Claire Besnyoe of Loughrea, one of its founder members, wrote the following report about Oak House’s activities –
As Christians, we need to care for the earth and for the future of the planet!
We are a group of committed Christians, each firmly rooted in our respective traditions, seeking to share the healing and reconciling power of the Gospel of Christ. We meet twice in the month for study and prayer.
We are located more or less in the centre of Co Galway. We started life in 1994 over a cup of tea in my kitchen. We sometimes feel surprised that we are still going strong!
In 2009 we chose as our theme for the year, ‘God’s Creation – Our World’ and invited our speakers to focus on thoughts that might encourage us to change our thinking and to adjust our lifestyles.
Our first talk of the year was entitled ‘Scriptural Background to Care of the Planet’. The next speaker spoke on ‘Listening to Creation in our Spiritual Life’.
In August Sr Catherine Brennan spoke movingly and instructively on the inspiration of Eco Congregation Ireland and how we can each contribute to the future of the world we know and love. (We discovered Eco Congregation Ireland from an article in the Church of Ireland Gazette. We then had the pleasure of meeting Sr Catherine at the Glenstal Ecumenical Conference in June.)
Finally, we had a talk on ‘The Doctrine of Creation and Christian Living’.
We hope that we have learned some things that we can share with others and practice in our own lives. Fiona Murdoch reminds us that we will need to continue to pray and hope – as the months pass and Copenhagen is behind us.
It matters to us all as Christians – Care of the Earth, Global Warming, Climate Change, the Future of the Planet.