Retrospective of the 10th Anniversary Gala
The 10th anniversary Gala of the Green Churches Network held on June 3rd was a great success thanks to the presence of some 90 guests at the gala who had the pleasure of partaking of delicious gastronomic meal while being entertained by the magician, Marc Trudel and the pianist, David Summer-Hays. The evening began with a short retrospective of the Green Churches project, with illustrated reports and a video presenting the 50 registered churches.
The guests were welcomed by Rev. Patricia Lisson, of Saint Columba house, who spoke of her involvement in the Green Churches Network. The rest of the evening was hosted by Norman Lévesque, the current director and founder of the organization. He retraced the beginning of the project 10 years ago, where it started with a small partnership of churches who wanted to reduce their ecological footprint. The reports highlighted some parishes who undertook different initiatives en route to becoming “Green Churches”.
Bishop Raymond Poisson, of Joliette, commented the following: “My impression is very positive. The evening highlighting the 10 years of existence of the Green Churches Network has underlined the timeliness of the mission of the church, the nature of its work, its dedication to ecumenism and the freshness of its youth”. The Green Churches Network had the honour of welcoming a federal member of parliament during the evening. Mr. Angelo Iacono shared a few words of encouragement as MP of Alfred Pellan riding (in Laval, where the national office of the Green Churches Network is located). All guests joined in the wish expressed by the pioneer of Eco-theology, Fr. André Beauchamp that the Green Churches Network continues for many years to come.
The gala demonstrated that the Green Churches Network indeed has the wind in its sails. The immediate goal is to increase the number of registered churches from coast to coast from various Christian denominations. Its mission of spirituality, education and environmental action has not changed since the beginning, and remains firmly rooted in the Bible, the primary source of inspiration.
