Photo: screenshot, facebook.com/GreenAnglicans

Creation Season 2023: Celebration Guide for Episcopal Parishes is now available for those who integrate Creation Season into Sunday worship (Sept. 1- Oct. 4). Curated by the Creation Care Leadership Circle of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts, the original 128-page PDF was made available on August 2, 2022 in two dioceses—Massachusetts and Western Massachusetts. One year later, sixteen diocesan bishops representing seventeen dioceses have authorized use of an updated edition of this resource for Creation Season 2023.

The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Anne Reddall,
Diocese of Arizona

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Marc Handley Andrus,
Diocese of California

The Rt. Rev. Russell Kendrick,
Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast

The Rt. Rev. Kymberly Lucas,
Diocese of Colorado

The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey W. Mello,
Diocese of Connecticut

The Rt. Rev. Robert Skirving,
Diocese of East Carolina

The Rt. Rev. Prince G. Singh, Provisional,
Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan

The Rt. Rev. Lawrence C. Provenzano,
Diocese of Long Island

The Rt. Rev. Thomas J. Brown,
Diocese of Maine

The Rt. Rev. Alan M. Gates,
Diocese of Massachusetts

The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey D. Lee, Provisional,
Diocese of Milwaukee

The Rt. Rev. Brian R. Seage,
Diocese of Mississippi

The Rt. Rev. Deon K. Johnson,
Diocese of Missouri

The Rt. Rev. A. Robert Hirschfeld,
Diocese of New Hampshire

The Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde,
Diocese of Washington

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas John Fisher,
Diocese of Western Massachusetts

The Rev. Dr. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas shared access to the revised resource with authorizing dioceses yesterday. “We are delighted that so many congregations across The Episcopal Church will be exploring faithful new ways of praying with and for God’s good Earth,” wrote Bullitt-Jonas. The updated resource now includes the lectionary texts for Year A.

For each Sunday the resource supplies a unique collect, draws attention to creation care elements in the Lectionary readings for both Track 1 and Track 2, and refers to supplementary texts that may be used in place of the second lesson. It also offers ideas for the sermon. Subsequent sections contain litanies, confessions, intercessions, a creation-based assessment of all nine authorized Eucharistic Prayers, and a “Eucharistic Prayer for Creation” adapted by the Rev. Dr. Nina Ranadive Pooley.

The Rev. John Elliot Lein, rector of St. Aidan’s and Christ Episcopal Churches, Downeast Maine, is a former graphic designer. Lein created an elegant, user-friendly layout in the first iteration that is maintained in the second edition. The updated guide can be browsed and downloaded at https://newcreationliturgies.org/seasonofcreation/.