NEWS BRIEFS

Youth band at Wexford Harvest Thanksgiving

The Loch Garman Youth Band with Conductor John Clancy played for the Family Harvest Thanksgiving Service in St Iberius church, Wexford. Readers included young people from the parish and St Iberius National School. The school choir sang a harvest song.

Married in St. Anne’s, Dublin

Molesworth Phillips and Ann Maturin were married on 4 October, 1800, at St Anne’s Church, Dublin. Phillips was part of Captain James Cook’s last voyage. In James King’s book of the expedition, Phillips was portrayed as the killer of the Hawaiian who killed Cook. The world renowned Gothic novelist, Bram Stoker, was also married there.

Choristers inducted at St George’s Belfast

Eight choristers were inducted to the city centre church choir last Sunday

Pet service in Belfast Cathedral

All creatures great and small were welcomed last Sunday afternoon at the Pets Service.

Autumn Issue of Search

The autumn issue of the Church of Ireland journal, Search, edited by Canon Ginnie Kennerley, will be reach subscribers shortly.

How is God prompting us to develop the ordained and lay ministry of the Church of Ireland today? What does God want for our future? Could death and resurrection be in the plan somewhere? These issues emerged at the Spring 2019 Colloquium that gave rise to the summer issue of SEARCH, and in this issue and the next, these matters will be further explored.

The Revd Barry Forde and Bishop Paul Colton write on the need for changes in the Church’s constitution to foster new ministry initiatives, while Tanya Olhausen explores one markedly effective tool for Christian outreach and encouragement, the increasingly popular Alpha Course. The Revd Robin Stockitt discusses issues of identity and authenticity within the embrace of the Triune God, whose indwelling enables us to love and value one another.

At this time of political crisis and increasingly clamorous argument, two further issues are inescapable: the future relationship between the two jurisdictions and multiple communities in Ireland, and that between people of faith and non–believers. Dr Johnston McMaster of the Irish School of Ecumenics’ reconciliation programme in Belfast considers possibilities for harmony in the future of this island, while Peter Admirand, along with US philosopher Andrew Fiala, demonstrates the possibility of respectful ‘believer–nonbeliever’ dialogue. This issue closes with a Liturgica penned by Dr Bridget Nichols and with a varied crop of book reviews.

Food for thought