Church group battles 'anti-gay' conscience clause in Belfast; Date set for Ashers Bakery gay marriage cake case; Department ‘passing the buck’ on school patronage, says C of I bishop; Solas Bhride Centre - “light/flame of Brigid”- opens in Kildare; Scientology: ‘You don’t fall out with them lightly’; Drink is root of half all Irish relationship woes; Retirement presentation after 45 years service as organist; English Methodists find £172 million down the back of the sofa; C of E Rural vicars struggling with multiple churches
Three parent baby law is 'irresponsible' says C of E ahead of vote - Irish cleric’s advisory role; Third Annual ‘Retreat in the City’ at Christ Church, Dublin; Methodist East Belfast Mission housing prize nomination; New Crosslinks Ireland Team Leader; Bishop of Down authors Holy Week and Easter worship resources; Faith of their fathers - Catholic education in Northern Ireland - Economist comment; Released for mission, growing the rural church; ‘Mass mobs' come to the rescue of New York churches suffering from dwindling attendance; Media digest
CMS Ireland Mission Director appointed; How Black Santa Makes A Difference; St Patrick’s Dublin organ scholar appointment; CMS Ireland ‘Little Lights’ 2015 Children’s Resource; Belfast Cathedral library catalogue now online; Archbishop Welby commissions key members of Community of St Anselm for young Christians; Archbishops will no longer receive the pallium in Rome; Rowan Williams Challenges Faith Community To Respond To Climate Challenge; Bishop Heather Cook: A request for resignation from the Diocese of Maryland; Mormon Church supports LGBT legal protections; Media digest
CMS Ireland Mission Director appointed; How Black Santa Makes A Difference; St Patrick’s Dublin organ scholar appointment; CMS Ireland ‘Little Lights’ 2015 Children’s Resource; Belfast Cathedral library catalogue now online; Archbishop Welby commissions key members of Community of St Anselm for young Christians; Archbishops will no longer receive the pallium in Rome; Rowan Williams Challenges Faith Community To Respond To Climate Challenge; Bishop Heather Cook: A request for resignation from the Diocese of Maryland; Mormon Church supports LGBT legal protections; Media digest
Methodist speaker at Ecumenical Celebration at Lough Derg; Presbyterians prepare to elect new Moderator; C of I begins new research on community benefits and challenges of small Irish Primary schools; North Belfast church appeals for relatives to claim loved ones’ ashes; Faith in Sport - an evening conversation about faith, life and sport; Columba Community Derry - New Life in the Spirit Seminars; St Brigid's Cross Making Demonstration; Bishops to advice GB Catholic voters due in coming weeks; Media digest
Wexford opens hearts to fasting priests; Victoria spearheads BB recruitment drive; Divine Healing Ministries - parish services; Slowing Down to meet Yourself - a one day reflective retreat; Same-Sex Issues And The Bible In Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin; Too much ‘claptrap’ in sermons – Justin Welby; ARCIC Co-Chair, Catholic archbishop responds to first woman bishop in Church of England; Japan: Bishop tells of kamikaze pilot training in WWII; Protestors demand funding for St Mary’s College; Integrated schools sector hits out at DUP's education proposals; Should the State fund religious schools?; Media Digest
Distinguished musicians recognised by the Royal College of Organists; Ireland’s Nobel Peace Prize–winner and leading climate scientist to speak at Letterkenny climate justice event; Clogher walks with Pope Francis in preparation for October Synod on the Family; Down in the Arctic; Catholic Primate wants to see end of entrance exams for Catholic schools; Self-Care for Pastoral Carers: A Specialist Workshop; Cursing cleric wins driving ban appeal case; Church of Scotland saddened by minister’s departure; Tribute - Legal brain and devoted Presbyterian James Tweed; Sudden death of Revd Jan Taylor; Archbishop of Canterbury continues to speak against stark inequality; “Ecumenism of blood” - persecution is uniting Christians, Pope Francis; Media digest
Holocaust victims must not be let ‘die twice’, says President; Dublin to Join 70 Cities in Hosting Q Commons – to Consider How to Advance Good in the City; Down Fields of Life team working in Uganda; C of I representatives to inter-church bodies; Profile - Church of England ordains first female bishop, a saxophone-playing football fan; Holy Cross Church in Kenmare holds time capsule ceremony; Death of popular rector - gifted preacher and Ulster rugby player; I wish marriage annulment process could be free of charge, says Pope Francis; Pope urges new cardinals not to let nomination go to their heads; Wales appoints first Director of Ministry and Discipleship; Media digest
Consecration of Bishop of Limerick - A good day for the church in Ireland; Teacher training budget cut ‘unprecedented’; Lord Mayor Launches 4 Corners Festival at Belfast City Hall; 2015 celebration of the 1400th anniversary of the death of Saint Columbanus; Church Unity Celebration in Tuam Cathedral; Ecumenical welcome for new Ballyhack C of I rector; Media Digest
Hidden Pages - Cathedral seminar on unseen archives on World War 1; Strong opposition to assisted dying bill at Belfast conference; Home Mission The Possibilities - C of I evangelical meeting; Christian Vision for Men - Ulster Rugby Tour; Billy Parish Church 200th anniversary year; Archbishop Welby visits New York to speak on economic inequality; Church of England makes history with online pastor role; Presiding Bishop leads interfaith pilgrimage to Holy Land; Christian Aid supporting thousands hit by catastrophic Malawi floods; Media Digest
Dublin’s Black Santa Appeal Brings in Record Sum for Charities; Archbishop Martin lends children's choir a hand; C of I Commission on Episcopal Ministry reports on diocesan consultations; Four-fold increase in one-teacher schools in last four years , says O Cuiv; Living worship 2015 - Implementing Thanks and Praise - Two further workshops; Christian Aid Tax and Human Rights conference - Dublin; The Sunday School teachers chalking it up to experience; Irish Prayers and Support for Christians in the Holy Land; Archbishop Welby: Britain's urban crisis; Media digest
Methodist leaders to take part in historic consecration of new Church of Ireland Bishop; Dublin Catholics invited to take part in worldwide discussion on the family; President Michael D Higgins to Open the Carry Centre at Holy Trinity, Killiney; Irish Catholic group calls for Yes vote to same-sex marriage; Canon who discovered Obama's Irish roots is moving on; Irish government says no referendum on blasphemy before election; Christian Aid helps Middle East displaced families face winter - Syria and Gaza appeal; Media digest
Bishop Of Swaziland To Visit Enniskillen partners; Church Leaders on The Mission Of The Church In NI In 2015; New North Dublin Music Project Will Help Reconnect With Humanity, Minister Says; Bishop Noel Treanor on the themes of slavery and human trafficking; Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: Let it Not Be for One Week Only – Preacher at Dublin Inaugural Service Says; Connor team facilitates conference in Kathmandu; Moderator reflects on first days of Nigeria tour; Sex abuse lawsuits drive Archdiocese of Minneapolis to bankruptcy; Media digest
Dominicans defiant over Drogheda church closure; New Learn Eldership resource is a bestseller for Church of Scotland; RTE success for Carrick choir; Catholic Schools Week - Communities of faith; Parishes urged to be more welcoming to migrants; Three young men killed in Syria war were from Ireland; Leo Varadkar becomes Ireland’s first openly gay minister; Former Episcopal cleric bails Baltimore Episcopal Bishop charged with manslaughter; Media Digest
Is Sinn Féin Catholic? Its embrace of abortion says 'no’; Married, female and ordained: Rev Eileen Cremin is part of progress in Church of Ireland; Living and Dying Well - Church in the Public Square conference; New diocesan choir forming; Young Adults Ministry Presents Singer/Songwriter Martin Smith in Dublin’s Button Factory; DUP attacks Nesbitt over role in Enniskillen schools closure row; Church of Scotland Moderator visits Nigeria and South Sudan; Leaders before lay people - What the Church of England gets wrong about discipleship; Resourcing the Future - C of E major papers released; Rain-soaked pope braves storm to comfort typhoon victims
Nuncio examines relationship between Catholic Church and Irish society; ‘Time is not right for the Pope to visit Ireland' - founder of Association of Catholic priests; Archbishop of Wales to preach at C of I bishop’s consecration; Journey Through Healing: Seminar on Sectarianism; Launch service for ICON Community - a new church plant in Dublin; Faith in the City 2015 – An Introduction to Faith Communities in Dublin; Connor Team attends church in Leprosy colony; Charity seeks unused sewing machines and hand tools; Enniskillen Collegiate principal ‘astonished’ at closure review decision; Walking and praying with Christians of the Middle East - Lenten course; Indian faithful save church in England’s Catholic heartland; Malawi floods - Third of country declared Disaster Zone
Inaugural service for Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Dublin; Interdenominational Service in Irish in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin; Archbishop Eamon Martin meets NI Justice Minister David Ford over abortion laws; Cork marks 150th anniversary of Boole - father of the information age; For God’s sake don’t swear - Bishop; No new Irish cardinal until at least 2019; Stornoway community project celebrates success after royal opening; Christian Aid welcomes Labour leader Ed Miliband’s concern for acute global poverty and climate change; Pre-publication press reaction to Archbishop of York’s book on British society
Bangor Abbey faces clean; Bangor to become a spiritual haven for pilgrims from Europe after lottery grant; Centenary of Arthur Edward Guinness - Dublin Parish Concert and Music project; Irish Presbyterian couple begin work in Nepal; Lisburn Cathedral live on Radio 4; Sinn Fein and major education problems in Northern Ireland; The strange smile of Tony Blair; C of E paper on hindrances to mission released; Beached car transporter owners praised by Mission to Seafarers; Tribute book to Archbishop Michael Peers, former primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, published
Generosity and imagination - focus of Belfast’s Four Corners inter-church festival; Pope: ‘We must be forthright in interfaith dialogue’; President attends Dublin Mass in Solidarity with the People of France; NI gay couple 'must separate for Scotland marriage’; Ecumenical Prayer service as Irish Farmers’ Association Celebrates 60th Anniversary; C of I in Lurgan drives home open door message; C of E Archbishops propose programme of reforms and renewal; Pope Francis: Paris attacks the result of a ‘deviant form of religion’; WCC expresses shock over killings in Nigeria; Bishop charged in cyclist death to remain in Baltimore jail; Media digest
NI Justice Minister to meet Church leaders on abortion legislation; Archbishop Martin in Stormont abortion row; Call to cut Catholic schools' funding 'shocking' - expert; Ulster Muslim leader sorry for ISIS remark; Scourge of anti-semitism should be consigned to history – Nicholson; Connor mission experience group visits Nepal; Probe into vandalism at Killarney church; Pray that moderation will prevail, French cardinal urges faithful; Gay clergy: Scottish minister tells of exodus of Presbyterians; Boko Haram's 'deadliest massacre': 2,000 feared dead in Nigeria; Pope Francis begins visit to Sri Lanka and the Philippines; Media digest
Irish public inquiry into mother-baby abuse - Archbishop Jackson of Dublin welcomes scope of investigation; Dublin priest receives standing ovation after saying he is gay during Mass; Irish Presbyterian figures stress little appetite for gay Presbyterian debate; Irish imam highlights issue of extremists hijacking Muslim faith; Belfast muslim’s praise for Islamic State’s rule in Mosul; Antisemitism in France: the exodus has begun
Islamist fundamentalists 'have higher degree of intolerance’; Corrymeela Thomas Merton Retreat; Blessed are the Brave - A Retreat for LGBT affirming faith leaders; Clerical institutions; US bishop facing manslaughter charge in custody; Charlie Hebdo attack ‘sowed death’, says Pope as he prays for perpetrators of shooting
On a wing and a prayer: robin nests in Killarney cathedral crib; Continental tour promised in cleric’s Armagh organ recital; Irish and Scottish Kirks split on gay issue; Poots’ ban on gay men giving blood biased, says judge; West Cork C of I primary school pupil tops in global problem-solving challenge; Belfast Cathedral candles mark Paris atrocity; Scots Church in Paris responds to the atrocity; Archbishop Oscar Romero was a martyr, declare Vatican theologians; Media digest
Wexford clerics’ fast raises more than €40,000 for charity; TCD Muslim academic urges media not to republish Charlie Hebdo cartoons; Dublin Interfaith Forum in solidarity with people of France; Paris attack an act of the most extraordinary brutality and barbarity - Archbishop of Canterbury; Prayers in response to Paris terror attack; Choral Evensong for Candlemas; Media digest
Methodist Women in Ireland (MWI) to promote gender equality in Sri Lanka; Mini Retreat for C of I Readers and lay ministers; £100,000 grants available for Northern Ireland's listed churches; Poots’ gay blood ban ‘influenced by religion’; Carlow school saddened by deaths of four former pupils; Cork schools Epiphany celebrations; Voting details of Presbytery vote on gay ordination; Services for suicides could be legalised in Church of England; Scots missionary Mary Slessor to be honoured across two continents; US Methodists End Case Against; Bishop Who Performed Gay Wedding; Media review
Area Mission Partnership launched at Down Cathedral for Lecale; Archbishops commend C of I publication on same-sex issues; Parents back the transfer test system Education Minister John O'Dowd wants to axe; Maze hunger strike: Prison Catholic chaplain absolved Government of blame; Order of nuns acknowledges abuse in Belfast homes; Presbyterian Moderator sends best wishes to Maud Kells - 75-year-old NI missionary “stable” after being shot in DR Congo; First new church in a century to be built in Turkey; Francis: ‘The Three Wise Men are models of conversion’
The Irish nuns fighting on the front line against Ebola; Banbridge Academy’s RE department strikes gold for quality; Protestant families finding it tough to pay school costs; Canon Ian Ellis thankful for support for church-Order forum; Dublin Living Worship 2015 course - Implementing Thanks and Praise; New rector for Portlaoise; Summer Madness dates; Sponsor a Chorister; Methodist women’s world assembly; Archbishop of Canterbury praises military fighting Ebola; Vatican honours 26 Church workers killed in the past year; Media digest
Evangelical church ‘super village’ plan for Ballymena under threat; Bishop Eames claimed close contact with loyalist terror groups says file; End of an era - Farewell to the oldest National School in Mallow; Catholic first school admissions policies may be illegal; Priest from Belfast in running for peace award; Archbishop Martin calls for open debate ahead of Ireland's gay marriage referendum; Scottish Churches Housing Action to mark 20-year anniversary; The programme of Francis’ papacy: changing the culture of the Roman curia - The Tablet; Bishop of Cuba thankful for bridges of hope; Are Church leaders the world's most active peacemakers?; Media digest
Orange Order welcomes idea of church forum; Religious freedom is at the heart of human rights – Bishop Buckley of Cork; Archbishop Martin warns trafficking is a ‘real problem’; 4th Big Festive Fry will make a difference in Uganda; Amnesty looks forward to court challenge to same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland in 2015; Forum head calls on church to speed up schools handover; Archbishop of Canterbury welcomes government boost to get kids saving; AirAsia crash killed 41 members of one church; Church gained 15 million Catholics in a year, say researchers
Canon Ian Ellis calls for church-loyal order forum; Cathedral ablaze with light as Bishop Miller leads diocese into a Year of Mission; Missionary in African rainforest when she learned of OBE; Church 'would have a stronger case if it had embraced civil partnership' - Association of Catholic Priests; Irish Methodist team in Haiti; Dramatic rise in civil marriages in Ireland; In Historic First, Belgian Bishop Calls Church to Bless Lesbian & Gay Couples; Christian Aid steps up support for ebola survivors orphans and quarantined families
Year of mission in Down and Dromore launched at multi-sensory cathedral service; Retreat in the City 2015 at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin; Safer Social Networking Master Class; The Shotgun Affair - A Mystery Play in Carrickfergus; Forthcoming Irish church events; First same-sex weddings take place in Scotland; A New Year’s resolution that could change the world - Christian Aid; More than five million people attended papal events in 2014; Calvary’s lost Catholicism - an interview with composer Patrick Cassidy; Traditional Catholic values produced great stresses in Irish society in 1984 - British Ambassador; Bishop in hit-and-run had history of drunken driving and marijuana possession; US megachurch holds final service; New Year Message From Archbishop Michael Jackson; Media digest