Partners in Caring for God’s World – a conference organised by the international Christian environmental organisation, A Rocha – took place in the Kilbroney Centre, Rostrevor, Co Down, the last weekend of November.
Participants learned about A Rocha’s work in caring for God’s creation in the UK and internationally as well as finding out what their own church can do.
Thanks to Dave Bookless of A Rocha UK for sending us his account of the weekend’s activities:
A Rocha’s first major conference in Ireland was held on the weekend of 26th-27th November at the Kilbroney Centre in Rostrevor, in the shadow of the mountains of Mourne. Originally about 35 people had booked to attend – some were prevented by the unseasonal snow, but a few other locals turned up so the numbers were just over 30 of whom 22 were present for both Friday and Saturday.
Those who arrived on the Friday enjoyed a beautiful afternoon’s walk through the woods and river of Kilbroney’s 12-acre site – seeing flocks of treecreepers, tits and jays before ending up on the shore of Carlingford Lough to see the wintering Brent geese, Goldeneye and wading birds. In the evening everybody retired for an excellent dinner in the nearby Kilbroney Arms, where friendships new and old were cemented.
The Saturday dawned bright but with an increasing threat of snow. The conference started with some worship drawn from the Iona Community, before a welcome and introduction to the Kilbroney Centre. The Centre is part of the local Church of Ireland parish, within the Diocese of Down and Dromore, and is currently in transition to a new management committee who are seeking the right way forwards for its use. As Kilbroney already has a long history of use for environmental education, there is considerable interest in a link with A Rocha – but it is clear that this relationship will be taken one step at a time, as there are major decisions about buildings, funding and usage ahead. There were then two major presentations from A Rocha UK.
First, Rev Dave Bookless (Director for Theology & Churches) outlined the context in terms of the state of the planet today and the relevance of the biblical message. He talked of how the three pillars of sustainability – the economic, social and ecological are all currently being shaken to the foundations, and how we desperately need a new understanding of humanity’s place in the world. He then went through how a re-reading of the biblical text, putting God’s purposes for all creation at the heart, gives us invaluable tools for knowing our place and for living sustainably and hopefully in God’s world, before ending with a summary of how A Rocha is trying to respond in practice.
After this, Steve Hughes (CEO of A Rocha UK) outlined A Rocha UK’s current priorities and status. He shared A Rocha’s vision of “The transformation of people and places through a movement of individuals and communities caring for God’s world” and described how this is achieved by offering opportunities for understanding, action, relationship, and hope and inspiration. He gave examples of projects in such diverse environments as urban London and Glasgow, the Chiltern Hills and a small town on the Derbyshire-Yorkshire borders, as well as an overview of A Rocha’s work in India and Canada.
Before lunch Ken Perry from Coleraine, who had helped make the link between A Rocha and Kilbroney, also spoke about links between A Rocha Friends in Northern Ireland and the A Rocha Czech project at Kruparna. Ken has organised a number of visits from Ireland to the Czech Republic, to survey and ring bird species and delighted everybody with some stunning photos of the wildlife of Eastern Europe.
After a good lunch the conference continued with Simon Brown (A Rocha UK’s Churches Co-ordinator) giving an overview of the Partner Churches programme which seeks to create a two-way relationship between churches that support A Rocha in finance, prayer and volunteering, and A Rocha in resourcing these churches theologically and practically in responding to the biblical call to creation-care.
Dave Bookless and Simon then responded to questions and also explained how A Rocha’s scheme fits together with the Eco Congregation programme, and how all Partner Churches are encouraged to also become Eco Congregations. A short video followed, made by St Luke’s Church Crosby in Merseyside, which brought the whole concept of ‘green churches’ alive and demonstrated how this can be good news for a church and for its community, as well as for creation.
The final hour of the conference was spent in discussion, first in small groups and then together, looking at possible ways forward for A Rocha in Ireland. There was strong consensus that, although most present were from the North, everything A Rocha does in Ireland should be cross-border and open to all churches. Similarly, everybody was enthusiastic about continuing to meet up, and at least two people have volunteered to help co-ordinate A Rocha developments in Ireland.
There was realism that progress might be slow if it is to be sustainable, but with lively links to Kilbroney and A Rocha Czech, and a deep desire to reach churches, schools and communities in Ireland with the Bible’s call to care for God’s world, it looks as though A Rocha is in Ireland to stay.
