Inverurie West Parish Church to host Climate Matters Festival

The Festival will explore practical and creative ways to tackle climate change.

An increasing number of people from all backgrounds, beliefs, and walks of life would agree with this statement. However, agreeing with it, and knowing exactly what we can do about it, are two different things.

On the weekend of October 7-9, Inverurie West Parish Church is hosting a festival of free activities, workshops, talks and walks exploring practical and creative ways we can make a difference.

There will be opportunities to find out about retrofitting your house, how to make your garden more biodiverse, or to reduce food waste. Family activities include learning how to be creative with natural materials, making bird boxes and a nearly new children’s clothes sale. A couple of guided walks are on offer, as well as a chance to have a look at the church’s kitchen community garden.

There’s a workshop on managing fear and anxiety, and a panel discussion about what we can do to keep talking and acting on climate change here in the North East.

All the events are free, although some have limited space and require advance booking.

Inverurie West Church parish minister Rhona Cathcart said: “We’ve been an eco-congregation for a long time, aligning with the Church of Scotland’s commitment to ‘strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth’.

"Following COP26 last year, we began talking about how we could be more proactive in our response. We became aware of the many groups in the area providing information, support, creative ideas and advocacy on various methods of tackling climate change, whether as individuals or as communities.

"As a church which sits physically right in the heart of Inverurie, we have always aimed to keep the community at our heart, so it seemed logical to use our premises to organise and host an event allowing these different groups to engage with the public and with one another. So with the support of the Climate Fringe Festival and NESCAN, we began work on organising our own local festival.

"Our aim is to provide a weekend of hope, joy, community engagement, and a unified sense of purpose. We’ve been delighted with the response from so many participating partners, one of whom commented that even before the event has taken place, it has already ‘succeeded’ because it has made many of the participating groups aware of one another. Local businesses have also been very supportive.”

Rhona continued: “It can be easy to become discouraged or despairing about the pace of climate change, or alternatively to sink into apathy or a feeling of helplessness. We want to reset the dial towards hope through shared action. Inverurie is a great place for this as it is a very proactive and community focused wee town!

"At the heart of our weekend is our Harvest Thanksgiving service, reminding those of us of faith that worship and action go hand in hand. We look forward to welcoming all with a desire to work together or to find out more about what they can do to help safeguard our planet.”

For more information or to book a place at a workshop call the Acorn Centre on 01467 670850 or email [email protected]

Full programme at www.inveruriewestchurch.org.