Earlier this year, St Paul’s held a service of lament for creation – a moving experience of prayers, song, and symbolic action. Together, the congregation expressed sorrow for ecological loss, gratitude for what remains, and hope for renewal. Placing leaves at the foot of trees became an act of surrender and prayer, reminding us that God receives our grief and restores our hope. Communal lament, as St Paul’s demonstrated, is not just possible – it is essential. It forms us spiritually, sustains our action, and reminds us that caring for creation is part of loving what God loves.

Waitakere Salvation Army shares with us what took place during their Eco Church launch service in September during Season of Creation and how the church is tackling the issue of food waste as their first Eco Church initiative.

Nestled in the hills of Dunedin, Opoho Presbyterian Church has become a beautiful example of how a faith community can embody Christian hope through practical action and environmental stewardship. With a strong commitment to creation care, the church is carving out a unique identity as a hub for sustainability and creation care in its community.

Imagine you’ve arrived late for church and as you gaze through the glass doors on your way in, you see a line of people, some wearing black beanies and balaclavas. Do you continue to enter? Yes, at Cityside you do. The congregation were not being held at gun point, they were just learning about load shifting electricity use.

For Puanga this year, St Peter’s Anglican Church Whanganui created a worship service for all ages which was reflective and interactive, weaving elements of Creation Care into the liturgical flow of the service. Our service used a liturgy to take us on a journey of reflection. We had space to remember those who had passed, and a space to offer thankfulness for the year gone. Instead of a sermon, we split into kēmu/mahi toi (games/art), confession and reflection stations.

Having joined in the Eco Church movement in 2023, St Mike’s are continuing to look for ways to support local whenua. As the recent Season of Creation kicked off, each member of the church whānau were invited to consider making a fresh pledge for creation: one act which they would personally commit to in response to the call to be kaitiaki of God’s world.

The annual Blessing of the Animals service at St. Peter's Anglican Church was delightfully chaotic. Human voices rose up in song alongside dog voices and cat voices.

Rachel Doragh, Eco Church kaihāpai at Tawa Anglicans created a beautiful altar panel art for Season of Creation 2023 using the theme of the year: “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! (Amos 5: 24)”

“…by putting these images in front of us as we worship it will help us keep in mind that we are joining our voices in worship with those of all creation, and also to ponder on the image of the river and what justice and righteousness might look like for us in our world right now."

It is wonderful to use elements from God’s creation in worship. Using shells or stones or other things from nature enables people to engage with God using other senses. An Advent koru points to the new life that Christ’s birth brings here in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Advent koru is made up of shells which portray our kiwi summer, along with stones, bird’s nests, feathers, flowers, and other natural things we can find.

Kāpiti Anglicans did the Eco Church self-assessment exercise as part of a church service in October. The super-creative Rev Fee Thompson, the Assistant Vicar, designed and built these amazing boards as the basis for the exercise.

Season of Creation is celebrated annually all around the world, in different denominations, and many parishes in the Anglican Diocese of Wellington joined in this year. Read about the different ways Season of Creation was celebrated this year around the diocese, including an intergenerational pet celebration service, beach clean-up, eco-theology sermon series, and waste workshop.

St Michael’s Anglican Church in Kelburn joined the Eco Church whānau in Dec 2021. It was not till March 2022 that they officially launched Eco Church at one of their services. Read on to find out some highlights from their Eco Church launch service which included presentations from their local community conservation group, student advocacy action for free fares, an eco quiz and a low-waste morning tea!