A river blessing, conducted by Bishop Gavin, took place at St Mary’s Church in Witney this week as part of their Creationtide service.
The service focussed on the nearby River Windrush and featured a lament which acknowledged it had become polluted due to a lack of care for creation. The Red Rebels performed a mime in church which ended around the font as a symbol of the cleansing, life-giving water of baptism and hope.
The congregation then processed to the riverbank where Bishop Gavin led a short service of hymns, readings, and prayers, before casting a cross of willow into the water as a sign of God's blessing on all creation.
Churchgoer Duncan Forbes said: “The service shows that the church is looking at, thinking 
about and concerned with clean water and pure water not just for care for creation but as a way of giving to the world we live in.
“We think of water as vital to life, it’s integral to creation itself. There are many biblical references to water, it is very central to our understanding to faith, water for washing Holy Spirit seen as a well of water.”
Local councillors and Witney Mayor Cllr Owen Collins joined the service, along with worshippers from North Leigh church.
Duncan added: “We are grateful to the various authorities who helped us make the service a success - including Witney Town Council, Eton College who own Langel Common, Cogges Manor Farm who provided the willow for the cross.”
Photographs by Richard Young.
Find out more about the diocese Greenshoots Network where churches share their care for creation ideas.