Bishop’s partnership visit to Germany; Roscrea Flower Festval; Lottery grant to make parish hall more energy efficient; Views sought on sale of alcohol in NI; Appeal over at risk young people in NI; Network set up to support those working with grieving young people; TD says new law should give parents access to sex offender details; Cleric has yet to face Cloyne tribunal on abuse
Bishop’s partnership visit to Germany
The Bishop of Limerick, Rt Rev Trevor Wiliams describes a visit to partners in Germany – I visited our partners in Anhalt during the celebrations which marked the 800th anniversary of the foundation of the state of Anhalt. We met in Ballenstedt about 2 hours drive South east from Berlin, where Jürgen Dittrich was, until recently, the local bishop. Anke his wife is minister in nearby Harzgerode. Her parish is twinned with Shinrone. It was a busy schedule, with me leading a morning prayer on the theme of St. Columba and a special Church Festival attended by Church President Joachim Leibich to mark the anniversary.
The Festival was a very significant moment for the Church not only bringing the whole church together to celebrate, but also for the contacts that were made between Church and State. The Prime Minister of Anhalt attended, together with his wife and the head of local government. It was a very lively event with a fantastic market place as one option in a very full programme of film, exhibitions, seminars, bible study and special children’s tent, full of great ideas. There was also a performance of Handel’s “Messiah” in the castle courtyard.
As it was the 800 anniversary of the State, a frequent topic of discussion was Church-state relationships. Remember this is Easter Germany for many years ruled under communism, and today about 80 percent of people in some parts of the state know nothing about Christianity. In one of the seminars the question was “Is the Church too small, or too big for its mission?” I wonder what answer we would give to that question.
The Festival ended with a Eucharist in the grounds of the local castle. On the platform were representatives of the Evangelical Church of Anhalt’s partners from all around the world; from Durban South Africa, the Chech Republic, the United Church of Christ in the USA, myself from Ireland as well as a local Baptist Church leader and Roman Catholic Bishop.
Introduction of Priest–in–charge
The Rev Mark Reid, formerly Non–stipendiary Curate Assistant in Glenavy Parish, will be introduced as part–time Non–stipendiary Priest–in–charge at the Church of Saint John the Baptist, Parish of Upper Falls, by the Bishop of Connor on Sunday August 5 at 3.30pm.
Roscrea Flower Festival
Roscrea parish flower festival is designed by Richard Haslam and has the them “Heralding our Heritage
A Portrayal of Roscrea through the Ages”
The event will take place in St. Cronan’s Church, Roscrea, the dates and times are:
Friday 17th August: Concert and Preview 7:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Saturday 18th August: 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Sunday 19th August: 12:00 noon – 8:00 p.m.
Monday 20th August: 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Admission on Friday will be €15, Saturday to Monday €8.
Children under 12 will be admitted free if accompanied by and adult
If you have any enquiries please contact 087 9091561
Lottery grant to make parish hall more energy efficient
St Patrick’s, Ballymoney, (Connor) has received a lottery grant of £50,000 to carry out energy saving improvements to its parish hall.
The parish was awarded the funding from the Big Lottery Fund’s Energy Efficient Venues programme.
George Field, Parish Secretary, said the funding would be used to put double glazing and cavity wall insulation into the parish centre and the youth suite.
The centre was built in 1972 and nothing has been done to it since except decoration. “The building really needed to be made more energy efficient as it was very expensive to heat,” George said: “The idea of the project is to reduce our energy bills by 22 per cent.”
The full cost of the project is £78,000 so the lottery grant was a massive boost. “We could not have afforded to do it without the grant,” George said.
“It will make the parish halls much warmer and also help the youth club. Their facilities are very poor and we were starting to lose members. This revamp will hopefully bring more young people back into the youth club and the church.”
Views sought on sale of alcohol in NI
Late pub opening hours and further restrictions on alcohol sales in supermarkets are among issues in a consulation launched by Social Development Minister Nelson McCausland.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-18953370
Appeal over at risk young people in NI
Authorities must get involved at an early stage to help young people at risk of getting involved in crime, a report finds.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-18956667
Irish Childhood Bereavement Network set up to support those working with grieving young people
The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs said that bereaved children are “among our most vulnerable citizen”s but their voices are often not heard.
TD says new law should give parents access to sex offender details
TD Denis Naughten who published the bill this week said Garda intelligence should be used to protect our children.
http://www.thejournal.ie/law-parents-access-information-sex-offenders-530278-Jul2012/
Cleric has yet to face Cloyne tribunal on abuse
Irish Independent – The cleric at the centre of the Cloyne Report’s largest chapter has yet to be formally interviewed by a church watchdog investigation. This is despite the fact the report into clerical abuse which rocked the Irish church was first released 12 months ago.
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/cleric-has-yet-to-face-cloyne-tribunal-on-abuse-3175718.html