Creation Care - Church Resources

By Peter Harris, Director of A Rocha:

"Caring for Creation - the new frontier of mission" (3 pages) was published in Scripture Union's daily Bible study notes Encounter with God for October-December 2004. Peter writes, "We need to recognise that it is Christian leaders in the poorer world who are prompting us to see how the devastation of the environment is impacting church and society... we now recognise that environmental causes, more than any others, are contributing to human suffering."

"Creation Care and Mission" (5 pages) is adapted from a chapter in Down-to-earth Christianity, 2000. Written for Christians working cross-culturally who want their lifestyle and teaching to reflect God's concern for all creation.

"I believe in God, maker of Heaven and Earth" is a sermon (6 pages) based on this statement in the Apostles' Creed, and preached at Nyon, Switzerland, in 2001. Peter asks how belief in the truth of this claim can influence our relationships with God, other people and the natural world.

"Christian belief and environmental concern" is a chapter (of 9 pages) written in 2002 for God's Stewards, a small paperback published by World Vision International. Peter looks at ways in which the church has sometimes been shaped more by national culture than by Biblical teaching, and examines the importance of belief on our attitude to the environment.

By Rev Dave Bookless, Director of A Rocha UK:

"Why a Christian conservation organisation?" explains the motivation for A Rocha's activities and is an easy-to-read but very broad look (in 20 pages) at the Biblical teaching on the environment from Genesis to Revelation. Dave describes the whole drama of scripture as a play in five acts - Creation, The Fall, The Land, Jesus and Pentecost Onwards, and finishes by suggesting some ways in which we can all respond.

Hope for Creation: a time for worship and action

Churches Together in Britain and Ireland has compiled a set of resources to encourage and assist churches to observe a Time for Creation dedicated to prayer for the protection of Creation and the promotion of sustainable lifestyles. Our theme for 2008 is Hope for Creation: a time for worship and action.

Central to these resources are sermon materials prepared by Rev. Dave Bookless, A Rocha UK Director, but there are also additional resources for worship services and liturgies, group bible studies, children and all age resources, and action ideas, to help churches, groups and individuals to focus on Creation Time, either for one week or the whole month.

All the material is free to download from the Churches Together website.