Rathgar Methodist Church celebrates the 100th anniversary of the opening of our extension this year. We were keen to host the Climate Justice Candle, because we have chosen reconciliation as the theme for this anniversary and reconciliation with our natural world sits very well within this.
Our Minister, Rev Yongnam Park, planned a highly stimulating and thought-provoking series of talks and discussions, held in a prayerful and Bible based context. They were attended by small but highly committed group of people. Yongnam himself led a discussion on how an older church building might be made more environmentally sustainable; Maureen Rowan spoke passionately on Eco Congregation Ireland and the Methodist in Ireland Environmental Policy; Rev. Andrew Kingston addressed some of the theology behind Eco Christianity, particularly in relation to plants.
On April 4th all the pupils, teachers and some parents from Rathgar National School which is affiliated to our church came for an assembly led by Val Humphreys and Rev. Park. The text was taken from Eco Congregation materials and based on Genesis:
“God said to the humans “I would like you to take care of the whole world, of all the plants and animals and all the living things”.
We examined how we have not done this through our own thoughtlessness.
A menagerie of stuffed toy animals decorated the church to represent the variety of creatures in God’s creation. Two classes prepared decorated ‘nature boxes’ that contained items from the natural world which they had collected. Other classes brought artwork relating to nature. These now decorate our church railings and foyer, with an invitation to our local community to come and view them when our coffee dock is open or when the church is open for services.
At our services on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, reference was made in our prayers to our need to care for the Earth and to live in harmony with it. The Climate Justice Candle burned brightly and the ogham artwork by congregational member David Holmes gave a visual reminder of how our planet is changing.
As a continuation of our efforts, we won’t mow the lawn or weed our church garden until the end of May and we have invited the school children to come back and see what happens. It is encouraging to see people stopping to look at the children’s drawings and read about what we are doing.
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. “Job Ch 12.