Churches Initiative on Suicide; CS Lewis 50th anniversary events in Belfast ; Dublin and Glendalough Synods; Bishop Colton Returns to baptismal roots; Demolition of Harryville church under way
Churches Initiative on Suicide: church leaders invited to focus groups
Flourish! is a partnership between the Churches’ Community Work Alliance NI, Lighthouse Ireland and clergy from across the Christian churches in Northern Ireland.
The initiative has the support of the leaders of the four larger churches in Ireland and has been developed in partnership with and supported by the Public Health Agency.
Flourish states – We invite clergy, church youth workers, church lay leaders, lay pastoral workers and other church staff from all churches to attend any of the following 5 Focus Groups. We are keen to introduce the initiative and to hear your feedback on the materials developed to support churches.
• Wednesday 6 November: Dromantine Retreat & Conference Centre
• Dromantine, Newry
• Tuesday 12 November:The Lurach Centre, Church Street, Maghera
• Tuesday 19 November:First Omagh Presbyterian Church, Dublin Road, Omagh
• Tuesday 26 November:First Bangor Presbyterian Church, Main St, Bangor
• Wednesday 4 December:Grosvenor House, Glengall Street, Belfast
To register your place, please go to Flourish Focus Groups on Eventbrite
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/directory/?q=flourish&loc=Northern+Ireland%2C+United+Kingdom&slat=54.79&slng=-6.49&vp_ne_lat=55.31&vp_ne_lng=-5.43&vp_sw_lat=54.02&vp_sw_lng=-8.18&spellcheck=1
or email: info@wewillflourish.org
In a joint statement, church leaders have endorsed Flourish saying,
“Churches are at the forefront in caring for families and communities who have been affected by the suicide of a loved one. This support, which takes many forms, is long term and holistic. The project aims to enhance this support through training, awareness raising and helpful liturgical initiatives…it has the potential to make an important contribution to the care of many in our society.”
Programme
9.30 am: Tea/Coffee/Scones & Registration
10.00 am: Overview of Flourish!
• Steps so far
• Suicide Awareness Guidelines For Clergy
• Flourish! Website
• Mental Health Sunday
• Feedback session
11.00 am: Tea/Coffee Break
11.15 am: Suicide Awareness Training Pathway for Clergy
• Overview
• Training needs/audit
• Suggestions on the way forward
• Forms provided for overall written feedback on Flourish!
1.00 pm: Close
CS Lewis 50th anniversary events in Belfast
Leading theologian Professor Alister McGrath is to be the special guest at a number of events taking place in November to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of the famous Belfast–born writer CS Lewis.
Professor McGrath of King’s College, London says: “CS Lewis has become established as one of the finest Christian apologists and writers of the twentieth century. Few writers are as accessible and engaging. He has an enormous amount to teach us about how best to communicate, commend and defend the Christian faith against cultural indifference or hostility.”
On Sunday November 10 at 7.30pm he will be the guest speaker at ‘The Lion on the Hill: A Celebration’ to be held in the Parish of St Mark’s, Dundela. St Mark’s is the place of CS Lewis’s baptism and, as rector the Rev Adrian Dorian highlights, is ‘the church where Lewis’s grandfather, the Rev Thomas Hamilton, served as first rector and is the cradle of and gateway to much of Lewis’s wider work’.
The celebratory evening is part of a month of events in the parish to mark the life of one of its most famous sons. Doors open at 7pm sharp and all are welcome.
On Monday November 11 Alister McGrath will be sharing lunchtime thoughts with students at the Church of Ireland and Methodist Chaplaincies at Queen’s University.
Later that evening Professor McGrath will be giving a public lecture entitled ‘Ireland’s Gift to the Christian World: C. S. Lewis’s Vision of Christianity and its relevance today.’ The lecture will commence at 8pm in The Hub on Elmwood Avenue and will be followed by light refreshments.
The Rev Barry Forde, Church of Ireland Chaplain at Queen’s, said: “Professor McGrath has been writing and speaking extensively on the influence of Lewis, and we are very much looking forward to two evenings that no doubt will enthuse and inspire both Lewis enthusiasts and a wider audience.”
The November speaking engagements are part of a series of events undertaken by Professor McGrath. “The extent of popular and media interest in Lewis’s anniversary has taken me by surprise,” he said. “I’m speaking at literary festivals, conferences, universities, and churches across the country in November, and my biography of Lewis has attracted considerable media attention. Lewis is clearly seen as a major religious and cultural figure today.”
Three books to mark this anniversary, written by Professor McGrath, will be available for purchase on both evenings. The event is being hosted by the Parish of St Mark’s Dundela, the Church of Ireland and Methodist Chaplaincies at Queens, and the Good Book Shop. All are welcome, and retirement offerings will be taken on both evenings to help defray associated costs.
Dublin and Glendalough Synods
The Diocesan Synods of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough will be held on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 15 of October 2013 in Taney Parish Centre.
The Synods will be preceded by a celebration of Holy Communion in Christ Church, Taney, at 4.00 pm on Tuesday to which all members are invited. The business of the Synods will commence at 5.00 pm each evening.
Archbishop Michael Jackson will deliver the President’s address on Tuesday evening before Synods break for dinner. Resuming at 7.00 pm elections by the Joint Synods will be held and the report of the Diocesan Councils will be presented.
Other business to be considered by Synods is the introduction of a Bill rescinding the 1992 Diocesan Financial Plan and replacing it will a revised 2013 Financial Plan.
Reports will be presented by the Diocesan Board of Education as well as by the Diocesan Committee for Social Action, the Church’s Ministry of Healing and the Diocesan Council for Mission.
Representatives from the Diocese of Hong Kong will be joining Synods this year and representatives of Connor Diocese, which is linked with Dublin and Glendalough, will also be present.
Bishop Colton Returns to baptismal roots
The Right Reverend Dr Paul Colton, Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross will make a journey of spiritual significance to him this weekend; he is returning to the parish where he was baptised in 1960.
The Bishop will preach at the annual Harvest Thanksgiving in the Parish of Fahan Upper and Fahan Lower on Sunday evening. The rector of the parish, Canon Sam Barton, and the Bishop were in the same class during their years at the Church of Ireland Theological College and were ordained Deacon and Priest at the same ordination Services in 1984 and 1985 in the Diocese of Connor.
Bishop Colton said: The house our family lived in in Fahan until I was three, and before our move to Cork, is less than 200 metres from the Church – St Mura, Fahan – in which I will be preaching on Sunday night. As it happens I was baptised in the other Church in the parish – Christ Church, Buncrana and I am hoping to go to see again the font in which I was baptised. Our baptism is of immense significance for Christians. As the Book of Common Prayer says ‘Baptism marks the beginning of a journey with God which continues for the rest of our lives, the first step in response to God’s love.’ I’m looking forward to the weekend ahead.
Demolition of Harryville church under way
The demolition has begun of a Catholic Church in Ballymena which had previously been the scene of loyalist protests.
Our Lady’s in Harryville church was opened in 1968.
“The design of the building was very adventurous,” church authorities said in July. “However, problems with water ingress were never fully resolved over the years.”
The building has been “unsafe” for some time and the cost of repair was “prohibitive”.
There were loyalist demonstrations outside the church from 1996-98 in response to nationalist objections to an Orange Order parade in Dunloy.
After watching the demolition, SDLP councillor Declan O’Loan said it was “very sad” to see the church coming down.