PICTURES: Highland children have put their faith in a brighter future for climate justice at moving service in Inverness Cathedral to mark the start of COP26
Highland Children have put their faith in a brighter future for climate justice.
In the first interfaith worship at Inverness Cathedral a celebration of hope – Cùra/Guardian – marked the start of the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow.
The service was led by Very Reverend Sarah Murray and with representatives from the London BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, the largest Hindu temple outside India, to mark the need to bring together all faiths, cultures, nationalities, races and backgrounds if we are to successfully tackle climate change.
People joined the service from around the world, including presentations from Canada, Mumbai and Columbia, the USA, Kenya and the Pacific Islands took part by Zoom - creating "a ring of hope around the world."
At the heart of the worship was a petal ceremony, taken from the Hindu tradition.
After a procession around the cathedral, children in badger masks placed their petals into a pouch on the steps of the cathedral, then which was then gathered up by the adults who took responsibility for the need for climate action, by putting them into the river.
Organisers said the petals represented the connectedness of people across the earth through the rivers and seas.
Organiser Sitakumari, known as Sita, from Heartstone, said: "The service was based on a soon-to-be-published Odyssey trilogy, based around one of its fictional characters Cùra. It is part of our work at Heartstone, it is written by Arvan Kumar.
"Cùra, meaning protector or guardian in Gaelic, is a badger, and many of the children taking part on Monday wore badger masks during the ceremony.
"In the story, Cùra's role is that of a protector of the environment and has a strong Highland connection.
"That is why Cùra has been chosen as the centrepiece of this event and the project which follows.
"The children are the guardian's of the earth's future and we, as adults, take responsibility for that future."
Gathered, in person, for the service were people from the Bahaʼi, Muslim, Hindu and Christian traditions, and representatives from Highland Council and NatureScot took part.
"It was a very moving time together, and children and adults of all faiths and none were gathered," Sita continued. "We were gathered to not only mark the start of the COP26, but also to allow for a new way of understanding our individual role in protecting the future of the earth and the seas.
"The petal ceremony is an ancient Hindu custom that takes place at the Mahalakshmi Temple in Mumbai. It recognises the need to respect, and to connect every person with the ocean.
"Inverness Cathedral was an amazing place to do that, and the Very Reverend Sarah Murray led us in a moving and most inclusive way. "
The service was supported by recently-appointed event manager Kerry Kendal from Inverness Cathedral.
Ms Kendal said: "We are simply moving with the times. This was the first event of its kind in the cathedral and we were delighted to help to make it happen.
"It was an important day for the cathedral and for our work as an interfaith community."
She said Heartstone, Scottish Eco-Congregation and the Inverness Interfaith Group and representatives of NatureScot had created a powerful way to raise awareness of the natural environment, climate change and the globally–significant COP26 conference.
