A special service will take place at Winchester Cathedral today, 2nd October 2022, to highlight the importancy of our environment, as many churches across the UK celebrate Harvest Festival.
The event called 'Cry for Creation: Rally for the Earth', as part of its harvest celebrations and is an culmination of Winchester Green Week.
Participants in the rally will be invited to gather around a dramatic ‘Burning Bush’ art installation where the exhibit will be set alight and those present will make pledges and prayers to protect God’s creation.
The ‘Burning Bush’ theme is taken from the bible story in Exodus when Moses encounters God revealed through a burning bush and is given a special task to perform by God.
It has been an important image for the Cathedral, during their season of CreationTide where Christians have been praying and taking action for climate change, especially mindful of the increasing number of wildfires around the world.
Reverend Cannon Missioner at Winchester Cathedral Dr Tess Kuin Lawton told Premier every Church must do their part to help tackle the climate crisis: "There's no question that the church must be involved in climate emergency as it quite clearly is.
"One of the reasons that we are is because we hear the voices of the next generation and the generation after that, saying, What are you leaving us?
"This is, what's so important. We have to wake up and listen to the voices of young people for whom this is such a pressing concern."
Dr Lawton said at the time when people across the UK celebrate Harvest festival we must not forget people who are less fortunate and pray for them, futhermore being thankful to God for what we have.
"In our country now, we are very privileged with our food. It's very rare that we have shortages, we had some experience of that during COVID. But it's very rare to get shortages.
"But the idea of, of harvest failing is still the case for millions of people all around the world and our concern, I think, as Christians has always been to look outwards and beyond ourselves.
"So we're not just concerned with us and making ourselves better in some way. Jesus says we must love our neighbour as ourselves.
"I think it's also just that awareness of where our food comes from, and our gratitude to God, that must be the first thing that we begin with every morning is our gratitude to God."