Harpenden Parish celebrates Creation

To herald the end of Creation Time and as part of their LiveSimply Action Plan, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, organised a special Mass and celebration on 4 October, attended by more than 100 people.

The liturgy on the Feast of St Francis was planned by the parish's LiveSimply Liturgy group, with the support of parish priest Canon Anthony Dwyer. The Mass was enriched by the singing of the parish choir and the children from St Dominic's Primary School, who also helped to make the banners that adorned the columns in the church with symbols from St Francis' life. Afterwards, refreshments were offered in the Undercroft.

Intercessions asked that God "open our eyes to the wonders of creation, and we offer our hearts in hope that all things may flourish". Also, that world leaders "act with respect and urgency for the sake of the earth and the most vulnerable". There were prayers for "our sisters and brothers who are worst affected by our changing climate".

Sixty-two pledges of action were offered at the Mass. Some focussed on spiritual or moral aspects of creation/environment, others on reducing consumption of food, or on saving energy usage or on recycling, saving water and paper; and a few on the link with living in solidarity with the poor. "The message of Livesimply is certainly getting across", said parishioner Graham Ryan.

Another parishioner, Mark Quigley, described the service as: "A truly memorable and uplifting service which I thoroughly enjoyed - everything was absolutely splendid...particularly the choir which, in my opinion, has never sounded so good ('Creator God' and 'For the Beauty of the Earth' were absolutely stunning)! There has been a real sense of parish community and it was lovely to see so many people from the wider Live Simply group and other parishioners."

The organising group in the Westminster parish has already held a study day on faith and environment and last month a meeting on 'Global Healing', an initiative of the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales. Twenty or so parishioners viewed and discussed the DVD 'Global Healing', introduced by Bishop of Salford, John Arnold, and in which Columban Fr Sean Mcdonagh saw in Pope Francis' Laudato Si' vision a new spirituality in the Catholic church. The group discussed: How do you experience the gift of creation? How do you feel about the state of the planet? What sacrifices could you make to help heal the planet?

The parish is currently working towards the Livesimply Award.

LINKS

https://parish.rcdow.org.uk/harpenden/parish-groups/livesimply-group/

https://cafod.org.uk/Campaign/How-to-Campaign/Livesimply-award