Seeking God in Nappies and National Prayer
- Cathy Cook reflects on an unknown journey in a changing climate…
I am a shy full-time mum. I am not particularly articulate and, frankly, crowds of people overwhelm me. I’d much prefer to be digging quietly in the garden or curled up on the couch with an historical romance novel.
The problem is that I have a gnawing conviction that has been growing within me and it doesn’t sit well to push it aside and pretend it isn’t there. It’s a conviction that humans are damaging God’s creation, and that following Jesus means that we’re called in our freedom to choose to do something about it.
It’s the freeing love of God that gives Christians hope. In the often contentious and complex discussions around climate change, we can seek the deep source of the Creator God’s love to motivate and guide our prayer and action. Keeping God at the centre of the conversation as we seek to figure out how to respond to a changing climate will be crucial not just for Christians, but for all of humanity.
I grew up in the Christian Reformed Church with songs about God’s love for creation ringing in my ears. My childhood was spent in the lush bush at the foothills of Mount Dandenong in Melbourne’s east, where walking to school every day involved a constant yet subtle reminder of the reality of the Creator’s power and love. Looking back, I am thankful for the way this easy intimacy with creation – smelling the gumtrees on hot summer days, the murmur of the frogs in the gullies, the simple beauty of the ‘messy’ bush scene – was quietly connected with what I was learning about God and the world in church, at school and at home.
In 2007 my growing conviction about God’s love for the world and the role of Christians to be caretakers of creation led me to undertake a Masters in Theological Ethics focusing on ecology at Edinburgh University – even though I had never before studied theology or ethics. By the Grace of God, my husband and I returned from Scotland in 2009 with a Masters under my belt, a child on the way and a compelling inner voice that kept demanding that I put my studies to practical use.
Several months ago I was struck with a seemingly crazy idea about Christians and congregations around Australia uniting to pray for creation; the crazy part being the thought that introverted me could do anything to make the idea a reality. Yet, driven to act, I snatched moments of household peace when baby slept (and when I’d plucked up enough courage) to phone denominations and Christian organisations to seek support.
Despite the stolen moments of time that I’ve been able to devote to this project, there has been strong support for holding a day for Christians to collectively cry out to God about creation. There is now a small but passionate group of supporting churches, agencies and organisations who are prayerfully planning the day.
Together, we invite you and your congregation to join us on Sunday 6th November.
It will be a day to pray for the world. To pray for others – especially the poor in developing countries and farmers in Australia who are experiencing the first impacts of the changing climate; for the creation that groans in longing to be liberated from decay; and for ourselves as we figure out how we can respond in our own lives and collectively as an act of worship to God.
While climate change discussions continue to whirl about us in the media and in political and economic circles, Christians can gather to offer this issue to God and ask for the Creator’s direction. Though many may have differing ideas about the size of the problem and what caused it, we can celebrate together the truth that God cherishes us and the creation and that to care for creation is to offer love and worship back to God.
As we gather, we’ll know that our prayers will join those of Christians around the world.
On the day, some groups may want to include a prayer for creation in their Sunday service. Others might want to focus on the themes of prayer and creation for the whole service. And some might want to introduce an action element as part of, or beyond, the Sunday service. Still in planning mode, we are hoping to soon have a website of information and resources that congregations can adapt and use as appropriate.
We’d love to hear from anyone who would like to help us make this day a reality, whether it’s contributing funds to help pay for running costs, providing or helping to create resources, or promoting the idea in your church or denomination. Above all, we ask that you pray for God’s guiding hand as we seek to create a day that unites Christians in prayer for the creation that serves as a witness to God’s power and goodness.
An American theologian once compared Christian care of creation with an audience enjoying a piece of artwork. How can we, he asked, on one hand give praise to the artist for the masterpiece and laud it as proof of his existence, and yet simultaneously be destroying the work?
This Day of Prayer on Climate Change is about thanking the Creator for the creation, praying for healing within ourselves and creation, and celebrating that God walks with us as we seek to represent Him on earth. In seeking God though prayer, we are drawn closer to the heart of God and receive inspiration in and through the Spirit about how to respond to what is before us.
When I think about how my love for God was nurtured, I cannot help but wonder about my own little girl and the world that she will inherit. What will the world around her say about the God of creation? What condition will God’s great masterpiece be in, to point her to the Master Himself? So, I choose to humbly and prayerfully seek the God of this great earth to lead me into the unknown, and pray that He will walk with me, with us and with my growing baby girl, into the future.
For more information or to offer your support to the day, please email info@hopeforcreation.com.au
This article was originally published in Zadok Perspectives Winter 2011.
