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NJPN focus on Prayer and Action for Creation Time

  • Ellen Teague

In 2015 Pope Francis designated 1 September as a World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation in the Catholic Church. In fact, he encourages Creation Time to be celebrated in the Church between 1 September and 4 October, as it is in other Christian Churches. And so ‘Creation Day and Creation Time – Ideas and Resources’ occupied the morning session of Saturday’s quarterly meeting at CAFOD’s London office of the National Justice and Peace Network of England and Wales (NJPN), led by the NJPN’s Environment Working Group.

The day of prayer, the pope said, gives individuals and communities an opportunity to implore God's help in protecting creation and an opportunity to ask God's forgiveness "for sins committed against the world in which we live". It was pointed out that last year, on 1 September, Pope Francis himself led vespers for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation in St. Peter's Basilica. Similar prayer services were held around the world. Pope Francis encourages all the Catholic Church to be engaged in the day of prayer and the spiritual and lifestyle transformations he has called for in his encyclical ‘Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home’. The Global Catholic Climate Movement, which includes around 300-plus Catholic networks which highlight creation care, coordinated efforts and shared resources for the 2016 Season of Creation. The NJPN will be doing this in Britain for 2017, in collaboration with members such as CAFOD and the Columban missionaries who have care for creation as part of their charism.

The NJPN day looked at available resources, including sample services for 1 September used in Harrow, Southampton and Lancaster parishes. The services held over the past two years provide litanies of repentance, reflections on scripture passages, prayers and hymn choices. These and resource lists are now available on the internet. The NJPN Conference in July, ‘A Sabbath for the Earth and the Poor – The Challenge of Pope Francis’, will provide further formation and preparation. The NJPN Environment Group also presented feedback on its work encouraging dioceses to develop environmental policies, developing NJPN policy on fracking, and promoting the livesimply parish award. Diss Parish in East Anglia Diocese was the latest parish to be assessed for the award the following day.

Around 30 activists from dioceses attended Saturday’s meeting - including from Brentwood, Cardiff, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, and Westminster – and they joined Catholic organisations and religious involved in social justice - such as the Archbishop Romero Trust, CAFOD, CARJ, PACT, Pax Christi and the Mill Hill missionaries. Briefing papers and sources for the 8 June General Election were circulated, particularly the ‘Our Common Future’ briefing from CAFOD and CSAN.

The meeting was also NJPN’s AGM and Anne Peacey from Hallam Diocese was endorsed to continue her role as NJPN Chair. Campaigns supported by NJPN in 2016 have included: Robin Hood Tax, Trade Justice Movement, Global Day of Action on Military Spending, and Christians Aware Action Cards.

The meeting recommended that Blessed Oscar Romero, on the centenary of his birth, become patron of NJPN at the July annual conference.

NJPN Environment Working Group
www.justice-and-peace.org.uk/resources/njpn-environment-working-group/

Booking details for NJPN Conference 2017
www.justice-and-peace.org.uk/conference/

‘Creation Time’ resources, listed by Columban missionaries
www.columbans.co.uk/creation-time/

CAFOD/CSAN Election flier – Our Common Future
http://cafod.org.uk/content/download/41413/469782/version/3/Our%20Common%20Future_%20General%20Election%20questions%202017.pdf

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