Creation Care resources for Children

The bishop of my diocese has asked me to be the Episcopal Relief and Development coordinator for South Dakota. At this point, I do not quite know what that means, as I will have to develop an ER-D program for the Diocese from scratch.

However, I discovered in my research that ER-D has come up with a very interesting Bible study/Sunday school program for youth involving Creation Care and Stewardship. I have to admit I get skeptical of some Creation care liturgies/bible studies because they are either particularly politically motivated or theologically crazy suspect. While we feel we are called to be good stewards of creation, it is not Christian to pray to Mother Earth. We pray to the God that created the Earth. That's just one of my personal theological bugaboos. That having been said, I think this Bible study looks pretty good. Each lesson has full lesson plans, bible study material, and even little liturgies for kids. You might check it out. As with anything, you can adapt it to fit your needs or theological concerns, but it looks pretty solid.

Of particular interest, there is a liturgy that would be good for a Saint Francis Day Blessing of the Animals. For those in the Brookings area, we are doing a Blessing of the Animals at 4PM this coming Sunday in the Rectory Courtyard. But, if you need to come up with something for your own parish, you might check out this resource.

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