The Rector writes……
Last month I attended the Church of Ireland General Synod which was held in the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire this year. The sun shone on each of the three days. The fact that the conference room looked out over the pier and at lunch time delegates could sit out and picnic in the grounds perhaps contributed to the relatively upbeat atmosphere to the deliberations this year. This annual three day ‘Ard Fheis’ or parliament of our Church is the gathering of our House of Bishops, as well as elected clergy and laity from across the island of Ireland. It is the ultimate source of authority and decision making for the Church of Ireland and so each day we begin with prayer as we seek the guidance of God in our deliberations and decisions. It is a privilege to be elected to serve as a member of the General Synod.
Inevitably this year the work of the Commission on Episcopal Ministry and Structures was the focus of attention. While the Bill to alter some of the current diocesan boundaries, as well as to reduce the number of bishops by one, was withdrawn just prior to Synod, the issue of how the geographical configuration of our structures can be best designed to meet the needs of our people, has not gone away. A motion was passed that discussions continue at a more local level.
On the final day of the Synod, a correspondent in the letters page in the Irish Times wrote ‘Australia is in the Eurovision song contest, China is in the European golf tour and Kerry and Galway are in the Leinster hurling championship. How geographical boundaries have changed.’ By that logic we could have great fun reconfiguring bishops and dioceses!
Our Diocesan Synod will take place on Saturday 11 June in the Rochestown Park Hotel. It will begin with a celebration of the Eucharist in St. Luke’s Church, Douglas at 9.30. We look forward to a fruitful day of reports, discussion and deliberation as we review mission and ministry in the Diocese and chart a future under God with confidence and hope.
Turning to matters more parochial, is good to see that our ‘Service and Sausages’ which is short monthly evening service in St. Luke’s Church, especially designed to appeal to children, continues to be popular. In April we were joined by the Revd Robert Ferris and last month Mr Drew Ruttle from Ashton School was the guest speaker. He also brought his guitar to teach us some new songs. This service is organised each month by the Revd David Bowles, who also coordinates the catering team. We are grateful to him. Everyone enjoys the hot dogs and fellowship in the Canon Packham Hall afterwards. We are taking a break for the summer period but this service will resume on the first Sunday in October.
Yours in Christ, Adrian.
St Luke’s School Notes: Wigs and fluorescent coloured hair were in vogue in St Luke’s School on Friday,29th April when our Student Council organised a ‘Crazy Hair Day’ in aid of Cork Penny Dinners.
Sporting activities are very evident this term in St Luke’s. We are delighted to have Munster Rugby coaches in school training our senior pupils. Our hockey players enjoyed playing in an End of Term Hockey Blitz, our swimmers achieved 2nd place in the Inter Schools’ Gala and our athletes are very busy training for the Inter School Sports.
We are delighted to be awarded our 3rd Green Flag for our work on ‘Water’. Well done and thank you to Mr O’Shea, Ms Dermody and our Green School’s Committee.
We send our sympathy to Ms Betty Stoutt on the recent death of her mother and Ms Egner on the death of her uncle in England.
St. Michael’s School Notes:The senior room had some very interesting visitors lately. Two transition year pupils from Ashton gave a very informative presentation on Internet and mobile phone safety and security. We learned a lot from their visit.
Garda Conor also came to see us and spoke about the role of the Gardai in our community.
We heard about the training and various duties of the Gardai and we also had an opportunity to try on a helmet and a jacket. We enjoyed his visit very much.
We are getting ready for our Sports/fun day here at St. Michael’s. Some of our parents have dug us a new long jump.
End of Term Services We look forward to the end of year services and prize days that will be held for both our parish schools this month. They are a great occasion to celebrate achievement and to wish all the pupils and staff God’s blessing as they prepare for the summer holidays or to move on to new schools in the autumn.
The service for St. Michael’s School in Blackrock will be on Wednesday 29 June at 9.00am in St. Michael’s Church. The Revd Canon Dr Daniel Nuzum will be the special guest and preacher at the service in St. Luke’s Church on Thursday 30 June at 11.00am. We hope to see lots of parents and parishioners at both services. Adrian Wilkinson
Examinations: Finally, at this time of the year we are mindful of all our younger parishioners who are sitting examinations. Perhaps they will find the prayer below helpful.
Lord Jesus, you understand the challenges that we all must face.
I ask that you guide me as I take examinations.
Open my mind, clear my thoughts, relax my body and grant me perfect concentration, so that I may use the knowledge I have gained,for the good of all. I trust that your loving hand will hold me and lead into a bright future.
Sum
mer Madness for young people 15 years + will be held on the 1st to 5th July in Glenarm Estate, Northern Ireland, again this year. All these details can be found on the CDYC website. www.c.d.y.c.ie
In Need of Prayer?
If you are going through difficult times and would like the Parish Prayer Chain to include your name in their prayers, just leave a note in the prayer request box at the back of your church, or give it to one of the clergy. For a month, or as you request, each day one of them will pray for you; their prayers do not take holidays!
Walk In Their Shoes – Silent Solidarity Walk for World Refugee Day 2016
Nasc Ireland invite you to join us on a Silent Solidarity Walk to mark World Refugee Day 2016 on Sunday, 19th June at 3pm at the gates of Bishop Lucey Park. This walk is being organised to raise awareness of those fleeing persecution and seeking security.
We are asking that each participant bring a pair of old shoes to carry on this walk to symbolise the journey of individuals seeking safety, giving us a small chance to ‘Walk in their Shoes’, however temporarily. These shoes will be placed at the gates of Bishop Lucey Park to raise awareness of the refugee journey with the general public.
After the walk, we will have a moment of silence and an invited speaker will share their story of their journey to safety. All are welcome. For more information about the event, please email events@nascirleland.org or ring (021)4503462.
Parish Summer Walks: St Declan’s Pilgrim Path, Ardmore
Saturday 2nd July, 10am – 3.30pm
We are planning for several parish walks during the summer. The first will be based in Ardmore, Co. Waterford, where we will walk along some of the pilgrim path and the cliff walk. The walk will include stops at the historic Ardmore Round Tower and the 12th Century Cathedral, as well as some lovely coastal scenery. We will be walking for about two to two-and-a-half hours which will be both on roads and paths. Afterwards, we shall get lunch in Ardmore.
Provisional Itinerary:
10.00 – Gather at St Luke’s Church, Douglas to travel in convoy
11.00 – Or meet in Ardmore on the sea front.
1.30 – Lunch
3.30 ETA
back at St Luke’s Church
Kirstin Hollowell, East Cork Diocesan Youth Coordinator & Chaplain of Midleton College, is organising a German-Irish Exchange this year. The exchange is for young people 16+ and it will take place the 5th-14th of July. The main town they will be based in is Gottingen, Germany, with an organisation that the youth department in Limerick has worked with many times in the past. It is a cultural/religious exchange with a combination of activities, discussions and sight seeing. The grant will cover most of the expense but not all of it. While she doesn’t have a definitive amount that it will cost the young person at the minute, as it will depend on numbers, from her calculations it should be around 200 to 250 euro per young person and that will cover everything. She is hoping to get approximately 10 young people and another leader or two to travel with them to Germany. Please email her at eastcorkdyc@gmail.com for more details.
