Sunday, September 11, 2011
mission as creation care in preaching Cain and Abel
I preached at Scots Uniting Church today. The lectionary focus was the season of creation, the lectionary texts included Genesis 4. So an encouragement to explore the relationship between God’s mission and the environment, especially give that in 1984, the Anglican church developed the Five Marks of Mission, one of which includes creation care.
- To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
- To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
- To respond to human need by loving service
- To seek to transform unjust structures of society
- To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth
My application was a reflection on what it means to listen to local landmarks – Victoria Park (Tarndanyangga) and River Torrens (Karra Wirra Parri). A bit too localised to be of interest to blog readers, so I will simply place the first half of the sermon here, in which I begin with some Maori culture, specifically a Maori “mihi”/welcome as a way to understand the Genesis text.
(There wasn’t a single comment on the sermon. Not one! Perhaps you as blog readers might have some). (more…)
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