Sunday 22 June - 10:30am

Tewkesbury Abbey will hold a High Mass and Procession culminating in the Blessing of the River Avon, in a call for renewed environmental responsibility.

Tewkesbury Abbey will hold a special High Mass and Procession culminating in the Blessing of the River Avon, in a bold call for renewed environmental responsibility and action on water pollution. The service, set to be attended by civic dignitaries, environmental groups and members of the public, shines a light on the urgent ecological crisis facing the River Avon—one of the most polluted rivers in the country.

The event is part of the Abbey’s commitment to community engagement and its journey through the A Rocha UK EcoChurch programme, where it has already achieved Bronze status and is actively working towards Silver. It also aligns with the work of local campaigners including the SafeAvon Project run by Tewkesbury Friends of the Earth. The scale of the issue is highlighted in a recent Environment Agency report that states that over 8496 hours of sewage spills into local Avon tributaries were recorded from just seven sewage treatment plants around Tewkesbury in 2024 alone - equivalent to 354 continuous days of pollution.

The blessing of the river is both spiritual and symbolic, calling on people of all faiths and none to unite in environmental stewardship. It aims to raise awareness of the degradation of the UK's rivers due to untreated sewage and nutrient pollution, and to encourage stronger action from both regulators and polluters.