At a Parish Mission in 2003 the congregation was challenged to be more active in areas outside the traditional liturgy. A group of parishioners came together and formed the Faith in Action Group.
The aims of the Group are to actively take on projects, tackle injustice, and bring issues of the day to the fore. The emphasis is on practical things – doing, helping, awareness raising, educating and working with other likeminded groups locally and nationally.
Over the years the Faith in Action group has been involved actions such as:
- Promoting Fairtrade – in 2006 the parish was designated the first Fairtrade parish in Ireland by Fairtrade Ireland.
- In association with the SMAs, twinning our parish with their parish in Turkwel, Kenya and supporting the parishioners there financially, to dig wells, develop irrigation schemes, build a Clinic, and assist with the ongoing costs of equipping and running the Clinic, and installing solar panels. In total over €60,000 has been given by our parishioners over the last ten years.
- Venturing into ecological matters, leading to the parish being designated an Eco parish in 2015.
- Running courses and workshops on care of the environment, composting, waste management, patio gardening, and vegetarian cooking.
- Promoting planting of seeds, and running a Harvest Thanksgiving and Fair each year, in conjunction with the Liturgy Group.
- At Christmas time, in addition to selling gift cards and Christmas cards in aid of Turkwel, we also organise gifts for refugee children in Direct Provision.
- Holding a Public Forum on issues surrounding refugees in Direct Provision, with speakers from the refugee community.
- In response to Laudato Si we ran a series of Lenten Talks: in 2016 on Climate Justice, and in 2017 on pressing environmental, ecological matters, ending with a talk on the Cosmos and our place, role and responsibility in it.
None of these projects could be done without the encouragement and support of the clergy and the generosity of our parishioners in Ballineaspaig.
We are always looking for people to join and assist us, bringing their own gifts and talents to bear on these issues or on other matters that they feel passionate about.
If this appeals to you please contact Parish Secretary in the Parish Office or just come along. We meet at 7:30 pm on the first Tuesday of the month (July and August excluded) in the Parish Office. You will be as welcome as the flowers in May.
