The Rector writes……
Each year the church sets aside 18th October as the day when we remember the witness of St Luke. Appropriately we mark our Patronal Festival in Douglas with a celebration of Holy Communion in St Luke’s Church at 11.00am. In recent years we have also held a special school assembly in the church earlier that day when we mark the strong links which exist between the school and the parish. This year we will continue this pattern.
The figure of St Luke looms large in the New Testament. Hailing from the ancient city of Antioch in Syria, he was a well-educated, Greek-speaking Roman citizen and an early convert to Christianity. He became one of the Church’s most articulate historians and left us both the Gospel bearing his name, as well as the Acts of the Apostles. In this second work he recounts his travels with St Paul on his second missionary journey beginning in Troas around 50 A.D. and the travelling to Philippi, Rome, Caesarea and Jerusalem.
Luke was not only a writer and missionary but also a doctor. In St Paul’s letter to the Colossians (4:14) he is described as ‘Luke, the beloved physician’. In his Gospel and in Acts, Luke frequently used terminology common in the Greek medical literature of the time. He also includes details of Jesus healing ministry, the duration of sufferer’s illnesses and other information not found in the other gospels. Luke’s Gospel is particularly noted for the inclusion of the parable of the Good Samaritan, which is the guiding parable for Christian medical care. It is therefore no surprise that in the stained glass in St Luke’s Church, this parable, as well as many of Jesus’ healing miracles, feature prominently.
Ministry to the sick has always been a feature of Christian pastoral care. In our Book of Common Prayer, a whole section is devoted to services and prayers for those who are ill. One such service is called ‘A Celebration of Wholeness and Healing’. It provides for anointing with oil, for the laying on of hands and prayer for those who are sick in the context of the service of Holy Communion. This year we will be using this service at 11.00 on St Luke’s Day. Revd Hazel Minion, who co-ordinates our healer prayer chain in the parish and who has considerable experience as a hospital chaplain, will be sharing in this service alongside me.
Please make it a priority if you can to attend this service, whether you just want to give thanks for St Luke’s Church, to remember those who like St Luke proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ in their writings, or come for prayer for yourself or for someone else who is ill.
Yours in Christ, Adrian
Bible Study will take place in the home of Joan Miller , Ballintemple on Wednesday the 5th and 19th October at 2.30pm and in the home of Carol Boylan, Moneygourney on Thursday, 20th October at 7.30pm.
‘Come ye thankful people come’ As this issue of the Diocesan Magazine appears, we will be in the midst of
harvest celebrations. On 2 October we will celebrate Harvest Thanksgiving in St. Michael’s Church in Blackrock at 11.30. Here the guest preacher is diocesan layreader Mrs Sabrina Cooke-Nivet. That evening, a weekend of celebrations and fundraising in St. Mary’s Marmullane comes to a conclusion when the Revd Peter Rutherford, the Rector of Kinsale Union, will be the guest preacher at the harvest service there. The previous evening a special concert called ‘Harbour Sounds’, featuring Fiona O’Reilly, John Spillane, Paula Mealy, Dan Twomey, Charlotte O’Connor, Denis Lane as well as the Monkstown Chamber Choir will be held at 7.30 in the church in aid of the organ replacement project. All are welcome to this concert and tickets at €15 will be available at the door. We thank the small but hard working local committee of parishioners who are behind this fundraising effort.
‘Service and Sausages’. This monthly church services returns after the summer holidays. On Sunday 2 October at 6pm, there will be a short act of worship in St Luke’s Church, which is designed to appeal to our younger parishioners and their parents. It will be followed by sausages and other refreshments in the Canon Packham Hall. Revd David Bowles organised several of these services in the spring which proved to meet a need. We look forward their return and all are welcome.
Badminton commences in the Canon Packham Hall on Monday, 3rd October at 8.00pm. New members always welcome. Badminton also takes place in Marmullane on Tuesday nights at 8pm and Wednesday mornings at 10.30am.
St Luke’s School Notes We extend a very warm welcome to our 28 new Junior Infants and hope that they will be very happy as they settle into life at St Luke’s. We also welcome Ryan, Stanislav, Miglena, Jamie and Ashleigh into some of our senior classes. We welcome Mrs Bryan back from maternity leave and Ms Dermody and Ms O’Toole as temporary teachers. Ms Quinn will be joining us as a shared resource teacher.
Pupils were very excited when they returned to school on 1st September when they saw the new completed soft surface play area. We are extremely grateful to the Extended Play Area Sub Committee who worked so hard to have this wonderful resource in our school. Thank You Suzanne Dennison, Belinda Williams, Jackie Whittaker and Annika Frank. Thanks also to our parents, Board of Management and the local community who supported our fundraising efforts. A particular thank you is due to Liam Ryan of Super Valu who was an extremely generous main sponsor. We now look forward to our official opening in October.
Old Schoolhouse Lunch. The next parish lunch in the Old Schoolhouse in Blackrock takes place on Wednesday 26 October. All are welcome to come and enjoy a lovely three course meal and enjoy conversation and fellowship. Our parish catering team are to be congratulated on the lovely and varied menu they provide each month.
A Matrimonial Murder has been announced! Revd David Bowles writes…’Mr George Barry cordially invites you to the wedding of his daughter Miss Mary Barry and Frederick Learmont, 7th Earl of Mahon. The wedding will take place on the evenings of the 21st and 22nd of October in the Canon Packham Hall, Douglas at 7.30pm sharp. Murder Mystery Play and Dinner. Promises to be 2 great nights. Please dress appropriately for such an auspicious occasion. Be prepared to get ‘in character’. Tickets €20 including drinks reception and wedding meal.. It is your job to work out the culprit, motive etc…. Book at table of 8 and bring your friends. A night not to be missed! Get in quick before they sell out!
Tickets available from;
Dawn Barry (St Luke’s School) (085) 7638049
Keith Dawson (St Michael’s Parish, Blackrock) (087) 2409965
David Bowles (St Luke’s Parish, Douglas) (089) 2364969
Shirley Clarke-Swanton (St. Mary’s, Marmullane) (087) 2212969
Nikki Dalton (St. Michael’s School) (087) 6151986
Jane de Montford (Frankfield Parish) (086) 6000788
The next Select Vestry Meeting takes place on Friday, 14th October in the Canon Packham Hall at 8pm.
Douglas Union of Parishes has a new facebook page. Please login to
https://www.facebook.com/douglasunionfrankfield and check it out!
Advance notice: Autumn meeting for Douglas Churches Together (St Luke’s, St Columba’s and Cork Methodist Church) at 7pm, Thursday 17th November in Douglas Library. All welcome.
