Alastair McIntosh to encourage churches to take up the eco challenge
Churches will be asked to partake in the healing of the earth
Scottish environmentalist, author and broadcaster, Dr Alastair McIntosh, will speak at an EcoCongregation Ireland (ECI) event in Fitzroy Presbyterian Church, University Street, Belfast on Friday
28th February 2014 at 7.30pm.
Clergy and lay people from all churches are welcome to attend this information evening. McIntosh's
engaging, challenging and entertaining talks at ECI's inaugural conference in September 2012 proved
a real hit and many people are looking forward to hear him speak again.
McIntosh is Honorary Senior Fellow in the College of Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow, a
Fellow of the Schumacher Society and a Research Fellow at the School of Divinity (New College),
University of Edinburgh. A regular visitor to Northern Ireland, he has featured on BBC Northern
Ireland's Sunday Sequence programme on several occasions.
Taking as his title, "And the Leaves of the Tree are for the Healing ..." (Ezekiel 47:12 and Revelations
22:2), McIntosh will consider how Christians can care for God's Creation. "The task before us is to be
participants in the healing of the nations, of the Earth and of our churches," says McIntosh. "These
tasks are all one."
Both Ezekiel and John laid out a vision of the Tree of Life, the leaves of which will be for the healing of
the nations. "That vision is an ecological vision that implies a restored Earth," he says. "It is also a
vision of the healing of the churches, that we might be as nations under the shared vision of God's
kingdom come on Earth ... as it is in Heaven."
McIntosh's talk will explore how the work of eco-congregations should be understood not just about
the environment in any narrow sense, but about life on Earth and the life of the undivided church, in
the broadest senses that can give life to us all, irrespective of our denominations.
The event will also include presentations by several eco-congregations about some of the
environmental initiatives they have undertaken. Fitzroy has been eco-active for a number of years and
received an ECI award in 2011 in recognition of its endeavours.
For further information see www.ecocongregationireland.com or phone +353 (0)86 1706923.
ENDS
Notes for editors:
Eco-Congregation Ireland was initiated by the Church in Society Forum - a standing committee of
the Irish Inter-Church Meeting - in 2005. It is supported by the Roman Catholic, Church of Ireland,
Presbyterian and Methodist churches and the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Ireland. Its
vision is to see churches throughout Ireland celebrate the gift of God's creation, recognise the
interdependence of all creation and care for the environment in their life and mission and through
members' personal lifestyles.
ECI awards parishes and dioceses that have taken environmental steps in four areas - practical,
spiritual, community and global awareness. The following parishes and dioceses have received
awards to date: Clonakilty Methodist Church, Cork: 2008; Whitechurch Church of Ireland, Dublin:
March 2011; Dundrum Methodist Church, Dublin: June 2011; Fitzroy Presbyterian Church, Belfast:
October 2011; Rathfarnham Quaker Meeting, Dublin: December 2011; Rathfarnahm Church of
Ireland, Dublin: January 2012; Diocese of Kerry (Roman Catholic): May 2012; Oblate parishes of
Inchicore, Dublin: September 2012; Clonakilty Methodist Church, Cork (second award): January
2013; Cashel & Ossory Diocese (Church of Ireland): April 2013; Kilbride Presbyterian Church, Co
Antrim: May 2013. (St Molua’s Church of Ireland, Stormont, Belfast received an award in 2002 from
Eco-Congregation Scotland & Wales).
Dr Alastair McIntosh has written a number of books, including Radical Human Ecology: Intercultural
and Indigenous Approaches (Ashgate, 2012), Rekindling Community: Connecting People,
Environment and Spirituality (Green Books 2008), Hell and High Water: Climate Change, Hope and
the Human Condition (Birlinn, 2008) and Soil and Soul: People versus Corporate Power (Aurum
Press, 2001, 2004). See http://www.alastairmcintosh.com/.