Ethne McCord sent us this update:
The Climate Justice candle has had a busy few weeks since it arrived in our midst as it has followed us around the Harvests in the Donagh Group of Parishes (Church of Ireland), appearing first in St Sillian’s, Tyholland for the first of our Harvest Evensongs, before travelling to St Muduain’s, Errigal Truagh.
After this it went to St Mary’s, Glennan (Roman Catholic) for our Ecumenical Harvest led by Father Hubert who spoke in his homily of how our care for the environment is central to our shared vocation as Christians from all our different traditions and how our care for the world in which we live is a mark of how seriously we take our love for our neighbours in our interconnected word.
Donagh Community Choir led the music singing the appropriate piece entitled “When Your Father Made The World” from ‘Hymns for A Caring World’ by Peter Rose and Anne Conlon. This much loved hymn was commissioned by WWF-UK for a special environmental edition of BBC’s Songs of Praise.
After this, the Climate Justice candle was present at the Festival Harvest Evening Prayer in St Salvator’s, Glaslough where the Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys was our special guest and the Church of Ireland Bishop of Clogher was preaching on the theme of nurturing and tending the seeds of faith to bring forth a harvest of faith, hope, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control as our farmers tend and nurture the seeds of the earth to bring forth the harvest.
The Climate Justice Candle’s final destination was at Glennan Presbyterian Church for their celebration of Harvest Thanksgiving where they were joined for the occasion by many of their friends and neighbours. On so many levels our lives are intertwined with the lives of others, but none more so than in the home we share in this world which God has created for us to enjoy, cherish and care for. The more we care for the world in which we live, the more fully we live our lives in love for each other, recognising God’s own image in every other human being and the presence of God through everything that God has made.