Middle Eastern churches celebrate “Season of Creation”
As churches and Christian groups around the world have been marking the “Season of Creation”, SAT-7 heard from the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) about why Christians in the region must prioritise stewardship of the natural world.
SAT-7 ARABIC talk show Good Morning Beirut hosted Father Antoine El-Ahmar, Director of the Department of Theological Affairs and Ecumenical Relations at the MECC, during the festival, which runs from 1 September to 4 October each year.
The Season of Creation, which runs from 1 September to 4 October each year, is powered by a Celebration Guide produced in multiple languages that helps believers and churches around the world to get involved. This year’s theme, “Peace with Creation”, draws on Isaiah 32:14-18 and explores how we might co-operate with God in bringing restoration to desolate places.
“OUR CALL IS TO CARE FOR CREATION”
“When I damage the creation, I am sinning,” said Father Antoine. “When I ignore creation and do not improve it, then I am not doing justice to the coming generations. This is a human call that we get from our faith and from the Word.”
Concerns about environmental issues abound, with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) seen as a particularly vulnerable region. According to UNICEF, it is “predicted to have the highest average temperature increases of any region and an increased number of extreme weather events.” The MENA is also reported to be the most water scarce in the world, containing 11 of the 17 most water-stressed countries.
But Father Antoine wants Middle Eastern Christians to know that our mandate for creation care comes primarily from God; it is not dependent on trends in society or even the climate itself. “I prefer to use the word creation instead of the word environment because many people today defend environmental causes for several reasons and agendas,” he explained. “But we have a spiritual cause… We have a call, being here on earth, to believe in a creator God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Our call is to care for creation.”
Unity among churches
The Season of Creation started in 1989, when Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I proclaimed 1 September – the first day in the Orthodox Church calendar – as a day of prayer for creation. Since then, it has been expanded to become a month-long celebration, and now involves several major denominations. Each year, a group of interdenominational Christians – including the MECC – work together to coordinate the celebration.
This year’s event aligns with the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. “Christians everywhere have followed the Nicene call to confess their communion in faith and to witness their faith in the context of a troubled, unequal, and divided world,” it says in the Season of Creation’s Celebration Guide. “The Nicene Creed has become a bond of peace and communion between churches. Our work for peace with creation can draw on this old and strong ecumenical communion. It is an expression of the Nicene Creed today.”
