Our St. Francis Ministry is hosting offerings during this year’s Season of Creation (& beyond). All are welcome to join us!
Following the list of events, we are posting reflections and practical ways to honor the Season from Amy Rini, our Parish Laudato Sí Intern throughout the Season of Creation, which is Sept. 1-Oct. 4 this year.
Click here for more info on the Sept. 26 “Walk With Your Ears” outing, which is hosted by our Walking Spirituality Ministry.
Click here to return to the St. Francis Ministry webpage.
From Amy Rini, our Parish Laudato Sí Intern
Sept. 6, 2026: Flowing Together: Season of Creation 2026
As a recent graduate of Boston College Clough School of Theology, where I served as the “Care for Our Common Home Scholar,” I see environmental stewardship as a legitimate form of Christian ministry. Caring for creation is a way of caring for our neighbors. This year’s Season of Creation (Sept. 1 – Oct. 4) theme is “Living Water,” drawn from Ezekiel’s vision of healing waters (47:1-12). This yearly ecumenical celebration inspires people of all Christian denominations to unite to protect our common home through eco-spirituality, community resilience, and prophetic advocacy. You can honor the God who created and sustains life by showing up to your community, and journeying together through this Season. In the upcoming weeks, I will offer practical ways you can honor the Season, which I hope will inspire you to honor our shared planet in accessible ways.
Sept. 13, 2026: No One Lives for Oneself in Ecological Justice
We are in week two of Season of Creation (Sept 1- Oct 4), celebrated by ecumenical Christians every year to honor the planet God created for us to steward. It is also the start of the school year, and our Jewish neighbors observe their new year, Rosh Hoshana. This weekend, St. Paul reminds us that “none of us lives for oneself” (Romans 14:7), a message that extends directly to how we care for God’s Earth and our neighbors. Just as the servant in the Gospel withheld compassion after receiving great grace, we fail in our Christian witness when we allow environmental injustices to deprive vulnerable communities of God’s life-giving creation, especially water. Water is a sacred symbol of baptismal rebirth and an essential need for physical survival, yet pollution and degradation disproportionately threaten the most vulnerable among us. Reflecting God’s infinite mercy shown in Psalm 103, in this new year, let us move beyond self-interest and protect our shared waters so that all of God’s children may flourish in justice and peace
Sept 20, 2026: The Earth is a Shared Vineyard
In today’s Gospel, Jesus shares the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16a). We hear of a generous landowner who pays all of his laborers a day’s wage, even the ones who started long after the original laborers began. During this Season of Creation, we are reminded that our Earth is like a shared vineyard we are working on, and God’s grace flows through it like Living Water to sustain all living things. In his letter, Laudato Si’, Pope Francis highlights that access to safe, clean water is a basic human right because it is essential for life. Just as the vineyard owner cares for every single worker, God calls us to care for every part of creation to ensure its life-giving resources are shared fairly. Let the Living Water that sustains us also inspire us to share this gift equally, ensuring that no one is left thirsty.
Sept. 27, 2026: Tending the Vineyard Together
The Season of Creation (Sept. 1 through Oct. 4) is celebrated by Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians across the world. All of us are called to be like the son who obeys God and stewards the earth. These numerous traditions have nuances on how to worship and live out their faith, but stewarding our planet and living waters is one shared way to live out God’s will. This dedicated Season invites us to take tangible actions for the earth. I sometimes find it challenging to be motivated to take these actions, and find it tempting to act like the second son, who said he will tend the vineyard but then did not. It frankly is easier to make real progress needed to live out God’s will when we work together in our church community. The St. Francis Ministry is gathering in many ways to celebrate our beautiful planet. You are joyfully invited to mark your calendars to join their events below, like the first son in this Gospel tending to God’s vineyard.