Creation Matters is Redeemer’s eco-spirituality group. We centre ourselves in creation, learn about and reflect on the state of the world in which we live, and bring more awareness of creation into the life of the church. All are welcome! We gather each month for prayer, discussion and support. If you would like to join us, please contact Grant Jahnke.
Original artwork for Season of Creation by Dawn Lee
The Cosmic Walk
Thank you to all who join us for our celebration of the Season of Creation on Wednesday, September 17 with dancer Jarvi Raudsepp to experience the Cosmic Walk, a ritual storytelling of the 13.8 billion-year unfolding of the universe. The Cosmic Walk depicts the reality of oneness found not only on planet Earth but throughout the whole universe. Come, contemplate and celebrate the vast and exquisite beauty of the world God is creating.
Season of Creation 2023 – Listen to the Voices of Creation
“Listen to the Voices of Creation” was the theme for the sixth annual Season of Creation in 2023. The Season of Creation is a time set apart for us to delight with joy and humble gratitude in our experiences of the immense beauty, complexity and wonder of Creation; to lament the harms inflicted, knowingly or unknowingly, on individuals, communities, species and ecosystems; to repent for mistreatment of the Earth’s resources; and, listening to the voices of Creation, to learn and respond in thought, word and deed.
Worship Services during the Season of Creation: Listen to the Voices of Creation
EarthSong: This service featured sacred and secular readings, music and prayers related to the theme, “Listen to the Voices of Creation.” We welcomed Alanna Mitchell, acclaimed Canadian science journalist, author, playwright and active member of the United Church as our guest speaker. Throughout her career, Ms Mitchell has blended in-depth research with compelling story-telling to describe significant planetary changes.
Sunday, October 8 – Listening to the Voices of the Land
Sunday, October 15 – Listening to the Voices of the Air
Sunday, October 22 – Listening for the Voices of the Sea
Sunday, October 29 – What Have We Heard?
The All Beings Confluence
All Beings Confluence was an art installation and visual experience directly inspired in 2010 by Carolyn McDade, a composer, social activist and environmentalist, when she went to the Qu’Appelle Valley in Saskatchewan in preparation for recording her CD, Widening Embrace. Canadian artists Madeleine LePage, Fennella Temmerman, Martha Cole, and Shannon Carson, planted and nurtured a creative vision that grew and flourished for 12 years.
The vision was to invite ordinary individuals, in music workshop settings, to create the long, narrow, sheer panels, each representing a single living Being — perhaps a ladybug, a bird, a tree, or the blue-green algae providing our planet with oxygen. And then to offer an experience of The Beings.
Over 12 years, more than 300 panels were created, and over 20,000 people have walked amongst them. Selections of All Beings Confluence panels were loaned to over 50 organizations across Canada and the United States, including Church of the Redeemer, in 2018 for our second Season of Creation.
In 2022, the decision was made to break up the complete set of panels and create “pods” to house these. We were generously gifted with 23 of the “Beings”! We continue to use them in the way they are intended to be experienced: The panels are installed to fill a whole area and a single panel is never seen by itself. It is always “in community” with all the other Beings. Everyone is invited to walk amongst them – they move gently with the air currents, always merging into different patterns & combinations of colour & light. For a brief moment we can actually feel ourselves as part of the vast, complex & interconnected whole.
About the visual Centrepiece: “In Earth’s Life We Live”
The central image for the Church of the Redeemer’s Season of Creation was created as an original acrylic painting by Dawn Lee. Dawn is an artist and member of the parish.
“In Earth’s Life We Live” focuses on the essential for life elements: soil, water, and air. Dawn has incorporated ancient and evocative symbols of these elements. The roots embedded deep in the Earth represent a grounded faith; the fish, an ancient symbol of Christianity, reminds us of our baptismal covenant; and the wild goose, a Celtic symbol for the Holy Spirit, or breath of God, suggests going noisily, boldly and courageously in a new direction.
Creation Matters and Me by Audrey Danaher
Once in a while, something catches your attention, and you know you want to be involved in some way. Such was my response when I heard about Creation Matters @ Redeemer. Having participated in numerous committees and work groups over the years, I decided to take a sabbatical for a while, but Creation Matters piqued my interest. My decision to join the group was the right one for me.
I am drawn to the belief — the fact — that we are all connected and interdependent. Everything that happens impacts everything else. The global pandemic made this essential truth glaringly obvious and shone a light on both the resilience and fragility of our planet. What drew me to Creation Matters was the opportunity to explore and reflect on our place in this wondrous world and how we can be good stewards in working together to protect and sustain our common home- a home many of us have taken for granted and ignored.
It is easy to get swept up in our personal issues and have an inflated sense of their importance. I know I do. To see ourselves as part of an incredible eco system, ever expanding universe is humbling. What I love about Creation Matters is the opportunity to engage in heartfelt conversation with others who are thinking about questions related to creation that have no easy answers- questions that centre on our day to day living habits and global decisions.
The sense of cohesion in the group and acceptance of a wide range of viewpoints prompt me to ask even more questions- if only to myself- that expand my limited understanding and help me confront my own responsibility in caring for creation. The discussions are a foundation for action in caring for our beautiful world.
I am a recent grandparent of twins. As I look at their little faces, I wonder what the world will look like for them as they grow up. None of us can change or do anything alone. We are all connected whether we realize it or not. Creation Matters is a small step forward for me in working together to address some difficult issues with a sense of hope that change is possible.
A Repository of Links to Resources on Ecological Justice
Season of Creation – Globally & Close to Home
Season of Creation is an annual, global and ecumenical time of focus on our relationship with the Creator and with all of creation. Globally, it runs from September 1 to October 4.
The Church of England on Season of Creation
A Season of Creation like no other this year
Season of Creation 2021 @ The Redeemer
In Earth’s Life We Live
Season of Creation 2020 @ The Redeemer
Redeemer’s 30-Day Challenge: An Invitation to Reflect and Act
Season of Creation 2019 @ The Redeemer
How Shall We Then Live?
Images
RiverBlue
Communications from The Diocese of Toronto on Ecological Justice
Diocese of Toronto Policy Paper on Environmental Issues
For the Love of Creation Faith-in-Action Campaign
Pray
We pray for the life of the world
Learn/Read
A curated reading list on Creation Care
If you are interested in growing your awareness of creation, and how the church can navigate the environmental challenges our world is facing, please get in touch below.
