Friday, September 9, 2022

Trinity Presbyterian Celebrates and Reflects on the Season of Creation

Photo credit: Jock Aplin

Trinity Presbyterian Celebrates and Reflects on the Season of Creation

by Jane Laping

In the Presbyterian church (and many other denominations) we celebrate the “Season of Creation” that starts on September 1, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and ends on October 4, the Feast Day of St. Francis. It is a time set aside for us to reflect on and celebrate God’s creation.

 

Trinity Presbyterian Church in Hendersonville, NC is doing a lot of reflecting and celebrating during this season. Each of the four Sundays at Trinity has a different theme: Cosmos, Climate, Water, and Hope. The liturgy, hymns and sermons reflect that theme for the respective Sunday. In the narthex, posters that correspond with the title of the sermon are added each week.

 

During the second week of the Season of Creation, the Wednesday night dinner at Trinity is vegetarian and the Earth Care Team gives a presentation about their accomplishments for the past year. After worship on the fourth Sunday, the Earth Care Team leads a walk in the church gardens and woods, with meditations, prayers and singing. After a vegetarian picnic, the celebration concludes with a tree planting, signifying hope.

 

All these creation-centered offerings are announced in the monthly newsletter, Tidings https://www.trinitypresnc.org/_files/ugd/9693de_9bc231af5d8e46f7b37f992c6b44e081.pdf and on the Trinity Blog https://www.trinitypresnc.org/blog.

 

One would think that Trinity is a large church to be able to plan and carry out these activities for four consecutive weeks. The truth is that there are about 300 members on the roll and only eleven on the Earth Care Team, that started just a year ago. All it takes is a passionate and inspiring leader like Enrique Sanchez. Are you that person for your congregation?