NEWS BRIEFS

Harvest in Kilbride

Last Sunday was Harvest Festival in St.Bride’s, Kilbride, Doagh. The preacher was Rev Amanda Adams, Rector of Ballyrashane and Kildollagh, and the guest organist was Mr Gerald Hill.

Cork Lay Ministry Preaching the Old Testament

On Saturday 28th September, the Cork, Cloyne and Ross Guild of Lay Ministry met in St Lappan’s, Little Island.

Photo above – Some members of the Guild.

The morning began with a celebration of the Eucharist by the Reverend Paul Arbuthnot, Chaplain to the Guild of Lay Ministry.

After the Eucharist, the guest speaker was Canon Kevin Walton, Canon Chancellor of St Albans Cathedral.

He spoke on the theme of ‘Preaching the Old Testament’.

Dr Walton is a scholar of the Old Testament. He was awarded his PhD for his thesis on ‘Jacob’ by Durham University. He also has responsibility for the oversight of the St Albans Study Centre, which is attached to the cathedral.

He spoke on the importance of understanding the situation, society, and authors who wrote the Old Testament.

After his talk, the morning concluded with a hearty lunch in Cork Golf Club.

Mullingar focus of C of I archive of the month

The Representative Church Body Library’s “Archive of the Month” for October is a fascinating look at the parochial history of Mullingar and includes the digitized volume entitled ‘Scrapbook of William Reynell relating to the history of the Parish of Mullingar, 13th–19th cent’. the Library to digitise a volume in the parish record collection entitled a ‘Scrapbook of William Reynell relating to the history of the Parish of Mullingar, 13th – 19th cent.’ The source was brought to the Library’s attention by a parishioner and keen local historian, Harry Haskins. With the support from the parish, the Library was enabled to have the volume expertly digitised by Informa, and from 1st October 2019, it will be presented online as a digital resource where it should be of great value to local historians and others, together with a supporting introductory text by Harry, illustrated by key archives within the volume.

Several branches of the Reynell family lived in the Mullingar area for at least three generations before the Revd William Reynell was born in 1836. His great-grandfather Richard married Dorcas, daughter of Robert Cooke of Cookesborough, Co. Westmeath, another well-known family in the Mullingar area. Further background about the parish’s history is provided in the online presentation. The author of the Mullingar scrapbook was not only an ordained minister of Church of Ireland, he was also a renowned antiquary and scholar who carried out extensive research on the succession of clergy of the Church with related historical investigations. Much of Mr Reynell’s ministry was served in several different parishes in the dioceses of Derry and Kilmore, but he retained a close affiliation for the parish of his birth.

According to Mr Reynell, All Saints’ Church, Mullingar, was first referred to in a charter of 1192-1202, which noted that the church had been given to the Augustinian priory of Llanthony Prima in Wales by Simon of Rochford, Bishop of Meath. The link with Llanthony was retained until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540 during the reign of Henry VIII.

The digitized version of Mr Reynell’s scrapbook is available at [www.ireland.anglican.org/library/archive]

Further information about Mullingar Union of Parishes is available at [www.mullingarunionofparishes.net ]

Poor Clares Galway ‘Calm the Soul’ song release

The Poor Clare nuns in Galway will release a song this week called ‘Calm the Soul.’ The song is inspired by a poem from their best-selling book of the same name which they brought out in 2012.

Speaking in advance of the launch the abbess of the monastery, Sr. Colette said:

“This simple poem touched people who read it so deeply that we thought that a musical setting to the words could make it more widely accessible. We began to experiment with various tunes and came up with a melody that draws on the musical motifs of a traditional Irish love song, and it seems to really capture the mood of the poem.”

“We decided to launch the song ahead of World Mental Health Day, because we know from our experience of people requesting prayers, that mental health challenges are a huge concern, especially in families. The pace of life today has caused a huge increase in the stress levels that people are dealing with. We feel the message of this prayer-song helps to put things in perspective.”

The sisters also hope to raise awareness, through the release of the song, of the plight of persecuted Christians and they have included a section on their website highlighting this. www.poorclares.ie/persecuted-christians-.

The project has turned into an unprecedented recording venture for the nuns, who have been helped by professional artists as well as friends, in the production of the song. Sr. Colette continued:

“We were so grateful for the generous response to our invitations by professional artists to come on board to really make it something special”

Ronan Browne, the piper and flautist for the project said:

“Not only has it been a privilege to work on ‘Calm the Soul’, but it is also a wonderful adventure. I was honoured that the sisters thought to invite me to contribute to sharing this essential prayer-poem with the many who need it in our manic and often-uncaring modern times”

Ian Callanan, the arranger and producer of ‘Calm the Soul’ said:

“From the moment the sisters asked me to typeset a song they had written, to what has become one of the most exciting projects I have been involved in, Calm the Soul has been a journey, spiritually, mentally and musically. The music and text are infectious. It is an honour to be part of this project in a time when so many need to hear these words of calm in their lives.”

The launch of the song was preceded by a countdown on the sisters Facebook page, which heightened anticipation about the release of the song.

See more at:
[www.poorclares.ie/calmthesoul]
[www.facebook.com/poorclaresgalway]
[www.youtube.com/user/poorclaresgalway]

Food for thought