Eco-Congregation Scotland would like to extend it’s gratitude to all who came to the Annual Gathering last Saturday.
Meeting beneath the steeple of St. Ninian’s Cathedral in Perth, our Environmental Chaplain, Trevor Jamison, began the day with a reflection on our ‘dominion’ of God’s world and led us unaccompanied in a worship of thanks giving for creation.
After the business of the AGM, Director of RSPB Scotland, Stuart Housden, spoke in detail about the need for partnership and collaboration between the RSPB and faith communities, inviting Eco-Congregation Scotland to join them in conserving nature in Scotland.
Andy Lester, Conservation Director of A Rocha UK, followed with an inspiring talk, touching on the theology of creation care and inviting us to think about our own attitudes to wildlife and conservation. From birds, to whales, to all things that crawl along the ground, he closed with an open question:”what will we do differently tomorrow?”
With that in mind, a belly full of soup and mouthful of sandwiches, we divided into workshops to explore something of what tomorrow might look like. For the practical application, Bug Life Scotland led a workshop on things that literally ‘crawl along the ground’, while the Bat Conservation Trust talked about bats species and how to look after them. A Rocha led a session on the role of churches in restoring nature while Eleanor Harris encouraged those at her workshop to get political for wildlife. Our own Sheena Wurthmann also led a workshop on COP21 and told the story of the Eco-Congregation Baton which traveled around Scotland and went to Paris last year.
We ended the thought provoking day with heartfelt thanks and farewell to retiring staff and board members and went our separate ways.