Care for Creation

In the Lord's prayer, we pray "may your kingdom come on earth as in heaven" - and through the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to restore and redeem our neighbourhoods, towns, cities and beyond. We want New Zealand to be the best place for young people to live, and in doing so, we are committed to being good stewards of our corner of the Pacific, and that living well here in Aotearoa doesn't come at a cost for the rest of the planet. 

MARK OF MISSION #5 TREASURE
To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation,
and sustain and renew ​the life of the earth’.

Season of Creation

Season of Creation is an annual celebration of prayer and action to protect creation, and has been gaining traction around the world as something to focus on during September - a particularly good month for the Southern Hemisphere as the days get warmer and new growth gets underway.

• Companions with Creation (Wellington Anglican Movement) *NEW*
• Season of Creation Resource (Auckland Diocese) *NEW*
• Season of Creation Resource for children's church and families (Auckland Diocese) *NEW*
• Season of Creation - Intergenerational service resource (Auckland Diocese) *NEW*​
• Eco Worship Resources (Engage Worship)
• ​Worship in the Woods (Engage Worship)

Plastic Free July

Plastic Free July is a campaign to encourage us to make some small changes to our plastic consumption. We'd love our churches to sign up for the challenge too, and think about how our care for creation is reflected in the items we purchase and throwaway. Some ideas include:​

• Get your children and young people to design some posters to encourage the whole church to reduce their plastic consumption. Download this printable template
• (This could be a great school holiday activity.)
• Set your church a challenge to refuse single use plastic straws, cups and cutlery - here's a challenge sheet to print out
• Organise a beach or river clean up
• Share stories in your Sunday services about the ways you are trying to reduce your plastic consumption

Resources

There are a few different resources out there to help children and families engage with this fifth mark of mission

• Teaching kids to care for God's creation - Catholic resource from Pleroma
• Caring for Creation - Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa NZ
• ​"What would Jesus do... about Climate change" - RNZ article with Bishop Eleanor
• Eco Worship Resources - Engage Worship
• ​Worship in the Woods - Engage Worship