1 September – World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation

Earth and Moon. Photo credit: NASA

Earth and Moon. Photo credit: NASA

Pope Francis has asked Catholics and others throughout the world to pray this day and until the Feast of St Francis on 4th October for the care of creation, in line with his recent encyclical Laudato Si.

According to a letter from the Pope announcing the annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, this time “offers to individual believers and to the community a precious opportunity to renew our personal participation in this vocation as custodians of creation, raising to God our thanks for the marvellous works that He has entrusted to our care, invoking his help for the protection of creation and his mercy for the sins committed against the world in which we live.” (Letter from the Vatican, 6th August 2015)

This Tuesday afternoon at 5:00 pm CET a Service of the Word to inaugurate this time of intercession for creation will be held in St Peter’s Basilica, presided over by the Pope. Rev Dr Tim Macquiban, Director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, will represent Methodists worldwide at this service.

The Orthodox Church also honours 1st September as a Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and Pope Francis notes his hope that this should become an annual occurrence so that it “will be a valuable opportunity to bear witness to our growing communion with our orthodox brothers.   We live in a time where all Christians are faced with identical and important challenges and we must give common replies to these in order to appear more credible and effective.  Therefore it is my hope that this Day can involve, in some way, other Churches and ecclesial Communities and be celebrated in union with the initiatives that the World Council of Churches is promoting on this issue.” (ibid)

The Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome is a resource for the global Methodist family and helps to facilitate Methodist relationships with the wider ecumenical community. The Revd Dr Tim Macquiban is its Director; he is also a mission partner with the Italian Methodist Church with pastoral charge of the Ponte Sant’ Angelo Church.

Resources:

For further information please contact:

Tim Macquiban
Ponte Sant`Angelo Church
Via del Banco di Santo Spirito, n3
00186 ROMA

Website : methodistchurchrome@virgilio.it
Tel: 06 686 8314

Email: tmacquiban@gmail.com