Visit of Bishop Hilary of South Sudan; €2000 raised for Catholic Church Restoration Fund; Kingdom Women 2013; Derry & Raphoe Youth Focus; Ensuring bells continue to ring in Ballymena; Records of St Audoen’s Tell a Tale of Early Dublin
Visit of Bishop Hilary of South Sudan
Bishop Hilary of Yei will be sharing his thoughts on how the church is changing lives in South Sudan when he addresses a Sudan Focus evening at CMS Ireland offices on Tuesday February 26.
Connor Diocese has had a link with Yei since 2006, and that partnership was extended for a further five years when Bishop Hilary and the Bishop of Connor, the Rt Rev Alan Abernethy, signed an Agreement when Bishop Alan and a team visited Yei in January.
During his visit to Ireland, Bishop Hilary will be staying in Broughshane with the Dean of Connor, the Very Rev John Bond, and will preach at the midweek service on February 27.
The Bishop will also be a guest of the Archdeacon of Dalriada, the Ven Stephen Forde, rector of Larne, and will spend some time in Agherton Parish with Dr Frank Dobbs. On the north coast the Bishop is hoping to stroll on the beach in Portstewart with some of the Agherton parishioners, and perhaps pay a visit to the Giant’s Causeway.
From there he will head to Ballymoney Parish as guest of the Rev Andrew Sweeney and will be interviewed by the rector during the Sunday service in Ballymoney. Stephen, Frank and Andrew all had the opportunity to spend time with Bishop Hilary as they were members of the team which visited South Sudan in January.
€2000 raised for Catholic Church Restoration Fund
CORE (St. Catherine’s) Church in Dublin held a table quiz on February 21 to raise funds for its neighbouring St. Catherine’s Roman Catholic Church in Meath Street which was devastated by a fire just over a year ago.
The evening called ‘St. Catherine’s United’ saw over 160 participants from both churches rally together to aid the restoration efforts of the Meath Street church. At the end of the evening, the Rev’d Craig Cooney, minister of CORE, presented Father Niall Coughlin with a cheque for €2,000 which was warmly received by the parishoners of St. Catherine’s, Meath Street.
Speaking after the event, Rev’d Craig Cooney said: “Tonight has been a great evening of fun and friendship with our neighbours here in Dublin 8. Not only was a large amount of money raised, but more importantly, friendships have been forged which can be developed in the months and years ahead.”
Kingdom Women 2013
New Wine’s ‘Kingdom Women’ event is a morning together with food and fellowship featuring guest speakers Annie Hughes and Lucy Hill.
The theme this year is, ‘Your Kingdom Come’.
When: Saturday 2 March, 2013 from 9.00 am – 1.00 pm Venue: Willowfield Church, Belfast Cost: £9.00
Lucy Hill, originally from Belfast, now lives in Dublin with her husband and two daughters. She is full–time mum to Madeleine and Ruby and while she isn’t changing nappies she is part of the leadership team of a new church plant, Hope Community Church, in Ringsend, Dublin with her husband Ross. She is passionate about seeing young leaders equipped and especially seeing young women released to lead in the church in Ireland.
Annie Hughes was born in Oxford and spent her early years in Nigeria where her parents were missionaries. She trained as a nurse, mid–wife and health visitor and has worked as a Chaplain in a GP medical practice. Annie is married to John and has three married sons, Tim, Peter and Stephen.
Derry & Raphoe Youth Focus
A focus on youth will be held on March 2 in the The New All Saints Centre, Clooney. This event will be hosted by DRY and CIYD, with Sharon Hamill (CIYD) Jonny Phoenix (DYO Clogher) and Jade Irwin (Youth Worker Ballyholme) as guest speakers.
The event is designed for every voluntary youth leader in the diocese (those working with young people aged 11+) to input into their spiritual development, while also encouraging them in their role as a volunteer.
The day will be full of helpful tips and advice, alongside providing an invaluable opportunity for your leaders to get to know other people in the diocese. There will be main talks, and workshops on such things as relational youth work, social media, and how to look after yourself (Spiritually) as a volunteer.
Refreshments and lunch are provided, and each participant will get a free goody bag!
Contact – martin@derryandraphoe.org
Ensuring bells continue to ring in Ballymena
Major restoration work is underway to secure the tower of St Patrick’s Parish Church, Ballymena, and to replace some of the stone work throughout the building.
Among other things the bell ringing chamber and the organ loft need to be protected against the elements.
A grant of £71,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund is ensuring this historic church building, one of the last remaining ‘Seven Towers of Ballymena,’ is conserved for generations to come and that its peal of 12 bells continues to ring out.
The church is on an elevated site in the town, and the visitor’s book reveals that it is visited by tourists from all over the world. As well as being a place of interest for visitors it is, of course, primarily a living place of worship.
The rector, the Rev Canon Stuart Lloyd said: “Visitors admire the beauty and atmosphere of St Patrick’s and comment favourably on its upkeep. Parishioners appreciate the fine building they have inherited but also acknowledge the responsibility placed upon them to maintain it to a high standard for future parishioners and for the wider community.”
Cannon Lloyd expressed his thanks to those parishioners and individuals who had worked so hard to get this important piece of work off the ground and had contributed generously to the restoration appeal. “I have been very encouraged by the response and I’d also like to extend my thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund for seeing our vision and getting behind it,” Canon Lloyd said.
Paul Mullan, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund Northern Ireland, said: “Places of worship are at the heart of many local communities and it is hugely important that these historic buildings are preserved for future generations to use and enjoy. We are delighted that funding from our Repair Grants for Places of Worship scheme will ensure the bells at St Patrick’s Church will continue to ring out for years to come.”
Records of St Audoen’s Tell a Tale of Early Dublin
A new book entitled The Vestry Records of the Parish of St Audoen, Dublin, 1636–1702 was launched on Monday February 11 in St Audoen’s Church, Cornmarket, Dublin 2.
Edited by Dr Maighréad Ní Mhurchadha, the volume is a partial reconstruction of the vestry records based largely on printed extracts from the originals which were published in the Irish Builder and previously unpublished transcripts in Marsh’s Library made by the Revd Christopher McCready.
While the parish registers from the late 17th century have survived, the vestry minute books have not. They may have been destroyed in the Four Courts in 1992. Therefore the new book provides valuable insights into the life of the parish and the city of Dublin in the 17th century.
Following a welcome by Canon Mark Gardner, Professor Raymond Gillespie of the History Department of NUI Maynooth, launched the book. He said the book was important because the material within cast a light on what was a central moment in the emergence of the parish system. He observed that the RCB Library had been publishing the records of the parishes and all the pre–1660 records were now in place.
“So now we are uniquely placed to understand the workings of the parishes in the city and this parish in particular,” he stated. The professor said St Audoen’s was a unique parish as it was attached to the Roman Catholic Guild of St Anne. He added that the church lies at the centre of the early modern city. “They are not simply the records of a church, they are not simply the records of a denomination, but they are the records of the life of a city,” he stated.
Dr Ní Mhurchadha recalled the late Canon Crawford who had been a great help in piecing together the vestry records. She thanked Professor Gillespie for suggesting the project and Dr Raymond Refaussé of the RCB Library for agreeing to it. She also paid tribute to the staff of Marsh’s Library, Gilbert Library and the National Library for their help and everyone else who assisted. “It is wonderful to think that at long last we know a bit more about this beautiful church – the oldest parish church in Dublin,” she said.
Dr Refaussé said he was grateful to Dr Ní Mhurchadha for taking the project on and praised her dedication and determination to see it through to the end. He also thanked Four Courts Press for their involvement, Michael Webb chairperson of the RCB Library, and Canon Gardner and the parish for their support of the project. He thanked the Office of Public Works for facilitating the launch. He said they were indebted to Professor Gillespie for his continued support of the RCB Library.
The hardback book costs €55 and is available now. For additional details see:– www.fourcourtspress.ie/product.php?intProductID=1119