Summary including – Bishops’ Conference; C of I involvement in Songs of Praise Titanic Centenary; Derry cathedral on awards shortlist; Ken Fennelly Secretary, Church of Ireland General Synod Board of Education writes
Bishops’ Conference: ‘Human Sexuality in the context of Christian Belief’
C of I Press release – As previously reported, the Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of Ireland will host a conference for members of the Church’s General Synod on the subject of ‘Human Sexuality in the context of Christian Belief’ at the Slieve Russell Hotel, Ballyconnell, Co Cavan tomorrow, Friday 9th through to Saturday 10th March 2012. The conference will examine the teaching of scripture, the current stance of the Church of Ireland, and contemporary understanding of the nature of human sexuality. While conference proceedings are not open to members of the media or the public – to facilitate a free exchange of views, to encourage respectful listening and at the personal request of some of the contributors – an update and any conference statement will be made available at www.ireland.anglican.org on Friday and Saturday evenings.
The conference programme will include round-table discussions; biblical explorations on the Old Testament, the Gospels and texts of St Paul; worship; a storytelling session where individuals will share from their personal experiences; and a range of seminars. These seminars will examine: scientific perspectives; parental perspectives; handling conflict in the church; the issue of gay clergy; legal aspects relating to recent legislative changes; pastoral responses to the welcoming of gay people in the church; and the theological/hermeneutical background to the issues.
No formal decisions will be taken at this conference as that business belongs properly to a meeting of the General Synod.
C of I involvement in Songs of Praise Titanic Centenary
Eamonn Holmes is in Belfast, where the world’s most famous ocean liner
was built, to reflect on the lives lost a century ago and the legacy of the ‘unsinkable ship’.
Maritime hymns come from St Thomas’ Church, and guest singers Brian Houston and the Celtic Tenors perform inspiring songs of faith.
There’s a visit to The Dock Cafe where Eamonn interviews our own Titanic Chaplain, Revd Chris Bennett.
The programme will also feature an interview with Eleanor Thompson, a parishioner of St Patrick’s, Cairncastle. Eleanor was invited onto the programme to talk about her father – Ambrose Willis – who was one of five chief design draughtsmen at Harland and Wolff and helped create the ship’s interior. Although Eleanor [95] wasn’t born when the “unsinkable ship” set out on its first voyage, she has very clear memories of her father’s involvement which she picked up as a young child. She speaks about his work in the drawing offices – which still stand today – and how he helped design the ornate wooden panelling, fireplaces and staircases on the ship. He travelled on the Titanic with his design colleagues when it sailed from Belfast on 2nd April 1912, but was called back from Southampton just before she sailed for New York. When news filtered back about the ship’s fateful collision with an iceberg and subsequent sinking on the 14th/15th April he was absolutely devastated. It was through Chris Bennett that Eleanor first came to the BBC’s attention when he made a short film about her story and published it on The Dock website.
The programme will be broadcast on Sunday 11 March at 17.10 on BBC1.
Derry cathedral on awards shortlist
Derry Journal – The recently restored St Columb’s Cathedral is on the shortlist for the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in Northern Ireland building of the year. The judging is broken into four categories and 20 buildings have been nominated. Alongside St Columb’s Cathedral is the new Lyric Theatre in Belfast and smaller projects such as the new Jordanstown school for children who are deaf or visually impaired. The award winners will be announced at the RICS Northern Ireland awards ceremony in May. As well as individual category awards, an overall Northern Ireland winner will be picked.
http://www.derryjournal.com/news/local/derry-cathedral-on-awards-shortlist-1-3593408
In My Opinion: It’s our duty to hear the needs of our C of I and Protestant schools
Irish Independent – Ken Fennelly Secretary, Church of Ireland General Synod Board of Education writes – The existence of Church of Ireland/Protestant schools means that parents of religious minorities can ensure their children are educated in schools of their own ethos. The importance of the network of religious minority primary schools to the provision …
http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/education/features/in-my-opinion-its-our-duty-to-hear-the-needs-of-our-coi-and-protestant-schools-3041597.html