10 Jahre Aufbau einer umfassenden Kirchlichen Umweltarbeit
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ZEIT DER SCHÖPFUNG
IM KIRCHENJAHR
Vom 1. September bis 4. Oktober
Eine Initiative zur Einführung im Rahmen des ECEN
Antrag an die Kirchenleitungen
Sonstiges siehe Dossier in Deutsch und Englisch
Die ARGE SVA erhielt 1995 von Metropolit Staikos Informationen über die Einführung des Schöpfungstages 1989 durch den Ökumenischen Patriarchen Dimitros I. und seine Empfehlung an die gesamte Christenheit, den SCHÖPFUNGSTAG zu begehen.
1995 erste Wahrnehmung
des SCHÖPFUNGSTAGES in der Katholischen Kirche Österreichs durch
die ARGE SVA, erstmalig ZEIT DER SCHÖPFUNG:
Interdisziplinäres Symposium "Kultur des Lebens" (vernachlässigtes
Dialogthema),
Ausstellung weissrussischer Künstler,
Einladung von Vertretern des weissrussischen Exarchats, Politikern, Künstlern,
Konzerte, Liederabend, Tag der Offenen Tür, Straßenaktionen
s. auch Europaarbeit!
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A Time for Creation in the Church Calendar
Resolution of the European Christian Environmental Network adopted at its meeting in the Evangelical Academy in Loccum on October 31, 1999
The Second Ecumenical
European Assembly adopted the following resolution:
"We recommend that the churches consider and promote the care for creation
as part of church life at all levels. One way would be to observe a common
creation day, such as the Ecumenical Patriarchate celebrates each year. Rationale:
The seriousness of the ecological dilemma for the future of the human race
means that the churches´ consciousness must be raised. Commitment to
the care for creation is not an issue among many but an essential dimension
of all church life."
The European Christian Environmental Network, having considered and discussed this resolution, submits to the churches in Europe and to all organisations and people concerned, the following recommendation:
1. We welcome the resolution
of the Second Ecumenical Assembly in Graz. We urge the churches to put it
into practice through a common and concerted effort.
2. The theme of creation is present in the worship of all Christian tradition.
For exmple, many Protestant churches celebrate harvest worship services and
in the Roman Catholic Church the Day of Saint Francis is acquiring increased
significance. The proposal of the Ecumenical Patriarchate adds a further occasion
of celebraton the Creator. September 1st. is meant to be "a day of thanksgiving
for the great gift of creation and of petitions for its preservation and healing".
In response to the proposal of the Ecumenical Patriarchate the churches should
introduce into the church year a period explicitly devoted to the first article
of the Creed, the confession of "God, the Father, Creator of Heaven and
Earth". At present the theme "Creator and Creation" has no
firm place within the church calendar. The various periods and days of the
church year have as their focus the second and third articles of the Creed.
3. We propose that the period from September 1st to the second Sunday in October
be observed as a period of celebration of the Creator and Creation. We have
noted with interest that certain churches have already begun to use this period
as an occasion to strengthen within the churches the consciousness of their
responsibility for creation. We suggest that all churches introduce this period
into their calendar.
Such a period of the Creator and Creation can serve as an occasion for a common witness of the churches. With a view to this, we have prepared a file with suggestions which may facilitate a creative use of the period.