Annual Law Term Service; Auction in Aid of St Bartholomew’s; Events; Irish schoolchildren to learn about atheism
Annual Law Term Service
The Church of Ireland Annual New Law Term Service will take place in St Michan’s Church, Church Street, Dublin, on Monday October 7 at 10.15 am.
The Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson, will officiate and the address will be given by the Bishop of Tuam, Killala and Achonry, the Rt Revd Patrick Rooke. The choir will be from The King’s Hospital School.
The congregation will include visiting judges from Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales as well as political leaders, members of the Irish judiciary, An Gard Síochána, the Defence Forces and the Diplomatic Corps.
Auction in Aid of St Bartholomew’s
A Fine Art, Antiques and Charity Auction in support of St Bartholomew’s Church, Clyde Road, Ballsbridge, takes place in the Thomas Prior Hall, Bewley’s Hotel, Ballsbridge, on Tuesday 8 October 2013.
A wide variety of items, from early oak furniture, to silver and silver plated ware, jewellery, paintings, glass, wine, ceramics, and other collectables, will be auctioned. Registration will be at 6pm, and the auction itself will start at 7pm sharp.
As this is a charity auction, no auction commission fees apply, so bidders will be able to purchase lots at the hammer price. Further details and a catalogue of lots is to be posted soon on the church’s website, www.stbartholomews.ie. It will also be available in hardcopy on the viewing days in the church, from Saturday 5 October to Tuesday 8 October (for viewing times on those days, also consult the church’s website).
Events
On Tuesday evening at 7.30pm Patsy McGarry from The Irish Times will give a lecture in the Knox Hall, Monkstown, Co. Dublin, admission to which is free. ‘Can the lion (and the leopard) lie down with the lamb?’ will discuss the relationship between journalism and the church.
Kilbride Church (Bray) will hold a four day Harvest Flower and Fruit Festival beginning on Thursday, which will be open to the public from 10am – 6pm and on Sunday 6 October from 10am – 2.30pm. School groups are especially welcome on the Thursday & Friday when they will have the opportunity of participating in special exhibits as a project for the day, and schools are encouraged to enter a class scarecrow to the scarecrow competition.
On Wednesday the bicentenary of Morgan’s School, part of the King’s Hospital since 1957, will be celebrated with a special Evensong at 7pm in the School Chapel. All past pupils and staff of Morgan’s School and Morgan House, Castleknock, are invited to attend. The Bishop of Cork will preside at the installation of Canon Tom Sherlock as Chaplain of Kingston College, Mitchelstown, and on Thursday will be in St Peter’s church, Bandon, for the Diocesan Service for Primary Schools.
The AGM of the Church Education Society will be held on 9 October at 7pm in the Boardroom of the Church of Ireland College of Education.
St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, is holding a series of Autumn Talks in the Cathedral Hall.
The lunchtime talks, which each last approximately 45 minutes, got underway on September 18 when Baroness May Blood spoke about her life and times.
The next speaker, on October 10, is Mr Joe Watson whose topic will be Warrior Monks of the Middle Ages.
On November 14, the Rev Campbell Dixon of the Cathedral’s Ministry Team will give a talk entitled From Beat to Pulpit, and the final speaker, on December 12, will be Dr Michael Callender who will speak on the Ethics of Liver Transplantation.
All talks begin at 12.45pm with tea and scones service from 12.15pm. Suggested donation is £5 and further details are available from Joe Watson on 028 9079 3056 or email mary@belfastcathedral.org.
On Saturday last the Tuam, Killala & Achonry Diocesan Synod met in the Tuam Synod Hall while in Wilson’s Hospital School, Multyfarnham, the Meath & Kildare Diocesan Synod was held. Affirming Catholicism Ireland hosted a visit to Dublin. The day began with a celebration of the Eucharist in Christ Church cathedral , followed by a talk on ‘New Monasticism’ by the Revd Garth Bunting, a tour of Dublin churches, and a visit to the newly restored Lady Chapel in St Patrick’s cathedral. In St Peter’s church, Bandon, Ian Sexton gave an organ recital of contemporary works as part of the Bandon Arts Festival.
Yesterday (Sunday) the Bishop of Limerick hosted t a Diocesan ‘Gathering’ Day at Villiers School. Participants from all the churches in the Diocese of Limerick, Killaloe and Ardfert travelled to Limerick for this day of celebration on the theme “Gathering to Go”. Worship for all, workshops for adults and children, creche, coffee and chat, lunch along with banners and videos prepared by churches, schools, and organisations in the diocese were part of this fun day together. In Myshall, Co. Carlow, there was a Thanksgiving Service to celebrate the centenary of the Adelaide Memorial church.
Irish schoolchildren to learn about atheism
Up to 16,000 primary-school pupils in multi-denominational sector will learn about atheism, and others will be offered courses on the internet and smartphone apps, Henry McDonald writes in The Guardian.
In a historic move that will cheer Richard Dawkins, lessons about atheism are to be taught in Ireland’s primary schools for the first time.
The lessons on atheism, agnosticism and humanism for thousands of primary-school pupils in Ireland will be drawn up by Atheist Ireland and multi-denominational school provider Educate Together, in an education system that the Catholic church hierarchy has traditionally dominated.
Up to 16,000 primary schoolchildren who attend the fast-growing multi-denominational Irish school sector will receive tuition about atheism as part of their basic introduction course to ethics and belief systems, including other religions.
From September 2014 children could be reading texts such as Dawkins’ The Magic of Reality, his book aimed at children, according to Atheist Ireland.
But Michael Nugent, Atheist Ireland’s co-founder, stressed that all primary-school pupils, including the 93% of the population who attend schools run by the Catholic church, can He said these would be advertised and offered to all parents with children at primary schools in the state.
“There will be a module of 10 classes of between 30 to 40 minutes from the ages of four upwards. It is necessary because the Irish education system has for too long been totally biased in favour of religious indoctrination. And if parents whose kids are in schools under church control want to opt their kids out of learning religion (as is their right these days) then they can use our course as an alternative for their children to study,” he said.
Nugent added: “Religion isn’t even taught properly as an objective subject with various religions and their origins examined and explained. The teaching is to create faith formation first, not objective education. We see our course as a chance for young Irish children to get an alternative view on how the world works.”
Jane Donnelly, a member of Atheist Ireland and a parent of two children in an Irish secondary school, welcomed the creation of an atheism alternative for Irish pupils.
“I opted my two girls out of religious education classes and they were told to go to the library and find a philosophy book to read during RE instead. The range of philosophy books was very limited so I sent them into school each day with a copy of Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion for them to read.”
More at –
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/26/atheism-to-be-taught-irish-schoolchildren