With extreme weather and increasingly obvious consequences of climate change across the globe, our Christian calling to 'strive to safeguard the integrity of creation' is more important than ever. Alison Riggs, Environment Action Delivery Coordinator, explores how our church families can engage in positive change in this article for our link Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman's monthly prayer diary.
This year’s extreme weather and the next “El Niño” year - coming on top of previous impacts of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss - have made it even more obvious that the earth is in crisis. The science has been clear for a long time – humanity’s exploitation of the earth and its resources have led us to this point. But it is not too late for positive change!
In the UK, as across the Anglican Communion, we are guided by five Marks of Mission. The fifth mark recognises that environmental issues and the state of the earth are not just the responsibility of scientists, ecologists, conservationists, or ‘eco-champions’. This work is an integral part of what it means to be a Christian for all of us, and creation care weaves into all five marks…
Tell: Proclaim the good news of the kingdom. This includes the vision that all created things hold together in Christ. In Mark Ch16 v15 the disciples are commissioned to “proclaim good news to all creation.” To love God is to love all that He has made and created.
Teach: Teach, baptise, and nurture new believers. This includes teaching that the commandment to love our neighbours as ourselves includes ensuring that our actions and decisions are a force for good, not harm. It reminds us that being Christ’s disciples means being careful with resources and relating our faith to our lifestyle actions.
Tend: Respond to human need by loving service. This includes serving our local and wider global neighbours that are suffering because of environmental degradation and climate change. We cannot show love to God and neighbour without acting for the good of God’s creation.
Transform: Transform unjust structures and pursue peace. This includes challenging structures that reinforce the ecological issues we face today as they are also justice issues, where those that have done least to cause the problems are impacted the most.
Treasure: To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth. This recognises the three-way relationship between God, humans, and the earth (the rest of creation). We are to live in harmony with the rest of creation, caring for and treading lightly on the earth. God’s redemptive plan is for the whole world, and care for creation is an integral component of faithfulness to our Creator God.
Inspired by these, we seek to join the Anglican Communion around the world in caring for creation. Our church families can do so by:
- Informing ourselves - learning about environmental issues.
- Praying - Regular prayer for the environmental crisis, for everyone affected, for world leaders, and for local action, is vital.
- Acting - Much of the change required reduce emissions and pollution involves personal behavioural change by individuals and communities. For example, considering our energy use (reducing fossil fuel use) and our consumption (reusing, repairing, and avoiding waste of materials, food and water).
- Advocating - One of the biggest ways we can bring about change is through conversation. Whether speaking to family, friends, community leaders or politicians, we can advocate for the planet, and for people and communities, near and far, who are affected by climate impacts. This can drive change at a societal level.
The Season of Creation (1 September to 4 October) has the theme in 2026 of Living Water. This explores Ezekiel chapter 47 verses 9 and 12 as a powerful biblical vision of hope and ecological healing.
“Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live…"
"Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”
Set amid exile and loss, the image of living water flowing from God’s sanctuary reveals divine healing that renews land, water and biodiversity, bringing provision and healing. A gift of hope in this time of climate crisis. Amending our lifestyles where we can and speaking up for changes we can’t make directly to minimise harm to creation, mean we are playing our part in God’s restoration work.
In addition, this year we have a new Church of England teaching document from the House of Bishops - Hope for All Creation: A Theological Response to the Environmental Crises. This provides a helpful theological framework for understanding and responding to climate change, biodiversity loss, and other environmental challenges.
Its key messages are that:
Environmental care is a core part of Christian faith, not an optional extra: it is integral to discipleship, mission, worship, and witness. The Church is called to work alongside others in society to address ecological challenges and seek the flourishing of all creation.
Creation is God's gift. We can celebrate the beauty, abundance, and interconnectedness of the natural world, while recognising that human activity is placing serious pressure on climate systems and ecosystems. Environmental issues are not only scientific or political questions but also matters of Christian discipleship and ethics.
The response is grounded in hope. Christian hope in God's ongoing care for creation and the biblical promise of the ultimate renewal of all things through Christ. In the meantime, humans have a responsibility to exercise wise stewardship and care for creation always grounded in this hope. We are to look after a gift from God who loves us, knowing the whole earth remains the object of God's delight and care.
In the UK, in 2026 for the first time we will join in the new ecumenical, annual Festival of Creation in Christ, to be celebrated on the first Sunday in September. This is the first new festival to be recognised by the Church of England in 51 years! This reflects the growing importance of creation care within the Church's worship and mission.
Bishop Graham Usher, the Lead Bishop for the Environment in the Church of England, and other Church of England spokespeople say of the Festival:
“It places the first creation within the whole sweep of God's purposes. The one through whom all things were made, Jesus Christ, is also the one through whom all things are reconciled and renewed. In the resurrection of Jesus, the new creation has already begun. Christ's risen body is the first fruits of the future that God promises. God is not abandoning the material world or replacing it with something else. God is renewing creation from within."
“The festival brings worship and mission together. It invites us to delight in God's good creation, to receive it as a gift rather than possession, and to repent of the ways in which we have claimed God's world as our own. It also sends us out to care in heart and deed for the life of the world. protecting what is vulnerable, standing alongside communities that are already suffering, and seeking ways of living which reflect the reconciliation and renewal promised in Christ.”
Alison Riggs, Environment Action Delivery Coordinator