Irish news digest June 1

Driving up the walls Derry style

Bishop Andrew Forster joined parishioners from St Augustine’s Londonderry and further afield for a ‘Drive-in Service’ to mark Pentecost Sunday. The service – which took place in glorious sunshine – was led by the Rector of ‘The Wee Church on the Walls’, Rev Nigel Cairns, and the Bishop preached the sermon.

The service was held in Bishop Street car park, adjoining St Augustine’s Parish Hall and opposite the city’s courthouse. A team of volunteers, dressed in ‘high-vis’ vests and PPE gear, oversaw a one-way, ‘car ferry’ type system, that meant cars were directed in one entrance and afterwards out a different way.

Social-distancing guidelines required all those present for worship to remain in their cars during the service, and parish volunteers ensured none of the worshippers fell victim to the soaring temperature.

Bishop Andrew welcomed the congregation to what he called his ‘back garden’ (the car park occupies what would previously have been the back garden of the old Bishop’s Palace). He said, St Augustine’s was known as ‘the Wee Church in the Walls’. “Today, we’re the wee church without walls,” he said. “I always think about St Augustine’s as the Wee Church with a big heart and today we’re showing our big heart because we’re together, worshipping God on this Pentecost Sunday.

“This is definitely a first for me,” the Bishop said, “and I wold imagine it’s a first for many of you as well, but God is here and we worship him in spirit and in truth.”

Rev Cairns echoed the Bishop’s welcome to the first ‘Drive-through Church’ in the inner city, and thanked all those who had helped make the service possible. He said St Augustine’s would be gathering for worship in the same location again next Sunday.

Archbishops online for Pentecost

The Archbishop of Armagh Most Rev John McDowell preached as part of the Anglican Communion’s service for Pentecost yesterday (Sunday). The service is available at [ www.anglicancommunion.org/worship ]

The Archbishop of Dublin preached at a pre–recorded service in St Patrick’s church, Greystones, which is available to watch at
[ www.facebook.com/stpatricksgreystones ]and he presided at the Pentecost Eucharist in Christ Church cathedral
[ https://christchurchcathedral.ie/worship/video-stream-1 ]

We need the Holy Sprit’s help to be disciples, Methodist President’s Pentecost message

“This weekend brings us to Pentecost Sunday and our celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church. The first disciples waited for, welcomed, walked with and worked with the Holy Spirit. And so should we. However, the Bible teaches there are four ways we can do the opposite: We can resist him: “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!’ Acts 7.51. We can grieve him: ‘Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.’ Ephesians 4. We can quench him: ‘Do not put out (quench) the Spirit’s fire.’ 1 Thessalonians 5. We can insult him: ‘How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?’ Hebrews 10. It is easy to belong to a church. It is not so easy to be a disciple. We need the Holy Sprit’s help to be disciples – and to be the church. Be safe. Be positive. Be prayerful. #GodisourAdventure. Every blessing.” President of the Methodist Church in Ireland

Parish Pentecost services online

Rathfarnham Confirmation Group led the service yesterday. The group was confirmed in February. Dr Joan Forsdyke brought the reflection and the service featured singing remotely recorded by the choir. You can view the service on the parish YouTube Channel
[] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCso-NPjtC4skX-mlKICJ-jA
[]

St Catherine’s Church on Thomas Street brought its 40 day prayer initiative to a close on Pentecost Sunday by gathering as many people and churches together as possible at 11am. The celebration was hosted by 24/7 Prayer Dublin, Praxis and Saint Catherine’s Church, and they were joined by hundreds of Christians from all over the country as they meet to worship, pray and reflect together. They gathered on Zoom. See parish website here
[] https://www.saintcatherines.ie/onechurchcontent
[]

Irish Blessing for Frontline Workers

A new version of The Irish Blessing premiered on YouTube yesterday morning. Over 300 churches and ministries from the island of Ireland are represented in this unique and beautiful rendition of Be Thou My Vision. It is a blessing for our time, for our frontline workers and those they are caring for.

Five kilometres at 5pm each day in May with two five litre buckets of water for Christian Aid

A Straffan parishioner (Diocese of Glendalough) has become a familiar sight in her area throughout the month of May. Dee Huddleston has been raising awareness and funds for Christian Aid Ireland and has cut a striking figure on her evening walks wearing her red Christian Aid t–shirt and carrying two buckets of water.

Dee’s 5X5 Challenge has seen her walking five kilometres at 5pm each day in May with two five litre buckets of water. So far she has raised over €3,000 for the international development agency. But she has also raised awareness of Christian Aid and its work as curious people stop to chat as she makes her daily journey.

Normally May is the busiest month for Christian Aid and a lot of the charity’s fundraising takes place around this time. Fundraising activities have been severely hit by Covid–19 restrictions and Dee, who works for Christian Aid, put her thinking cap on to see how she could help raise funds.

Dee was inspired in her challenge by the story of widowed Kenyan grandmother Rose Jonathan (67) who walks for six hours a day to fetch water for her family. Rose has been looking after her six grandchildren alone since her daughters moved away from the village for work.

Worsening weather caused by climate change has brought drought and hunger to the Kitui region of Kenya. The rains have failed which means that Rose and others in her village must walk long distances each day to collect water. Christian Aid has responded to the crisis by funding the building of low–tech, sustainable earth dams in drought–prone regions to capture water when the rains do come.

“In many countries, women and children bear the brunt of hardship when it comes to providing for their families. Many walk miles for water and often it is not a safe walk,” Dee explains. “I’ve been very lucky. I live in a lovely part of the world. The weather has been beautiful. I’m hoping to raise not only funds but also to get the message out about the work Christian Aid does.”

She has received a great response to her efforts and is regularly beeped and waved at by passing motorists while fellow walkers often stop to chat. After almost a month of walking, people even notice if she is late. “I’ve become a fixture with my red Christian Aid t–shirt and my buckets,” she laughs.

However, hard it is carrying her buckets of water for five kilometers, Dee observes that Rose’s containers are bigger, she has to walk further and she has no choice but to carry the water for her family. She hopes that some of the money raised will help ease Rose’s burden.

Dee is entering the final weekend of her challenge but you can donate at Dee’s 5 X 5 for Christian Aid JustGiving page here or directly at
[ www.caid.ie/donate ]

Alpha Ireland resources

Alpha Ireland have created resources to enable churches to run Alpha, Alpha Youth, Marriage and Parenting Courses online. They have webinars to train people in all aspects of delivering this and coaching slots that are available to individuals. Further information and support is available on
[ https://ireland.alpha.org ] or by emailing Tanya Olhausen, Head of Operations at Alpha Ireland, at [ info@alphaireland.org ]

Free Church Review online

The June 2020 edition of the Dublin & Glendalogh Church Review is available free online now. Once again due to the Covid–19 crisis there will be no printed version. This is to ensure the safety of distributors and readers of the diocesan magazine.

The June edition is once again full of inspiring stories of how people are continuing to adapt to conditions imposed to curb the spread of Covid–19 and the innovations that many have come up with to ensure that people’s lives continue to be enriched.

You can read The Church Review below or you can download a PDF of the magazine – this may be particularly helpful if you want to print out pages for people with no access to internet.

Food for thought

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. – Martin Luther King Jr.

Points for Prayer

Pray that as the conversation in society turns from lockdown to lifting restrictions, God would give necessary confidence to us all to begin to take the tentative steps permitted towards resuming more regular patterns of life.

Pray for a gathering sense of looking forward in hope as overall figures of deaths and the rate of infection from coronavirus begin to subside across the world.

God in Creation