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Summary:

'CREATION DAY'

AND 'TIME OF CREATION'

(By Ed Aurelio Reyes)

"CREATION DAY" and "CREATION TIME" emerged from the realization that if there are feasts days and celebration seasons to salute heroic persons and commemorate all sorts of events "the Creator Himself and His Creation" ought to be accorded the same, if not more. The Orthodox Christian Church started the movement for such celebration and by now, there is an ecumenical, even inter-faith, effort to get "Creation Day" and/or "Creation Time" officially adopted by the various churches as an integral part of the Liturgical Calendar. The advocates of environmental conservation who have chosen to go beyond the basically utilitarian human-centered framework of sustainable development in relating with Nature immediately saw in this an opportunity to promote Deep Ecology and a profound sense of harmony with Nature ("Earth Synergy").

"CREATION DAY/TIME" aims to celebrate the dynamic process of Creation, the awesome cosmic design of this Creation, and the human beings' place and role as co-creators and stewards and as appreciators of Life and its systems.

"CREATION DAY," by consensus, shall be marked on September 1st every year, with "CREATION TIME" to run for about five weeks until the Sunday immediately following October 4, the feast day of Francis of Assisi, who is the official "patron saint of the environment." The decisions fixing these dates may be viewed to be arbitrary, but the same goes for the dates of the birth and of the crucifixion of Christ in our liturgical calendars.

THIS "CREATION CELEBRATION" includes as a very important thrust our efforts to convince the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, and their counterparts in other churches, to put this celebration in the liturgical calendar as soon as their respective internal processes can come up with such policy. But the ultimate co-creators of this celebration shall be the broad spectrum of individual humans, whether clustered or not in organizations, who shall make their own informed, free and therefore firm decision to hold their own personal and group activities to celebrate Creation and the Creator.

( Below is the Creation Day - Creation Time Logo as designed by Fr. Georg Ziselsberger. SVD, of GeoChris Foundation: )

For the proposed 7-Step Plan to join the Creation Celebration, click here.

Important backgrounder documents are listed below, with links for reading them.

Other important materials can be downloaded from www.ecen.org .

To access an environment-oriented website, click this link: http://earth.web.ph .


.	A Poem-Prayer SANIB-HINGA NG PASASALAMAT AT PAG-ASA By Ding Reyes, Sanib-Sining, w/line-by-line English translation read poem-prayer A Brief Rationale CELEBRATING GOD THE CREATOR AND GOD'S CREATION: 'CREATION DAY' AND 'TIME OF CREATION' By Fr. Georg Ziselsberger, SVD read article Keynote Address at Creation Day Convergence CREATION-CENTERED SPIRITUALITY By Bishop Julio Xavier Labayen read address Dossier for Creation Day/Creation Time ARTICLES ON THEOLOGICAL AND SOCIO-ETHICAL RATIONALE By Prof. Lukas Vischer and various other authors read articles Joint Declaration ON ARTICULATING A CODE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS By Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope John Paul II read article A Personal Version THE NEW STORY OF CREATION By Rev. John Leydon read article Celebration Theme for 2003 WATER OF LIFE: 'International Year of Freshwater' By Prof. Lukas Vischer and various other authors read articles Papal Address Recognizing the Evolution Theory 'TRUTH CANNOT CONTRADICT TRUTH' By His Holiness Pope John Paul II read address Pastoral Statement: CELEBRATING CREATION DAY & CREATION TIME By the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Permanent Council read statement Creativity of Plans and Presentation GALLERY OF NINE SAMPLE "KALIKHAAN 2003" MINIPOSTERS By Robledo, Corral, Ungson, Penamante, Cristobal, Reyes, Phuong, Cruzada, and Santander view gallery Liwanag mula sa Supremo SAAN MAKIKILALA ANG KADAKILAAN NG DIYOS Ni Gat Andres Bonifacio, Maypag-asa read essay	.