Thursday, September 1, 2016, has been declared a shared World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation by Catholic and Orthodox Christian communities. This year, Pope Francis issued a video invitation to prayer
in which he calls believers and unbelievers alike to work together to care for our common home. In August of 2015, the pope issued a letter declaring Sept. 1 as an annual day of prayer for the care of creation, joining the Orthodox Church, which has been doing so since 1989. Citizens are urged to pray and join a local prayer service, or if no local service is offered, representatives from Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Episcopalian churches will offer an online prayer service at 8am US EDT.