by the Reverend Klaus Hoof, Weikersheim, Germany; translatet by Riley Edwards-Raudonat
On September 1, 1989, the Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I. invited Christians throughout the world to join the Office of the Ecumenical Patriarch annually on this date in giving thanks for the great gift of creation and in praying for its preservation and salvation. The 2nd European Ecumenical Assembly in Graz in 1997 took up this suggestion affirmatively. The Constituting Assembly of the European Christian Environmental Network in the Czech town of Vilémov in 1998 also lent its support to Dimitrios I. suggestion. The Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Württemberg, Germany is currently considering a motion calling for the inclusion of a "Day of Creation" or a "Season of Creation" in the liturgical calender of the Church. The motion will come to the floor for a final decision in November 1999.
The initiative is supported by the following theological considerations:
The current environmental crisis is not a crisis of creation but rather the consequence of the crisis of modern humanity in its self and world understanding. This crisis jeopardizes the future of all humanity.
On the basis of the content of its own inherent faith, the Churches can address the crisis in human self and world understanding and make an important contribution towards its resolution. An essential component of this contribution is to regularly celebrate the salvation of the cosmos as is contained in the Apostles¹ Creed, thereby calling God into consciousness as Creator and Sustainer. In order to insure that the celebration has a place in the life of both the individual and the community, specific rites and experiential forms must be established. This affects Christian consciousness and belief far more than learned theological lectures.
A central element of early Christian trinitarian doctrine is that Father, Son and Holy Spirit live with, for and in each other.
Theirs is a living relationship of greatest community and love amongst each other. This trinitarian model of God sets free a new human self-understanding over and beyond the concept of the human as the image of God. Men and women live out their nature as creatures in God¹s image when they enter into living and life supporting relationships, i.e. relationships to their own selves, to God and to other people as well as to all of creation.
To approach this only by way of theological reflection would be to shortchange it. Relationships must be shaped and lived out. The Churches should strive to take this upon themselves in the form of a liturgical challenge.
According to New Testament understanding it is clear that God creates through the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is against this background that Paul says: "For from him and through him and to him are all things" (Romans 11,36). All material objects and all living things are created by God, shaped by God and exist in God. God is visible, audible, tasteable, God can be experienced and empirically known in the world. This is the real mystery of God¹s becoming flesh.
This mystery of the healing presence of God in creation can ultimately not be understood intellectually. Rather, it must be sought out, experienced and celebrated. By way of the experience that God¹s life-creating Spirit and will to life is in everything that is and lives, a new and deeply-rooted respect for all entities, both inate and living, can grow and a new human self-understanding can come into being. It is a central spiritual and liturgical Christian task to render this insight in such a way that it can be ritually experienced.
"I believe in God the father almighty, maker of heaven and earth." At what point in the church year is this faith experience regularly celebrated and newly actualized? Theologically speaking, it is clear that the confession to God as Creator must be presupposed and included in the celebration of salvation in Christ as well as in the celebration of the coming and the workings of the Holy Spirit. Yet it is conspicuous that the confession to God as Creator is not anchored in any event of the church year in such a way that would lend it to being an object of celebration and reflection.
Can this be left as is in view of both the ecological challenge and the accusation that the Judeo-Christian tradition is complicit in the destruction of creation? Even though it can be demonstrated that this accusation does not do justice to relevant biblical texts, the absence of any celebration of the Creator and the Creation in the church year should give rise to critical reflection.
In the Orthodox Churches, there is intensive work being done on creation and on the preservation thereof. The initiative of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople has already been mentioned above. Since 1989, all are invited to celebrate September 1 (the beginning of the Orthodox church year) as the "Day of Creation".
In its final document, the 2nd European Ecumenical Assembly in Graz calls upon the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Catholic Conference of European Bishops (CCEE) to "consider and to encourage the preservation of creation as a part of church life at every level. One example: CEC and CCEE should beseech their member churches and Bishops’ Conferences to introduce a Day of Creation as celebrated by the Ecumenical Patriarch."
Since 1986, The Evangelical-Methodist Church celebrates annually a "Day in Honour of God’s Good Creation". A task force produces liturgical aids and other materials for the occasion.
In Switzerland, the four weeks preceeding Thanksgiving services are regarded as a special "Time of Creation", in keeping with a proposal of the "Ecumenical Task Force on Church and Environment". The marking of this "Time of Creation" is designed to help congregations to keep Thanksgiving festivities from degenerating into a folklore event celebrating nothing more than times past.
The new "European Christian Environmental Network," founded in October 1998 in the Czech town of Vilémov has created a special task force with the goal of presenting such ideas to European Churches. In addition, it will be producing liturgical aids for the celebration of a "Day of Creation".
By way of its faith in God as Creator and Sustainer of the cosmos and all life, the Church is aware of the inclusion of human beings in all acts of creation. In the course of the church year, the churches should create a set place for this, at which they can consciously live this out and upon which relevant biblical tradition can be heard. On the "Day of Creation" or during a "Time of Creation", such basic themes as the following could be treated:
Finding appropriate forms of expression, rituals and liturgies for these and other themes would be an worthwhile challenge for both congregations and theologians.
Dr. Hans-Hermann Böhm, Co-ordinator for Environmental Concerns, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Württemberg, Gymnasiumstr. 36, D-70174 Stuttgart: Tel: 49 711 2068 253; Fax: 49 711 2068 322;
e-mail: dr.boehm@elk-wue.de
Hoof, Klaus: Die Schöpfung feiern [Celebrating Creation],
in: Evang. Kommentare 11/98, Kreuz-Verlag Stuttgart
Vischer, Lukas: Zeit für Gottes Schöpfung [Time for God’s Creation]
in: Reformiertes Forum 19/1983, pp. 8-11
Both publications are in German.
Theological Reflection : A Time for Creation in the Church's Year
Resolution to the Churches : A Time for Creation in the Church Calendar
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