The 4^th Lausanne Congress and the Global Creation Care Forum (GCCF) were both important for the future of creation care globally. Don’t miss this update from those who were there! 

Leaders from around the world will share their reflections on both these events. We will also introduce the statement/invitation ‘Good News for all the Earth’—there will be time for questions!

Time: 11.00 am – 12.00pm UTC, repeated 7.00pm – 8.00pm UTC | Date: 12 December 2024

The webinar will be on Zoom and is free entry.

Sign up here: https://buytickets.at/lwccn/1451019, choosing which timing you prefer!

Please note that there is an optional donation to cover LWCCN’s costs.

If you haven’t yet seen it, this short video below from GCCF is well worth a view!

So, there has been much anticipation about two recent major global gatherings in South Korea. The 4^th Lausanne Congress, 22^nd-28^th September, was vast, with over 5,200 in-person delegates from 200+ countries joined by thousands more online. The hospitality of the Korean church was wonderful: we were greeted and served by over a thousand cheerful volunteers who had used their holiday to help. There were many good things that emerged, yet from a creation care perspective Lausanne 4 was a mixed bag. Positives included a superb plenary talk by Katharine Hayhoe and four afternoon ‘GAP’ sessions on ‘Creation Care and the Vulnerable’ where there were many new faces and a real buzz. However, sadly, there was a lot of disposable plastic, much of the programme focused on a narrow definition of mission and it felt as if creation care was seen as simply one of many special interest groups rather than core to discipleship and mission. We clearly still have much work to do within Lausanne!

The three Lausanne Creation Care Catalysts: Dave Bookless, Benita Simon, Jasmine Kwong

The second gathering was the GCCF – Global Creation Care Forum – held in the beautiful, forested hills of the Somang Retreat Centre in Gonjiam, with more than a 100 people from over 40 countries. GCCF was planned as a kind of ‘Jamaica 2’, in reviewing how the creation care movement has grown, listening to global voices, and discerning next steps. Most sessions were interactive, with stories, table-discussions and resource-sharing, but we also had input on theology and science, time in regional and thematic groups, and intense discussions throughout mealtimes and often late into the night. There was lament and mourning over the state of our world and the paralysis of many of our leaders. There was also laughter and joy, as friendships were deepened, connections were fostered and plans discussed. We are developing a document, called ‘The Gonjiam Invitation: Good News for all the Earth’ with two sections: the first giving a solid biblical basis for the Gospel as God’s good news for all the earth and creation care as core to mission, and the second spelling out the concrete actions that need to be taken at every level from the personal to the planetary. Once this is complete, we’ll share it through The Pollinator and invite you to sign it as well as share it with others. We will also share more reports, videos, resources and stories from the GCCF over the coming months! This short video gives you a taste!

The Global Creation Care Forum in Gonjiam included people from over 40 countries

Overall, my sense after Lausanne 4 and the GCCF is that creation care is an unstoppable force! As I was writing this, waiting between flights in Hong Kong, a complete stranger sat next to me, saw I was writing about creation care and excitedly asked if she could join the movement! From every part of the world Christians are being challenged by the ecological chaos around us to turn to God and the bible for wisdom, and the Holy Spirit is calling more and more individuals and organisations to transform their priorities in caring for God’s world.

Dave Bookless, Lausanne Catalyst for Creation Care

Lausanne 4 will run from 22^nd to 28^th September while GCCF is slated to take place from 28^th September to 2^nd October. Please pray for the safety of all our delegates, especially those from many countries who will be representing creation care, in addition to the necessary finance and visa matters.

Pray for Katharine Hayhoe and Ruth Padilla De Borst who will be speaking at a plenary session on the first night of the Lausanne Congress, that the state of God’s world and our calling to care for it might be at the heart of Lausanne’s deliberations.

Pray too for the afternoon sessions on ‘Creation Care & the Vulnerable’ where Jasmine Kwong and Dave Bookless will be ‘Content Specialists’, and for many good informal interactions throughout.

As for our GCCF, please pray for Jasmine, Dave and Ryoung Kim who are the main organisers, working with others to sort out visas, finances, programme, stories to be shared, online access and much more.

• Learn from the past, sharing how LWCCN has grown from the Jamaica Consultation & Call to Action in 2012, through 12 regional conferences until today
• Assess where we are, sharing experiences, stories and progress from around the world
• Plan for the future: seeking God’s guidance as we seek to integrate Creation Care into the life and mission of God’s Church worldwide

If you’re interested in attending please fill in the form here before 30^th April (this doesn’t commit you to attending or paying, but helps us plan).

The GCCF will cost c.$500 (to be confirmed, including all board, accommodation, and conference costs). The forum will be held at Nine Tree Premier Hotel, Myeongdong II. Seoul, South Korea

We’re planning a LWCCN Global Creation Care Forum for 29^th Sept – 2^nd Oct 2024.

It will be in Seoul, South Korea, immediately following the Lausanne 4 Congress.

Plans and costs are still being finalised, but we’re aiming for less than $100 a day for full board and conference costs.

Who is it for? About 5,000 global Christian leaders will already be in South Korea for Lausanne 4, so we want to take the opportunity to gather, consult, pray and plan together. Even if you’re not attending L4, do consider coming and we aim to enable virtual participation as much as possible.

What are the aims? Having completed a global series of regional consultations on Creation Care (2012-2022) following the Jamaica Consultation and Call to Action, we now want to plan for the next ten years of Creation Care work globally. We aim to collaborate between different organisations, encourage younger, indigenous and women’s voices in creation care, listen to each other and to God, and seek to discern ways forward. If we believe ‘creation is waiting for the children of God to be revealed’ (Romans 8:19) then we, the Church, need to show prophetic leadership in an era of climate breakdown and biodiversity collapse.

Save the date … and express your interest: we’ll share booking details as soon as possible. For now, please simply email creationcare@lausanne.org giving your name, email address and country of residence if you are seriously interested in attending. We will let you know when booking is available.