CS Lewis focus of Community Relations week event; School Joins Fight Against Malaria; Bishop John Jebb book launch; Archdeacon Leslie Stevenson’s ‘own decision’ to decline post; Church prepares for battle over abortion law
CS Lewis focus of Community Relations week event
Contemporary Christianity presents “In Conversation With … Mercia Malcolm” on Monday 20 May, 7:30pm
This year is the 50th anniversary of the death of C.S. Lewis, who was born in Belfast in 1898. Few authors have left a greater legacy for those seeking to explore the Christian faith – no matter what their age! An illustrated talk based on Mercia Malcolm’s recent research will be followed by an opportunity for questions and discussion.
Mercia will explore :
– A journey in Reconciliation: an exploration of the friendship of C S Lewis with J R R Tolkien.
– A famous literary friendship which ‘marked the breakdown of two old prejudices’ (C.S. Lewis)
Rev Mercia Malcolm is Church of Ireland vicar in Carnmoney parish.
The venue is – 3rd Floor, 21 Ormeau Avenue, Belfast, BT2 8HD
Community Relations Week 2013, takes place from May 20 to May 26, organised by the Community Relations Council, with the theme ‘Expressing Identity – Addressing Division’. This event is one of over 170 events planned throughout the week making this the biggest event in the community relations calendar.
A full listing of Community Relations Week events can be found at www.nicrc.org.uk and printed programmes can be obtained from local libraries.
School Joins Fight Against Malaria
Bishop Ken Good was presented with a cheque for the Nets Work Bishops Appeal Project by pupils from Ballyraine National School, Letterkenny.
The pupils raised €550 during a ‘No Uniform Day’. This will buy 92 mosquito nets for Nigeria. The cheque was presented during a visit by the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe to a special Assembly
There was a distinctly African flavour to the Assembly. Bishop Good was welcomed in Yoruba, one of the official languages of Nigeria. Pupils with links to Nigeria performed their Nets Work drama, with the message that mosquito nets make a huge difference to saving lives in Nigeria. The school choir also performed some African songs. Malaria kills over one million people globally each year and is responsible for one out of every four childhood deaths in Africa. Bishop Good thanked the pupils for their thought provoking assembly and for their generous support for the project. He told the pupils that to date a total of €50,000 has been donated to the Nets Work project by the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe. The diocese is running the project in partnership with Christian Aid. Deborah Doherty from Christian Aid said, “A child dies from malaria every 45 seconds yet the disease is so preventable. We are really grateful to Bishop Ken and the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe for their very practical support of this project and their donations to date have already saved many lives”.
Bishop John Jebb book launch
A book by Alan R. Acheson entitled “Bishop John Jebb and the Nineteenth–Century Anglican Renaissance” was launched by The Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson, Archbishop of Dublin, at St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast on Tuesday 30 April.
Published by Clements Academic Publishing, it is a critical and timely study of John Jebb which highlights the scholarly influence, sensitive spirituality, and personal charisma of a long–neglected, pivotal leader of the Anglican Renaissance. It shows, too, his relevance to contemporary Anglican ecclesiology and integrity through his perception of the need to hold Catholic and Reformed traditions in a creative and prophetic tension. As such it will be of interest to all those who desire to see the restoration and revival of Anglicanism today.
Bishop John Jebb (1775–1833), Fellow of the Royal Society, was a leader in the pre–Tractarian Anglican Church: as preacher, author, orator, and prolific correspondent. His works on liturgy, scripture, and biography were published in both London and America and influenced the fledgling Episcopal Church of the USA. As a Bishop of the United Church of England and Ireland — he was Bishop of Limerick — Jebb was close to William Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1828. His correspondents included government ministers, theologians, English and American bishops, and above all his kindred Irish spirit Alexander Knox. Other close friends were William Wilberforce, Robert Southey, and Madame D’Arblay (Fanny Burney). Jebb engaged with both High Churchmen and Evangelicals: he preached at Clapham and Hackney, and in his last years influenced early leaders of the Catholic revival, notably Hugh James Rose and William Palmer (of Worcester College, Oxford)
The Most Revd Dr Richard Clarke, Archbishop of Armagh said, ‘Bishop Jebb’s churchmanship combined the very best of the high church and the evangelical, in a catholic view of the sacramental life of the Church, a warmth and directness in preaching, an intellectual rigour, and a concern for the pastoral care of all. He is richly deserving of a modern biography. In this series of essays, Alan Acheson brings to life both the complexity and vitality of a great bishop.’
The author, Dr Alan R. Acheson is a former Headmaster of Portora Royal School and The King’s School, Sydney. He is the author of A History of the Church of Ireland, 1691–2001, and has also taught church history in Trinity College, Dublin. He has served on the General Synod of the Church of Ireland and is a former member of the Anglican Consultative Council.
Archdeacon Leslie Stevenson’s ‘own decision’ to decline post
Irish Times report – http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/archdeacon-leslie-stevenson-s-own-decision-to-decline-post-1.1382328
Irish church prepares for battle over abortion law
The Independent – A major confrontation between church and state appeared inevitable in the Republic of Ireland last night as the country’s Catholic hierarchy voiced strong opposition to new abortion proposals. The bishops denounced plans for new legislation as “a …
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/irish-church-prepares-for-battle-over-abortion-law-8603462.html