Reports include – Inauguration of Outreach Project Bus for Marching Bands in Armagh; Dedication of new rectory for Powerscourt; Cathedral Sculptor honoured with Blue Plaque; Day of Prayer in Derry
Inauguration of Outreach Project Bus for Marching Bands in Armag
As an exciting part of the Zacchaeus Outreach Project, which is a Church of Ireland/Church Army initiative within the Armagh Diocesan area working with members of local marching bands, a new bus is to be inaugurated on 6 March 2012.
The bus will act like a mobile café, allowing volunteers to travel to and be available at band parades and band meetings, where band members can find informal opportunities on the bus to talk about faith and issues affecting everyday life as well as get practical support and advice. The official dedication of the bus will be performed by the Archbishop of Armagh, The Most Revd Alan Harper, OBE, in the presence of the Vice Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone, Mr Peter Acheson, and representatives of various agencies including the Ulster Bands Association and the Ulster Scots Agency. It will take place from 7.00–7.30 p.m. in the grounds of Killyman Parish, where there will also be stalls from a wide range of organisations in the parish hall and a number of flute, accordion and silver bands playing over the course of the evening from 7.30–9.30 p.m. A recording of the history of a local band which the project has produced will also be shown on the night.
Speaking ahead of the event, Archbishop Harper said, ‘I am very pleased to support this new venture by the Zacchaeus Outreach Project, working with bands so directly. It is always most effective to work with and listen to people “where they are at”, so this café–on–wheels is an innovative approach to really being there for people. I commend everyone who has been involved in making it happen, not least Sr Valerie Thom, the diocesan evangelist, who has shown personal dedication in getting it going and I feel sure it will lead to meaningful engagement and further valuable work .’
The Project is supported by the Church of Ireland Priorities Fund, the Church Army, churches in the Armagh Diocese and the Armagh Diocese itself, and is co–ordinated by Church Army Sister and Diocesan Evangelist Valerie Thom.
Celebrations in Powerscourt – Dedication of new rectory and Lych Gate
There was an afternoon of celebration in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, with the dedication of the new Powerscourt rectory and church lych gate.
The Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson presided over the occasion with a great crowd of well wishers from the parish and beyond looking on.
The ceremony got underway at the lych gate with the Rector of Powerscourt, Archdeacon Ricky Rountree, providing a brief history of church lych gates. He paid tribute to the Powerscourt Flower Guild whose initiative it was to create the beautiful wooden feature which will link the new school, due to be completed at Easter, and the church.
The rector praised Marjorie and Philip Mold for coming up with the idea and thanked local man, Charlie King, who provided the timber. He also complimented the work of Noel Kavanagh, Mark Orr, Brendan Corcoran and Richard and Carol Bert.
Prior to dedicating the lych gate, Archbishop Jackson said it was wonderful to be in Powerscourt for such a joyful occasion. He paid tribute to the rector for using his “ingenuity and genius” in creating the feature. Marjorie Mold cut the ribbon on the gate.
The ceremony then moved to the new eco–friendly rectory. Archdeacon Rountree explained that the project began with the idea of housing the rectory family but also with it being used as a parish house. He said the new house was very user friendly and also wide open and welcoming.
He thanked the architect, Stephen Newell, for his work and the builder, Mark Orr. He also paid tribute to Dave Fisher for carrying out the groundwork and John Cullen from Domino Kitchens for fitting out the interior. And, Archdeacon Rountree exclaimed, “there’s no oil burned here” as he thanked Jonathan Leonard for installing the ‘ice stick’ heating system which gathers heat for the house from the air outside. The rector also complimented the select vestry, in particular former glebes warden, Richard Bird, who oversaw the project.
Archbishop Jackson dedicated the house before the rector’s wife, Elizabeth Rountree, cut the ribbon and ceremoniously opened the front door. Prayers were also said inside the new rectory, which incorporates plenty of space for family and parish use.
Sculptor honoured with Blue Plaque
The Ulster History Circle and North Down Borough Council has unveiled a new Blue Plaque in Holywood in commemoration of George Frederick Morris Harding (1874 – 1964): Sculptor.
At the unveiling on Friday 24 February at 104 Church Road, Holywood, The Dean of Belfast, The Very Revd John Mann, spoke of the contribution Morris had made to the visual impact of art in worship and sacred space.
As a tried and tested craftsman, Harding was invited in 1925, at the age of 51, to work on Nicholson’s designs for many of the capitals and corbels in the nave of St. Anne’s. Along with other carvings and the bronze soldier on top of the memorial lectern to the fallen of the 36th (Ulster) Division, this body of work became the major undertaking of his career.
“The carved stonework in the nave of St Anne’s Cathedral is both spectacular and fascinating; spectacular because of its complexity and variety, fascinating because of its relationships – both to the City of Belfast and to the Church and Christianity,” said Dean Mann.
“Morris Harding spent many years as sculptor of the capitals and corbels of the nave pillars. He was over 50 years of age before he began this magnificent work and it is thought that for more than 12 years he was chipping away, high up above the floor of the cathedral.”
That work in the nave includes carvings of the philosopher Bishop George Berkeley, Bishop Jeremy Taylor author of the spiritual classic “Holy Living and Holy Dying”, and Mrs Cecil Frances Alexander who wrote the hymns, “There is a green hill far away” and “All things bright and beautiful”. Ship–building, the linen industry, agriculture and science and the arts are also represented.
Dean Mann went on to express his thanks to Morris Harding, “for the gift that he has given to us – for his contribution to the Cathedral’s grandeur, that lifts our hearts and souls to God.”
Women’s World Day of Prayer – Derry
The annual inter-denominational Women’s World Day of Prayer Service takes place next Friday, March 2nd in St Columb’s Church, Waterside at 8pm.Women’s World Day of Prayer is a global, ecumenical movement of prayer, organised and led by Christian women and it takes place each year on the first Friday in March. The service is written by a different country each year and that country then becomes the focus of the world’s prayers on the day itself. This year’s service has been prepared by the Christian women of Malaysia and it has the theme.‘Let Justice Prevail’. Representatives of the various religious denominations in the city will be participating in next Friday’s service and the guest speaker will be Peter Sheridan, chief executive of the peace-building charity Co-operation Ireland. Everyone is very welcome to come along.