Brid McAuley sent us this latest report:
Westport Eco Congregation encouraged the community in Westport to consider our planet when giving gifts at Christmas – we suggested offering time to people rather than purchasing gifts. If people preferred purchasing gifts we encouraged the public to shop local. After Christmas both Churches -St Mary’s and Holy Trinity hosted a re-gifting weekend. Regifting aligns with the principles of reducing waste and minimising our carbon footprint, as it extends the life of an item that might otherwise go unused or discarded. We asked the community to consider re-gifting unwanted gifts – this proved to be a great success and more than three carloads were distributed to charities or charity shops.
La Fheile Bhride – Westport Eco Congregation was delighted to be part of the celebrations of St Brigid’s Weekend at the beginning of February. St Brigid marks the beginning of Spring and we celebrated this with a series of events. An exhibition of paintings by local artist – Suzie Quinn depicting Brigid – Goddess and Saint was displayed at the rear of St Marys Church.
The Climate Justice Candle led a procession at the beginning of a service to mark the feast of Brigid and the year of Prayer 2024.
We were led in an hour of contemplative prayer on Saturday 3rd by Padraigin Clancy Pastoral worker St Michael’s Inchicore. Padraigin also spoke at the masses In St Marys and visited Holy Trinity Church of Ireland to talk about Brigid and the environment. The Climate Justice Candle was placed beside the stained glass window of St Francis of Assisi in St Mary’s for St Brigid’s weekend. A prayer card was distributed to all congregations.
