Catholic and C of I bishops of Dromore condemn murder; Summer Madness in Belfast Cathedral; Launch of Patrick Semple’s latest novel; Limerick’s new dean; Media Review
Catholic and C of I bishops of Dromore condemn murder
In a joint statement the Catholic and C of I bishops of Dromore condemned the murder of Prion Officer David Black yesterday morning
Bishops John McAreavey and Harold Miller said :
The tragic and ruthless murder of a prison officer on the M1 this morning is a morally bankrupt act which has no place in a civilized society. It is to be utterly condemned.
We wish jointly to express our sympathy to the family of David Black in their great loss, and to assure them of our heartfelt prayers
.
This is a time for our whole community to come together in declaring that such violence against any person, whatever the motive, is utterly unacceptable.
Our society has made great progress in recent years. We are determined, with God’s help, to continue in the ways of peace to work towards a future where all people are respected, regardless of their political or religious identity.
Those who perpetrated such a vicious attack represent a very small number of people, and are entirely out of step with the direction of the wider community. They will never be allowed to take us back to the divisions and fear of the past.
Further public statements at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-20173163
Summer Madness in Belfast Cathedral
Many of the young people coming to the Summer Madness camp often wish that they could experience a little bit of the ‘festival’ vibe throughout the year. And now there is chance to catch up with friends and fellow campers in St Anne’s Cathedral Belfast on 8 December 2012.
The amazingly popular 4 Kornerz will be back over from London to pump up the celebration and set the tone for this Christmas extravaganza; Aaron Boyd (Blue Tree) and Ryan Griffith will be rendering a few of their own alternative carols and David Dickenson (Youth Alpha Ireland) will pull the evening together with a seasonal word of hope for next year at Glenarm.
The programme gently begins to build up from 6pm with some mulled wine and mince pies; formal kick–off at 7.30pm. There’ll be a chance to take advantage of the early bird prices for next year’s festival and hear all about the ‘StreetReach On the Move’ in L’Derry – adding five extra days to your SM experience – in the UK city of culture no less! Tickets (£5) can be got at the door or from the Summer Madness office – office@summermadnes.co.uk
Launch of Patrick Semple’s latest novel
A large and distinguished crowd gathered in the Knox Hall, Monkstown, for the launch of the latest novel by retired Church of Ireland clergyman, Patrick Semple. Transient Beings is a story of country parish life in rural Ireland set in the 1970s and tells the tale of the life of a fictitious Church of Ireland rector.
The book was launched by stage, television and radio actor, Frank Kelly (known to many as Fr Jack) who said that Patrick, along with other writers, were very brave. “It’s a lonely thing to do. What you write – you hope will land out there somewhere. You don’t know when you sit down at the typewriter, or keyboard now, if what you write is going to be taken seriously. It’s always very heartening when they do land somewhere,” he explained.
Patrick Semple said it was a great privilege to have Frank Kelly launch his book. He thanked author and contributor to Sunday Miscellany contributor, Leo Cullen, for acting as master of ceremonies and Barry, his editor at Code Green Publishing. He then read extracts of his new novel which were well received by the audience which included the Bishop of Cashel and Ossory, the Right Revd Michael Burrows, the Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, the Very Revd Victor Stacey and the rector of Monkstown, Canon Patrick Lawrence as well as many other clergy.
Patrick Semple was born in Wexford and served in parishes in Belfast, Laois, Wicklow and Dublin.
Transient Beings is a ‘print on demand’ book and is available from Amazon, Code Green Publishing, all good online bookstores, major bookstores and by order from local book stores by giving the title, author, publisher (Code Green Publishing) and ISBN 978–1–907215–18–6.
Limerick’s new dean
The bells of St. Mary’s Cathedral rang clear and joyful in the damp autumn air as a huge congregation gathered from all over Ireland to welcome the new Dean of Limerick, The Very Rev’d Sandra Pragnell.
Originally from the south of England Sandra has been Rector of the Dundalk Group of parishes since 2005. She has had a varied career, serving on the Liturgical Advisory Committee; leding pastoral training in Theological Reflection for NSM ordinands at the Church of Ireland Training College, chairing the Archbishop of Dublin’s Working Group on combating racisim and co-authoring the report “Welcoming Angels”. From Up until recently she shared her home her spaniel Toby, two cats, 5 ducks, and over a dozen chickens. Alas the ducks and chickens have had to remain behind in Dundalk as a move to urban Limerick did not seem quite right for them.
The service of Institution was a wonderful and atmospheric service with excellent music provided by the Cathedral choir and musicians. The preacher, The Rt. Rev’d Alan Harper, recently retired as Archbishop of Armagh spoke of the tears of sorrow and of joy at
Sandra’s departure from Armagh diocese and her new life and ministry in Limerick. He focused on the call of Jeremiah, which he said, was a pattern for all ministry. Jeremiah’s mission was one which disturbed but which offered hope and comfort to those who would be disturbed. This hope and comfort comes from God, for Jeremiah’s mission was to go precisely to those to whom he was sent and to speak precisely the words he was given to speak from the Lord.
Sandra, he said, has been sent, not just called but “sent” in that apostolic sense. She is sent into a ministry to speak and act not from her own resources, not to rely upon personal charisma or popularity but to portray Christ. Nothing in her ministry, in her life or words or deeds must rival Christ at work in and through her. Like John the Baptist Sandra must be able to say and live “He must increase, I must decrease”.
Turning to the Gospel reading for the day Bishop Harper spoke of the mission of Jesus to bring Good News to the world. If the Church is to announce Good News it must do so by regaining the confidence of the people, a confidence which it has lost in recent years through scandal, corruption and internal rivalry. We must, he said, recover both personal and institutional integrity and that recovery must begin with the people of God. This too must be part of Sandra’s ministry, her “sending”. She must live and act with integrity.
Following the service there was, of course, cake – and many other wonderful things besides. The Mayor of Limerick spoke to welcome Sandra to the city.
MEDIA REVIEW
Bid to cut abortion time limit fails in Commons
Religion should be taken out of schools
The Journal.ie – Most schools in Ireland are far from inclusive to non-Catholics, writes Jane Donnelly – and this needs to change.