Live Oak (Calif.) Church of the Brethren celebrated the Season of Creation, beginning with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on Sept. 1. The Season of Creation is a time in which Christians across the world reflect on nature and creation, recognize the reality of climate change, and focus on how to better care for all creation. Over the course of a month, the congregation listened for wisdom from the voices of the ocean, the storm, the universe, and the animals.
The focus culminated with a blessing of the animals; members were invited to worship outdoors with beloved pets.
A Facebook post from Live Oak explained, “We celebrate our animal kindred on this day [Oct. 2] as it is the Sunday nearest the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology, which falls on October. Though Brethren do not officially have saints or observe their Feast days, the message and life of St. Francis is an example to follow in how we relate to our animal kindred and care for the earth.”