The story of Noah and lockdown
‘Cabin Fever’ Holiday Bible Club
Connor’s Diocesan Holiday Bible Club ‘Cabin Fever’ is running from August 3-7 on YouTube and via the Ripple and diocesan websites and on the Ripple Facebook page.
There are two parts to the club each day, premiering at 10am and 11.30am. Connor Children’s Project Development Officer Jill Hamilton said: “This gives children a chance to have a break and have something to eat and drink before the second part. There will also be activities to take part in at home during the break.”
Cabin Fever has a science theme and is presented by ‘The Professors’ with a special guest professor each day. There will be daily science experiments as well as warm ups, games, puppets, crafts, memory verses, prayer activities and drama!
The club will take a look at the story of Noah, and compare his experiences stuck on the ark for more than a year with our own recent experiences of lockdown.
“We have had great participation from children and leaders in churches across the diocese so a big thanks for all the videos you have sent in,” Jill said.
“The Cabin Fever videos will be available for churches to access any time after they are released, so parishes can decide dates and times to suit their congregations.
Cork cathedral choir keeps on singing
These are difficult times for musicians, artists, and singers. At the moment the advice is against congregational hymn-singing in churches. Many say that ‘church is not the same.’ The issues are much bigger than this, of course. There have been many reports in the news around the world of the difficulties facing cathedrals with choral foundations as a result of the CoronaVirus pandemic, and efforts to make sure that there is no lasting damage to something that has been vibrant, precious and inspirational.
Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral Choir in Cork made full use of online meeting facilities during the lockdown period. Zoom meetings became Zoom choir practices from late March until the end of June when the break for summer was taken as usual. Although there were no services to rehearse for, Director of Music Peter Stobart decided to keep going. While ensemble singing was never going to work online, simple note learning was possible and some new music was quickly learned.
At Easter there was a quiz with 80 questions split into diverse rounds such as Spot the Composer, Cathedral Architecture, National Flags, Latin, and Cork History. There was also a drawing competition between the rounds, and the subject was the Director of Music. This was judged by Assistant Director of Music, Robbie Carroll.
For more on this initiative, see – [[] https://churchofirelandcork.com/2020/07/31/making-cathedral-church-music-happen-in-cork-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic/ ]
Emeritus Pope Benedict reported to be seriously ill
Emeritus Pope Benedict is reported to be seriously ill after a visit to Germany to see his dying brother.
Benedict, 93, paid a final visit to Georg in Bavaria in June shortly before his death that month.
Biographer Peter Seewald told German newspaper, the Passauer Neue Presse that the retired Pope was suffering from shingles and was unable to raise his voice.
While Benedict was said to have an “active” mind and memory, his voice has become “barely audible at the moment” and his condition was described as “fragile”.
𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗕𝗲𝗴 – 𝗟𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗻
Hidden along the edge of the River Bann, just outside Seems Heaney’s home town of Bellaghy, on a section known as Lough Beg lies Church Island. The name originates from the church’s location on the middle of a high piece of land that becomes isolated due to flooding of the low land on the edge of the lough, with typically heavy rainfall during the winter periods.
Little known fact is that the church itself has no spire and was not visible behind the trees, so in the late 1700’s Bishop Harvey who was living in Bellaghy had the spire we see today built so that he could see the church from his home at the time. It is thought the original church ruins date back to the times of St Patrick.
More info and directions to visit the location can be found here:
[ https://discovernorthernireland.com/things-to-do/church-island-on-lough-beg-p701341 ]
Harry Towb – Jewish actor from Northern Ireland
Harry was born on 27 July 1925 in Larne, County Antrim
Towb’s father was Russian Jewish and his mother was Irish. He attended the Finiston School and Technical College, Belfast. He then appeared on stage with a touring theatre company in Ireland, in repertory theater in England and in London’s West End, where he had a role in the musical adaptation of Bar Mitzvah Boy. He also appeared in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the National Theater in 2004.
He made numerous appearances on UK television including popular UK TV series Callan, the Ronald Howard led Sherlock Holmes, The Avengers, Home James!, Casualty, The Bill, Minder, Doctor Who and Heartbeat. His film appearances include Above Us the Waves (1955), The Blue Max (1966), Prudence and the Pill (1968), Patton (1970) and Lamb (1985). On radio, in 1959 he appeared in the classic episode of Hancock’s Half Hour “Fred’s Pie Stall”. In December 2008, Towb appeared in two episodes of the BBC soap opera EastEnders as David, Janine Butcher’s fiance. Harry Towb was married to the actress Diana Hoddinott, with whom he had three children.
He died at his home in London from complications due to cancer. As his obituary in The Times said, “Asked, once, why he had become an actor, Harry Towb said it was because he had always wanted to be someone else.” His “being fascinated by others… made him one of the finest character actors of his day,” The Times continued. Towb, said one critic, “can be relied upon to add distinction to any production”.” Towb was Jewish and in 1983 recorded a documentary, Odd Men In, about Belfast’s Jewish community. He would describe his interview with Belfast-born Chaim Herzog for this documentary as his proudest moment.
Harry died 24 July 2009 (aged 83) in London, England
Pointers for prayer
There is a big difference in the spread of the virus in different countries, with some places seeing a reduction of cases and others an increase. Let’s pray for sensible measures to be adopted to curb #COVID19 in countries where it seems to be out of control. Mothers Union
Today we give thanks for speech therapists, treating coronavirus patients in ICUs, helping those with difficulty swallowing and those who’ve been on ventilators get their voice back. We thank you for their crucial role in fighting Covid-19 and pray keep them safe.
Today we pray for babies born to surrogates in Russia. As many as 1,000 babies have been left stranded in the country due to the pandemic and border closures. We pray for your comfort for families waiting to see their babies and for them to be safely united.
God in creation
Mussenden Temple, Downhill and Benone strand
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