Koonung Heights Uniting Church
The Season of Creation begins on September 1, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends on October 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology beloved by many Christian denominations. September 1 is the beginning of Spring in Australia and although commemorations had begun decades earlier in 1992 the government officially declared September 1 Wattle Day and the green and gold of the wattle are Australia’s official colours.
The Season of Creation, was introduced in 1989 from the Eastern Orthodox church. So for those of us who lament the decline of the ecumenical movement here is a rare bright note. In the past decade or so I have seen the popularity of Season of Creation grow in the churches, obviously touching a nerve as the world grapples with the implications of climate change.
Wendell Berry died on Monday, aged 92. He was an American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic and farmer and at the opening of Season of Creation it is timely to give one of his quotes,
“Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is a party f all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do”
Each year, a new theme and resources are created by a group of churches from round the world. The theme for 2026 is Living Water. Water is where all life emerged from. It is at times abundant, at times a scarcity. Used is a dazzling array of ways to enrich human and hopefully all creation’s quality of life. Everything from domestic uses to recreational to industrial to mining.
Essential for all life but can also threaten life. Too little or too much and we die.
I recall hearing a story about a couple that were driving in the outback when their car broke down in the middle of nowhere. They did the right thing and stayed with the car but still died of dehydration and exposure. First Nations people who found them were distressed and said there is water everywhere out here. You just have to know where to dig.
What they were referring to was is known to us as The Great Artesian Basin. The Basin spans almost 1.7 million square kilometres which is over one-fifth of the Australian continent. Biggest in the world. There is around 65 thousand cubic kilometers of groundwater in the Basin which is enough water to fill the Sydney Harbour 130,000 times. Some of the water is nearly 2 million years old.
The current 2026–2027 El Niño is on track to be one of the strongest on record, bringing highly unusual and intensified climate risks to Australia over the coming months and years. Climate models from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) show near 100% certainty that this exceptional event will persist through summer and into autumn 2027
In the face of that the symbol for the Season of Creation 2026 is a church surrounded by water.
Being surrounded by water can be a scary place to be. Many Pacific Islands feel threatened by the rising ocean. People in Nepal were not just surrounded but swept away by water. Water is both precious and necessary for life, but can threaten and even destroy life. Too little and we die, too much and we die. Water can threaten life but humans also threaten and destroy water as we pollute rivers and oceans, divert water to our own use instead of letting it nourish the land. Season of Creation reminds us of the imperative to live in harmony with the creation.
We have our share of floods in Australia, but also see the desert literally blooms as Lake Eyre/Kati Thanda, fills and the wild flowers and the birds, even the frogs and fish come teeming back into life. Precisely the vision of the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah of the desert blooming who both see this vision as a parallel to the renewing power of God. The call is for transformation – that Christians would be immersed in the living water flowing from the throne of God- stepping in deeper and deeper, inspired by the Spirit of God, working together for the renewal of Creation.
In the Book of Ezekiel (47:1-12), the prophet shares a vision of water flowing from the temple of God. What starts as a tiny trickle grows into a deep, rushing river.
Wherever this river goes, life appears. Barren deserts turn green. Salty waters become fresh. Now this is an interesting one. In context this is a reference to the river flowing into the Dead Sea, which you will know is extremely salty. So salty you cannot sink in it and it would not be good for making the desert bloom. It will kill any vegetation. I have been in it and it is true you just float on the surface. Just don’t put your head under and watch all the tiny nicks on your skin. Ezekiel is saying the pure makes the impure pure. Fresh water making salty water fresh. This is the opposite of what we know to be usually true. Whenever you get something unclean or impure are common Biblical words and it comes in contact with the clean or pure then your get something unclean or impure. This is the biblical injunction against touching dead bodies or lepers or whatever. But Jesus reveres this and when he touches the leper he is not made unclean but the leper is made clean and healed. And here in Ezkiel we have a forrunner. It should not happen but this is the vision of renewal.
Trees grow strong along the banks, bearing fruit every month, and their leaves offer healing for the nations.
This vision was given to people who knew what it meant to lose everything in exile. Ezekiel prophesies during the devastation of the Babylonian captivity. But in the midst of that calamanity God gave them a picture of hope. God promised that healing and renewal are always possible, even in the hardest times.
Today, our rivers, lakes, and oceans face deep pain. They struggle under the weight of heavy pollution, changing climates, and careless overuse.
When we take a clean glass of water for granted, we forget its sacred value. Growing up in suburban Melbourne I never thought you paid for water. Maybe the pipes or service but not the water. That was free cos it fell out of the heavens at no cost. And so you could leave a tap on, or the sprinkler going and forget about it. Or hose the driveway down. And we all know when something is free we undervalue it. But now the planet is learning water is not just a free resource to use up. Water is a living bond that connects every human being, animal, and plant on this planet.
The symbol for the Season of Creation this year is Immersion in Living Water. God does not ask us to just stand on the dry bank and watch the river. God invites us to step into the water, just as Namaan was invited and healed. Remember that story? Or the paralysed man by the Sheep Pool in Jerusalem who had no-one to put him into the water when it stirred? Remember that story.
To step into the water means to change how we live. It means letting God’s Spirit wash away our apathy. It means working together to clean our local streams, conserve our supplies, and fight for climate justice so that all communities can share in clean, safe water.
Let us pray for the grace to step deeper into God’s current of healing. May our lives flow outward like that temple river, bringing hope, care, and renewal to a thirsty world.
12 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.”
