Bonfire statue handed in to church; Thousands prepare for Orange parades;
Immoral Parades Commission ruling a reward for violence; St Gall’s develops young choral talent; Ireland interfaith gathering denied permission for shared Communion service
Bonfire statue handed in to church
A religious statue that was placed on a bonfire has been handed in to a Catholic church.
Read more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-23277588
Thousands prepare for Orange parades
Thousands of Orangemen prepare to take part in a total of 550 parades to mark 12 July across Northern Ireland.
Read more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-23267038
Immoral Parades Commission ruling a reward for violence
News Letter – leading article
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/immoral-parades-commission-ruling-a-reward-for-violence-1-5275162
St Gall’s develops young choral talent
The Royal School of Church Music Choir Sunday was recently celebrated in St Gall’s Church in Bangor with an awards ceremony for the choristers of the parish choir. The R.S.C.M. “Voice for Life” programme plays a key role in developing and shaping the musical talent among the children and young people of the Carnalea Parish choir.
Rosemary Smyth is the Musical Director at St Gall’s and has used the course to great success: “Voice for Life has given a clear learning scheme for our choristers. As we teach and encourage them in the choral tradition of our parish the RSCM material works well for us. A series of work books and medals encourages them to achieve and grow in expertise and ability.”
This year two choir members, Mark Farmer and Jamie Larkin, travelled to Dublin for Bronze award examinations at St Bartholomew’s Church and returned with Distinction and Merit awards respectively. Rosemary Smyth was particularly pleased with these achievements:
“Practical examination of voice through performance and sight reading combined with a thorough knowledge of liturgical practice and it’s meaning makes for a demanding examination. Candidates are asked to provide an understanding of the context of choir worship and what it is that a parish choir is doing in and through worship. Mark and Jamie had worked hard this year and that shone through with some excellent results.”
The Choir Sunday Celebration at St Gall’s represents a service set aside to acknowledge the contribution of the choir to the life of the church. The Rector of St Gall’s, Revd Michael Parker, finds that it provides an opportunity for the whole congregation to reflect on the beauty of worship and the part choral music plays in that:
“Choir Sunday allows us to rejoice in our musical tradition and what it contributes to our worship. We have the chance to recognize the work of our Choristers as they progress through their Royal School of Church Music examination levels. It also adds to their school record of achievement something that has come from their life and commitment to the Church. The medal system seems to motivate them with even our youngest choristers really working hard to complete their work books by the end of May.
“I would commend the RSCM scheme to any parish looking to encourage children and young people who are singing in church. This year our medals were awarded to the choristers by one of our older choir members, Mrs Maureen Nixon. It made for a beautiful service.”
St Gall’s Church choir will be travelling this summer to Armagh Cathedral to sing Choral Evensong on Sunday 4 August.
Ireland interfaith gathering denied permission for shared Communion service
National Catholic Reporter – The Glenstal Ecumenical Conference, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, is the oldest and most successful interfaith gathering between Roman Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. But a senior prelate’s decision to not allow the conference to offer a shared Eucharist as part of its anniversary observance has placed its future in doubt.
Attendees of the jubilee conference, held June 25 to 27, were told that the archbishop of Cashel and Emly, Dermot Clifford, twice refused to grant official permission for a shared Holy Communion service in his diocese. Citing a “conservative” opinion from a canon lawyer, Clifford said it was not in his power to grant the permission. The apostolic nuncio to Ireland, New York-born Archbishop Charles Brown, supported Clifford’s decision.
It was on June 26, 1964, some months ahead of the Second Vatican Council’s promulgation of its Decree on Ecumenism, that members of the Episcopalian Church of Ireland and other Christian denominations, including Presbyterians and Methodists, met with Roman Catholics for the first time in Ireland. The conference met at Glenstal Abbey in County Limerick and has been held every year since then.
Hosted by the Benedictine community, the conference is organized by a committee of various Christian communities and chaired by the Episcopalian church bishop of Limerick, Trevor Williams.
A high point was reached in 1985 at the conference’s 21st anniversary, when the then-archbishop of Cashel and Emly, the late Thomas Morris, and authorities from the four other participating denominations gave permission for a eucharistic celebration based on an agreed text.
Fr. Mark Anthony Hederman, the abbot of Glenstal, presented a report of behind-the-scenes correspondence with church authorities at a session called “Towards a shared Eucharist: the process on which we are engaged.”
Hederman told the 80 people in attendance that conference organizers sought diocesan approval for a shared Eucharist to celebrate 50 years of togetherness. He said the organizers “wanted to rattle the bars and test the boundaries and at least find out what the official position was about Eucharistic-sharing.” More at –