Thought For The Week 31 August 2025

Season of Creation 2025: Peace with Creation

This September, churches around the world will once again unite to celebrate the Season of Creation — a month-long opportunity, from 1 September to 4  October 

This year’s theme is “Peace with Creation” drawing from the promise found in Isaiah 32:14 ‑18.  In this powerful passage, Isaiah offers a vision of deep restoration — not only between people, but also between humanity and the rest of creation. Across Aotearoa and around the world, ecosystems are groaning under pressure. Yet this scripture extends a hopeful    invitation: to become active participants in God’s healing work through justice,  humility, and faithful action.

Seeking “peace with creation” is not passively achieved. We must actively pursue peace. I’m mindful of places like the Denniston and Stockton Plateaus on the West Coast, which are home to a rich and diverse ecosystem including kiwi, kākā, and a nationally endangered     indigenous giant snail found nowhere else in the world. These plateaus are at risk because of plans to significantly expand a coal-for-export mine.

The issues are complex, especially when jobs and livelihoods are bound up with unsustainable planet-heating industries. Seeking “peace with creation” must go hand-in-hand with a just transition for people, who stand to be affected by a shift towards a sustainable and green economy. Local organisations, including Christian movement Common Grace  Aotearoa, are exploring what a restored earth looks like; a world in which God’s people “will abide in peaceful habitation” with creation and there will be justice for people and planet alike.

Meanwhile, on the 25th anniversary of the Jubilee Debt Project, Caritas International has launched the “Turn Debt into Hope” campaign. Supported by the Season of Creation team, the campaign advocates for stronger financing to help poorer countries (which have       contributed the least to climate change) to respond to the challenge of a heating world. These are just two examples of what it means to pursue “peace with creation” within our complex economic and social realities.

There are many ways to be intentional and active during the Season of Creation — as a church and in your local community. The International Season of Creation Guide is full of  ideas and inspiration, and you’ll also find a wide array of resources on the A Rocha Aotearoa and Eco Church websites to equip your church for meaningful involvement. 

Here are a few ways to get started:

Host a Season of Creation service using the Season of Creation guide, or a bible study using the Pacific Conference of Churches Bible Study guide.

Invite a speaker – A Rocha and the Eco Church network have many people across the country available to speak at services or events

• Join the Eco Church network– or take the next step if you’re already on the journey
• Plan a local action– such as tree planting, a rubbish clean-up, or a kai-sharing event

Advocate for change – support the Caritas “Turn Debt to Hope” campaign, and the campaigns of Common Grace Aotearoa.

On behalf of the PCANZ Moderator

Rev Dr Jordan Redding

Convener of the Assembly Emissions Reductions Workgroupminister@sthelierscentre.org.nz