Church Leaders gathered on the shores of Lough Neagh on Wednesday (23 September) as part of an event organised by Ireland's Church Leaders' Group, the Irish Council of Churches and the Irish Inter–Church Meeting. This meeting follows on from the 'Let Justice Flow Like Rivers' care for creation conference which took place in January.
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Lough Neagh hosts Church Leaders
The damaging impact of pollution on our waters, wildlife, and landscape is coming increasingly to the fore. From a faith perspective, the need to responsibly care for God's creation is all the more urgent. It is this challenge that has brought about the Irish Council of Churches to build on their Creation Season theme for this year, ‘Living Waters’, taken from Ezekiel 47:9,12, by holding a Church Leaders event at Lough Neagh.
Developing the theme, Rev Dr Karen Campbell, General Secretary of the Irish Council of Churches (ICC), said: “The prophet Ezekiel wrote during a time of exile and profound loss and yet was given a vision of life-giving water flowing from the temple. As Jesus is our living water, we are invited to consider stepping deeper into active stewardship to combat water pollution and care for our common home.”
Dr Campbell continued: “The Church Leaders were invited to gather again on the shores of Lough Neagh, they will listen again to the local community, join with school children in observing the condition of the waters and participate in the season of creation liturgy.”
The Church Leaders began their visit by meeting with Ursula and George Higgins to learn from them about the challenges of farming in the area. Following this, the Leaders met with children from New Row Primary School in Castledawson, to observe the Lough, the wildlife and the pollution using the Big River Watch App.
An important aspect of ‘Season of Creation 2026’ is a liturgy using the heading, ‘Immersion in Living Water’. With passages from Ezekiel 47, Psalm 65, and John 7, and including opportunities to give thanks, to lament, and to intercede, the Church Leaders shared in this form of worship together.
Reflecting on the event, the Moderator, Rt Rev Dr Richard Kerr, said, “It is vital for the Church to listen deeply and learn from what God is saying through his Word. God’s creation is a wonderful gift to us. As followers of Christ, we are called to live responsibly, and work with others with whom we share this creation to respect and care for our environment.
“I have found this opportunity to listen to and learn from others to be of great value, not only in sharing in the liturgy with my fellow Church Leaders, but also to hear from farmers affected by the challenges of poor water quality in and around Lough Neagh. As we joined with the school children it was both a blessing and a challenge to witness their enthusiasm for nature and their local environment. It was a reminder of how we all need to prayerfully reflect on how we can do better, not only for our world today, but for the future world for our children and grandchildren.”
