Faith Communities Unite for Creation Care Conference in Newry

The Irish Council of Churches and Irish Inter Church Meeting, along with the Church Leaders, are inviting people to a creation care conference later this month with the theme of 'Let Justice Flow Like Rivers'.

The conference will run on Saturday 17 January 2026 in the Canal Court Hotel, Newry from 10am to 3.30pm and will be an opportunity for Christians to consider the power of collective action in caring for God's creation. Motivated by a growing concern for the pollution in loughs and rivers, it will bring together theologians, scientists, farmers, clergy and lay people to be inspired by stories of hope and local action.

Keynote speakers in the morning session will include Dr Jim McAdam from Queen's University Belfast, Dr Gail Heffner, author of Reconciliation in a West Michigan Watershed and co-founder of Plaster Creek Stewards, and Dr Hilary Marlowe, a researcher, writer and tutor on theology and the environment from Girton College, Cambridge.

Andrew Muir MLA, the Northern Ireland Executive's Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, will attend along with an Irish Government representative.

The afternoon session will look at the question of what contributions can and do churches make to creation care. This will be an opportunity to hear about and discuss how the practical work of creation care is being done in local churches through presentations from Jim Farrell, Chair of Eco-Congregation Ireland, Roy Douglas from the Moravian Church and Emeritus Professor in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Queen's University Belfast, Róisín Nic Cóil, Technical Project Manager for the Archdiocese of Dublin, and Maureen Rowan, Eco-Congregation Coordinator at Methodist Centenary Church, Dublin. There will be a short Q&A after each presentation.

Tickets are £10 and can be purchased at www.eventbrite.ie

Lunch will be provided as part of the ticket from 1pm to 1.45pm. Anyone with dietary requirements can email Karen Campbell at karen@irishchurches.org with details so that needs can be accommodated.