When the world outside your door is beautiful it is sometimes hard to remember how things are elsewhere.

Here in Wisconsin we’re in one of the most beautiful times of the year. Trees that have been dark green through the summer are suddenly a blaze of colors. The air is crisp and cool – even a bit cooler than normal.  We’ve seen a few snowflakes in the air, but nothing to worry us yet.  The skies have been full of birds flying south to escape before winter sets in.  Some of you who live in warm climates would not, perhaps, enjoy the season as much as we do – but even you would agree that God has reserved some of his most spectacular art work for this time of year.

Things aren’t so beautiful in many other places, and for that reason we want to focus this “Call to Prayer” edition of our newsletter primarily on what is happening in two specific places.

Our sister organization, Renewal, is holding their second annual day of prayer today — Wednesday, October 21. Here at Care of Creation we feel a similar urgency to pray – and instead of announcing a separate prayer-event ourselves, I thought I’d ask if you would join us – and our Renewal sisters and brothers – in praying about these things.

One of a series of dispatches and meditations about the world and Caring for Creation

In the Northern and Southern hemispheres, we are constantly reminded of God’s planning as the seasons change. Even near the equator where the swing of the seasons is not so wide, there still are times that are called “the rainy season”.

From where I write this note in Madison, Wisconsin USA, as they do every Autumn, the trees are starting to change color. It’s sort of their last cheer and hurrah and praise before God gives them the winter off to rest and recuperate. It makes me think that perhaps winter is a type of  ‘Creation Sabbath’ that He created.

In the past year, I have come to realize that although God’s creation can be harsh, a lot of the harshness is caused by the way that we treat creation. When we build right on the ocean or strip the land to build houses or burn our forests, there is a good chance that through the processes that are part of creation, our houses will be damaged by storms, rain will bring mudslides or our climate will change.

What if we didn’t do these things? What if we stopped imposing our rules, our expectations and our needs on His creation, lived closer to the way that God intended and stopped fighting His natural way?