Carmel O’Neill sent us this latest update:
Following the inspirational conference on Parishes Caring for Creation, Blessington Care of the Earth group decided to put a summary of Archbishop Farrell’s talk in the weekly newsletter in January. It also included a key point from Jane Mellett’s workshop on Lectio on Nature. Jane emphasized the importance of having days of contemplation in order to overcome the reality of what we see going on around us. Archbishop Farrell also spoke of the need to hear God’s word as spoken through creation so that we can develop a sense of awe and wonder to care more deeply for our common home.
It was decided to hold this day of Lectio on Nature in the week of Christian Unity on Jan 25th.
Two passages were chosen from scripture Genesis and the Parable of the Sower. We were delighted to honour the memory of the late Fr Kevin Lyon by reading his reflection Psalm 19 from his book Psalm Prayers for every Mood. Fr Kevin himself connected with the Divine in every moment as he journeyed the fields, lake and uplands photographing the images that inspired him with awe and wonder. We had samples of these on display in the Sacred Space.
The Prayer Service concluded with the reading of the prayer to St Kevin of Glendalough taken from Archbishop Farrell’s book The Cry of the Earth, The Cry of the Poor.
The annual Crib Exhibition was held on the weekend of Dec15th/17th in the Parish Centre Blessington. Over 100 cribs were displayed and this year saw a number of cribs made with sustainable materials- wool, card and cotton. One family in Lacken designed their own eco crib using toilet roll holders and fabric. The sum of 150 euro raised from the exhibition went to the Homeless shelter run by the Daughters of Charity in Dublin.
In early January it was decided to create a new shrubbery at the entrance to Blessington Church. The list of plants included Euonymus, Skimmia, Lavender, Rosemary and Winter heathers. We hope that this new feature will attract lots of little bee visitors in the coming months.
