Rathfarnham Parish, Dublin, has received an Eco–Congregation Ireland (ECI) award in recognition of its environmental endeavours.Since setting up an eco group three years ago, the parish has held a number of events to raise eco awareness.
These have included two Walk/Cycle to Church Sundays, a Carbon–Cutting Cycle by the River Dodder and screenings of several eco films, including The Age of Stupid and The Economics of Happiness.
A litter pick, a series of eco awareness evenings based on Cultivate’s Powerdown DVD and a number of talks on the environment have also been held.
The group has also distributed over 300 copies of a Local Food Directory they compiled, which lists local shops and stalls that sell locally–produced food.
They also started a ‘Local Food – South Dublin’ Facebook page.
Services regularly feature sermons, hymns and prayers with a Creation/environment theme and an environmental policy has been adopted by the select vestry.
Parishioners regularly support Stop Climate Chaos campaigns and an eco stall has become a new addition to the parish fete (last year this included a Guess the Number of Worms in the Wormery competition)!
Presenting the award to Rev Ted Woods, ECI chairperson, Sr Catherine Brennan, congratulated the parish on “the excellent work done in caring for God’s creation.”
“This work is foundational to the Christian gospel and central to the Church’s mission,” she said. “An image I like for the way forward in this aspect of the church’s mission is exodus … I suggest that we are called to a new exodus – to move forward into the future as one sacred community with the whole of creation. Who will negotiate the crossing of the swamp for us on this journey to a new promised land in the church today? Where is the new Moses for our time? The eco group in this parish is certainly beginning to play that role. May you continue this journey into the future with enthusiasm and generosity.”
In his sermon, Mr Woods said, “As a parish, thanks to our eco group, we have been made more environmentally aware and, thanks to their efforts, have been given an Eco - Congregation award – as, indeed, has the parish school in its Green Flag. But in all prayer we must be part of the solution to what we pray for. ‘God helps those who help themselves’. God, in this prayer, will not do for us what we can do ourselves. Prayer is not an opt–out but an opt–in to commitment and action. And when we pray for the world, we must remember our part to preserve and conserve all that is good and not abuse and exploit … ‘this fragile earth, our island home’."
“We are not absolute masters of the world. In God’s eyes, we are managers, not masters, and the question is, ‘Are we responsible or irresponsible in our management, in our stewardship, of this fragile earth’s finite resources?’ Are we transformers or trespassers? Consumer conformists or committed conservers? We have a part to play in helping to transform for good our groaning planet. “
To find out more about Rathfarnham Parish’s eco activities – and about Eco–Congregation Ireland – see www.ecocongregationireland.com
The only other Church of Ireland parishes to have received Eco–Congregation awards are St Molua’s, Stormont, and Whitechurch Parish, Dublin.