Companions with Creation
Five years ago, the Diocese created an excellent resource - still used by many parishes - to celebrate and engage our people and families in what it means to Companion with Creation.
Written by Creation Care Worship Enabler Elise Ranck and offered as a pdf, we now have added to our website as webpages.
Note: We have loaded up the first four weeks of the resource. More will be added over September. To see the full resource, download it here.
Blessings!
Companions
with Creation
A faith-based programme for children and families to look after God's good earth
Elise Ranck / Anglican Movement
Introduction
Kia ora! Haere mai. Welcome.
Here before you is a term's worth of learning how to better care for God's beloved creation as individuals, members of a nuclear family, and contributors to a wider community.
Think of it as a toolbox in which I have provided many recommended tools. I don't know which ones you will need on any given week, it is up to you to pick and choose, and add your best recommendations as well.
Beyond meeting the fifth mark of mission (that is, “to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth”), beyond responding to the major issues of our time, I hope this programme evolves into one that is not about ticking boxes nor just meeting the threshold of what we ought to do. My hope and desire is that this programme can be the start, or perhaps the continuation, of radical conversation and understanding of what it means to activate our God-gifted ability to connect more intimately with each other, each part of creation, and God, our creator and redeemer.
This collection of tools is made for families to learn together, to learn from each other, and to share their learnings with their neighbours. Each component is meant to draw in people of all ages and stages to understand their role in God's family of creation and can be dialed up or stripped back depending on the engagement capacity of the individual or the group. A large part of the learning comes through asking questions that ignite our imaginations. Most weeks you will see a recurring question style beginning with “I wonder…”, inspired by Godly Play, an interactive, story-based approach to faith. I encourage you to pause, to allow the moments of wondering to sink in, so that everyone has the opportunity to respond in their own words.
Let this be a dynamic project, as we recognise we are co-creators with Christ, leaning into the insight of each other in our best attempts to bring the Kingdom of God, which we know is both now and not yet fully here. Grace to us all as we grow together.
Thank you to all who have contributed ideas, encouragement, tidbits of insight, resources, and prophetic vision along the way. Thank you specifically to Colette for her supervision, and Diana for her editing and design. Thank you Matt Lawrence for the illustrations throughout this project, and Joe McMenamin for your amazing colouring pages. Thank you to those who will pick up this resource and adapt it as their own. The Kingdom is evident and even more radiant with your contributions.
Elise
Elise Ranck — Creation Care Worship Enabler
The ten weeks
© 2021, Anglican Diocese of Wellington. All rights reserved by the Anglican Diocese of Wellington. This resource is intended for sharing with churches and christian groups. Please acknowledge the project author (Elise Ranck, for the Anglican Diocese of Wellington) when attributing and using. This resource may not be sold for profit, or distributed further without prior consent from the author.
If in doubt, get in touch: Elise Ranck, advocate@anglicanmovement.nz, PO Box 12 046, Thorndon, Wellington.
Original project illustrations by Matthew Lawrence © 2021. Colouring in pages by Joe McMenamin, used with permission © 2021. String Art ©1992 String Art for All Seasons Books 1 and 2 by Darline Andelin.
