chaplaincies and organisations to undertake similar efforts. 

Each step, no matter how small, contributes to the preservation of God's beautiful creation. For more support see our diocesan caring for creation pages.