An ecumenical prayer service for the UN climate summit in Durban will be held in the Church of the Ascension of the Lord, Balally, Dublin 16 on Thursday 1st December at 8pm. Christians of all denominations are invited to attend this service of reflection and prayer, which will focus on the theme ‘Discerning the Holy Spirit in the Life of Creation’
Officiating at the service will be Mgr Dermot Lane PP, President of the Mater Dei Institute of Education, and Rev Elaine Murray, Vicar of the Kilkenny Group and Church of Ireland representative on Eco-Congregation Ireland (ECI).
Music will be provided by harpist Rev Anne-Marie O’Farrell, who performed in the Áras earlier this year, and the choir of Wesley College Dublin, RTE’s All Island School Choir of the Year 2011.
The service is being organised by ECI, an inter-denominational project that encourages churches to take an eco approach to worship, lifestyle, property and finance management and community outreach, Balally Environment Group and Three Rock Churches’ Environment Group (TRCEG).
TRCEG is an ecumenical initiative that sees seven churches working together in South Dublin on environmental issues. Two of the churches, Dundrum Methodist and Whitechurch Church of Ireland, received awards from ECI earlier this year in recognition of their environmental endeavours.
The theme of this year’s UN climate summit, which runs from 28th November to 9th December 2011, is ‘Working Together – Saving Tomorrow Today’. The discussions will seek to advance, in a balanced fashion, the implementation of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, as well as the Bali Action Plan, agreed at COP13 in 2007, and the Cancun Agreements, reached at COP16 last December.
“Now, more than ever, it is essential to act and pray to prevent runaway climate change,” says ECI chairperson, Catherine Brennan SSL. “Our abundant and beautiful planet, God’s creation, is in peril today from climate change. This wounded earth, the peoples of the developing world and future generations are most at risk.
“We need to reflect on the need to live in more sustainable ways and for a renewed theology of creation. We earnestly pray, too, for wisdom, courage and compassion for our world leaders as they meet for the crucial summit in Durban.”
For further information see www.ecocongregationireland.com