THE month of September marks a change of the seasons. Hot summer days get left behind, holidays are over and a new school year begins.

September 1 is also the beginning of the Season of Creation when churches focus on “Creation Care”. This lasts until October 4 which is the feast day for St Francis of Assisi, the well-known saint who loved the birds and the bees, in fact, all of creation. Now, there is a hero and a role model for us all today!

Our wonderful, unique world with its huge variety of landscapes, mountains and plains, oceans and rivers with flora and fauna of incredible variety is, as far as we know, unique in the universe; everything is provided for us!

But look what we have done/are doing to it! Our abuse of the environment is changing our global weather patterns with hurricanes, flooding and drought affecting millions with more and more refugees fleeing. Here at home lack of rain this year has impacted farmers up and down the country; yields are down and food prices will, therefore, rise.

Meanwhile, we continue our old ways... and the fossil fuel producers keep on drilling for more oil and political leaders talk of “drill baby drill”! It’s all the lure of money, of course, but the Paris Agreement in 2015 gave us hope that global temperatures might be able to keep within limits. But, tragically, nations are simply not making the necessary changes that would enable this to happen.

The Creation Care programme reminds us of our responsibilities of care for this wonderful world in which God has placed us… to be aware of western profligacy and how it is continuing to affect our brothers and sisters around the world.

Check out seasonofcreation.org

Wendy Earl

Lay Reader, St Mewan Parish