The Season of Creation 2024 for Te Hāhi Weteriana o Aotearoa will be resourced with a kete of liturgical and devotional resources.

Earlier in the year I was invited to create such a resource with the aim of providing something contextual that could bring alive the season in Aotearoa. This brief included developing resources that relate to our Decade on Climate Justice, with the theme Rekindle the Vā of Papatūānuku; and our current two-year focus of Para Kore/Zero Waste.

In 2024 the Season of Creation spans the month of September, and covers five Sundays, beginning with the Feast of Creation on 1 September.

The theme chosen for the season, and which flows through the resources is “In Full Connection”. It is a new take on a recognisable Methodist term. Hopefully it will stretch our understanding of what being in “full connection” might mean through the lens of creation.  

 A strong emphasis of the material is fostering a lively, earth-engaged spirituality and faith. The hope is that it will deepen our relationship with the natural world as well as God and each other.

Though written in English, with some inclusion of te reo Māori, parts of the resource are likely to be translated into other languages used in the life of Te Hāhi Weteriana.

 The resource will honour the three-year cycle used internationally for the season, as well as the designated lectionary readings. But on the 5th Sunday (September 29) it honours Green Sunday, established for Te Hāhi, a few years ago.

This year it is:

September     1 –  Feast of Creation/Planet Earth Sunday

                         8 –  Humanity Sunday

                        15 – Sky Sunday

                        22 – Mountain Sunday

                        29 -  Green Sunday

Within the kete of resources will be liturgical material for corporate worship settings. This will include suggestions for symbolism, images, calls to worship, written prayers, hymn suggestions (all Aotearoa written), blessings, readings, and guiding leads for preachers and reflectors, and a few spiritual development activity ideas for faith communities to engage around. There will also be resources for personal devotional.

Throughout the material are numerous references to the amazing indigenous flora and fauna of our motu.

As well as being the Season of Creation the month of September is a rich time of the year for worship and contemplation. In our Aotearoa context it dovetails with the season of spring. I think this is one of the strongest reasons why we need our own contextual resources. Northern hemisphere resources readily available online deprive us of the opportunity to connect with what’s happening in the natural world where we live.

In September in Aotearoa, we also move to Daylight Saving, a full moon happens during Sky Sunday week, there is Conservation Week, Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) and Mental Health Awareness Week. The kete attempts to thread in elements of all of these events.

To complement and add depth to the written content, Greg Hughson from Dunedin, has generously agreed to provide photographs for the resource. He has a passion and gift for nature photography and his offering will add greatly to the project.

Late in June the creative process was well underway, and the resources were beginning to take shape. They will be available online on the Connexional website and in printed form in the latter half of August.

Look out for further information on the release of the kete through Connexional communications.  

I hope this gift is enriching for the whole church and deepens our journey through the Decade on Climate Justice.