On the 1 September Christians will begin Creationtide. Christians use this time to give thanks for the earth, celebrate God as the creator and focus on environmental care and sustainability. This festival was started in 1989 by the Eastern Orthodox Church. The theme for the Church of England in 2026 is ‘Living Water’ based on Ezekiel 47.1-12 which highlights God’s living water flowing from the temple of God, growing deeper restoring barren land, reviving waters and sustaining flourishing ecosystems. Humanity is challenged to embrace interconnectedness with the environment.
For the last five years or so, All Saints has made the effort to give thought and planning to the way we as a church follow Creationtide. We will begin in late August and early September as Fr David and Fr Chris give their thoughts in the sermons. On the 20 September I will preach on Fairtrade and use the gospel of Matthew (Pope Francis’ favourite Saint) to reflect on Fairtrade. Many poor farmers across the world had been forced into desperate acts like deforestation to survive. Fairtrade has sought to help people seek sustainable farming techniques through helping people financially. At All Saints we have for the last few years supported sustainable farming in Africa enabling women to learn farming skills, sharing those techniques of sustainable farming with others and making profits from the crops grown to fund education for their children through the Ripple Effect Charity. Try this Creationtide to seek out those Fairtrade bananas, sugar, tea, wine, vegetables, fruit juices, coffee, flowers and of course chocolate.
On the 27 September our Sundays @4 team will provide an afternoon all age service to mark St Francis of Assisi. Francis had a desire to love God and neighbour and had a deep love for animals and creation. People will be invited to bring their pets.
On the 4 October we will celebrate Harvest Festival at our 10am Family Eucharist. We once again are delighted to welcome students from Boyne Hill, All Saints and Altwood Church of England schools to celebrate Harvest with us. Following the service, we will hold our harvest auction which normally leads to some fun and generous fund raising. Please bring harvest goods for auction and all the funds will go to the schools for use on their sustainability projects.
Throughout September there will be school assemblies that I will be invited to join. At Boyne Hill and All Saints Schools there will be the blessing of food with short stories and prayers. At All Saints the theme is compassion as they reach out locally through FoodShare.
On Thursday 24 September at All Saints School from 6.45pm our Sustainability Team has planned a showing of the People’s Emergency Briefing. This evening will be open to our congregation and to the other world faith represented by WAMCF (Windsor and Maidenhead Community Forum) . The People’s Emergency Briefing aims at enhancing public awareness of climate and environmental risks. A series of community led screenings have been shown this year. A number of us visited Norden Farm earlier in the year alongside about 100 other people from Maidenhead who are concerned about the climate and biodiversity crisis. If you are interested, tickets are free and can be booked on https://buytickets.at/allsaintsboynehillchurch/2310711
The film itself features experts highlighting risks to health, food systems, national security, and the economy. It shows the seriousness of the situation and opportunities for positive action. The viewer is asked to contact their local MP to advocate urgent government action. Well-known people like Chris Packham, Jennifer Saunders and Debrorah Meadon all contribute to the film.
Finally, I have been reading on BBC news about El Nino which might not be impacted by human induced behavior but nevertheless impacts the quality of our lives alongside global warming. In the United Kingdon, El Nino may bring dramatic storms and flooding this Autumn and lead to the hottest summer on record in 2027. Globally the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization have warned that El Nino could threaten food security in many parts of the world.
As a church community, we are doing what we can to play our part as responsible people focusing on environmental care and sustainability. Clearly Creationtide is not just for those folk who are interested in this subject but for all of us.