Kathleen O’Connor sent us this report:
To mark the arrival of the ECI Climate Justice Candle the Wilton Justice Group decided with the parish priest to incorporate its arrival in our annual celebration of the anniversary of the publication of Laudato Si.
About sixty people were present at the celebration, a Prayer Service, held in Fr. Tom’s garden, part of the grounds of the SMA House and Parish in Wilton, Cork. When Fr. Tom, retired from the missions in Nigeria, he spent his retirement developing a flower garden and vegetable garden in Wilton. Unfortunately, he is no longer with us but a group of volunteers now maintains his garden.
God blessed us with a beautiful evening, so with hymns and readings we celebrated Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si. This year we were blessed with the presence of the parish choir from a neighbouring parish of Curraheen. The choir greatly enhanced our celebration.
We focused on the ECI Climate Justice Candle. The facilitator noted that the Wilton Parish is a member of Eco-Congregation Ireland. The mission of Eco-Congregation Ireland was outlined and how in recent years Eco-Congregation Ireland is focusing their attention on climate justice, and so we have the candle to throw light on climate issues.
In the final part of the service we processed to the church carrying the candle singing, “The light of Christ”.
When we got to the church, the candle was placed at the front of the altar beside the pots of wild flowers, which were placed to promote biodiversity. After a few words by Fr. Michael, the parish priest outlining the parish’s commitment to biodiversity. He lit the Candle and blessed it with holy water. We then prayed and ended with the hymn “how great thou art”.
Afterwards all enjoyed a cup of tea and chat in the garden.
During the period that we were hosting the candle we had other events planned: a day trip to Cloughjordan by thirty people to visit the eco village there. We also screened the film, “The Letter- a Message for our Earth” in the Parish Centre. In addition, the ECI Climate Justice Candle was be brought to the local school and its meaning explained.