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?
