St Anne’s, Shankill – Update

Kathy Davey sent us this latest news:

For the Season of Creation we took part in several meetings with neighbouring parishes, Mount Merrion and Milltown and a larger meeting of Laudato Si and ECI parishes in Glasnevin. Here there was fruitful networking with sister groups.

In our own parish, we shared a “Woodland Walk” through the village and its surrounds with our very active Tidy Towns group, further cementing links with them.

In the church itself, we continued to have prayers and hymns focussing on the beauty and vulnerability of Creation during the Mass , culminating for the Feast of St Francis with the praying of his Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon before the Offertory.  See photos of the Altar on the Feast Day with the Symbols of WATER, FIRE, EARTH and AIR in front of the globe. These symbols had also been presented singly on Sundays during the Season of Creation with special prayers to remember them as gifts of God reminding us of our need to protect and respect them.

A further action, prompted by a member of Mount Merrion parish, was to distribute sprigs of rosemary after Masses with a little plea to remind us to “tread gently on our Common Home”. Quite a number of people were surprised and pleased by the gesture!

We will start a series of evenings being guided through Pope Francis’ book “Dare to Dream” in the resource centre .The weeks will alternate between the book and our reflections on the previous week’s material.