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Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, Organ Scholarship 2015/16


Former Archbishop of Canterbury Addresses Christian Aid Advent Hope Service

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Christian Aid ServiceFormer Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, was the preacher at yesterday’s (Sunday November 30) Christian Aid Advent Hope Service in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. The service took place on the first Sunday in Advent but it was also the day before World AIDS Day. 

This year Christian Aid was joined at the service by ACET Ireland (Aids Care Education & Training). ACET works to improve the lives of people living with, and affected by HIV and AIDS in Ireland. It also works to reduce the number of new cases of HIV in Ireland. ACET has partnered with Christian Aid on some of its overseas work in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

People traveled from all over the island to join in worship, prayer, thanksgiving and reflection as part of Choral Evensong which was sung by the cathedral choir. The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Michael Jackson was present, along with Christian Aid Ireland CEO, Rosamond Bennett and ACET CEO, Richard Carson. Dr Williams is chairperson of Christian Aid UK and Ireland. 

In his sermon, Dr Williams drew on the Collect for Advent Sunday – ‘Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness and put upon us the armour of light…’ This, he said, reminded us that for all our primitive terror of the dark, it was sometimes in the dark that we felt safest. Light shows us who we are who other people are and who God is.

Christian Aid ServiceHe said that the darkness damaged us and light defended us from all the things we did to ourselves when we burrowed into the darkness and denied who we were, who others were and who God was. He referred to the Christian Aid exhibition at the back of the cathedral stating it was about witness and clear seeing and bearing testimony.

“The work of Christian Aid and similar agencies, is about seeing what God wants to see in our neighbours and seeing their dignity and their presence in God’s eyes. It’s about seeing their gifts as well as their needs. The light of grace drawing us out into the fresh air of relationship and interaction is the light in which we see something of the glory of God in those whom we work with and see those whom we work with not as dumb objects but as our partners, as those who give us gifts, as those God delights in,” Dr Williams said.

He said that Advent was a time when people thought about what they really wanted. Those who supported Christian Aid wanted for the people that they worked with what they wanted for themselves and what God wants for all of us, he stated.

After the service Dr Williams was interviewed in the Deanery by Gay Byrne for a programme which will be broadcast on RTE in the New Year.

Photo captions:

Top – Richard Carson of ACET, the Rt Revd Trevor Williams, the Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson, the Rt Revd Dr Rowan Williams, the Very Revd Victor Stacey and Rosamond Bennett of Christian Aid.

Bottom – Joanna Donaldson, Michael Briggs and Jennifer Swensson of Christian Aid.

Christ Church Candlelit Service Leads Participants into Advent

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Advent ProcessionChrist Church Cathedral, Dublin, marked the beginning of Advent yesterday (November 30) with its annual Advent Procession Service at which Archbishop Michael Jackson presided with Dean Dermot Dunne.

The cathedral was lit only by candles and the focus of the service was on paradox of Advent – the tension between the joyous anticipation of the birth of Jesus and the inevitability of the cross.

The evening’s readings reflected the emphasis on Christ’s second coming and included themes of accountability, judgement and the hope of eternal life. The course of the service traced the witness of the prophets, and of John the Baptist and Mary, all of whom pointed to the birth of Jesus.

Carol Singing at The Mansion House 2014

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Mansion House CarolsThe Annual Ecumenical Carol Singing on the steps of the Mansion House – Dawson Street – (organised by the Diocesan Council for Mission and the Archdiocese Office for Evangelisation & Ecumenism) will take place on Saturday December 13th at 2.30 pm.  This year the singing will be led by Crumlin Community Choir (St. Agnes’ Community Centre for Music and the Arts).

There will also be seasonal readings given by The Lord Mayor, David Davin–Power (RTE), Sister Bernadette (St. Agnes’ Community Centre for Music and the Arts) and Brother Kevin Crowley (Capuchin Day Centre).  Everyone is invited to come and join in the singing of favourite carols and seasonal songs.  This all takes place beside the Live Animal Crib.

Photo caption – members of the choir who sang at the 2013 Mansion House Carol Singing with Miriam O’Callaghan.

RCB Library Archive of the Month – Lantern slide show of Boer War and Great War images online

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RCB LibraryFor December, the RCB Library’s commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War continues with the online presentation of lantern slides relating to “The Great European War” and related items from the earlier Boer War which originated (before their transfer to the RCB Library, pictured right) in St Patrick’s Cathedral Deanery, Dublin, where they may have been used to inform contemporary audiences about these conflicts.

A selection of these slides formed part of the cathedral’s “Lives Remembered” exhibition (see this link http://www.stpatrickscathedral.ie/Lives-Remembered.aspx) which explores the Cathedral’s connections to that War and the cathedral’s solemn tradition of remembering lives lost or affected by war and conflict ever since through its annual Remembrance Services. This is first time however that all 54 slides have been featured online together for a worldwide audience.

The “Great European War” and related Boer War slides collectively form part of a bigger collection of lantern slides that were transferred from the Deanery (where successive deans of the cathedral have lived) into the library during the past 18 months. As regular followers of Archive of the Month will know, this is not the first collection of lantern slides to come to light recently in a Church of Ireland deanery. In 2012, the library took custody of almost 300 slides from Killaloe deanery in county Clare, which cover a wide range of topics including the Church’s mission in Chota Nagpur India, available here http://ireland.anglican.org/about/135 and of a tour in Palestine, available here http://ireland.anglican.org/about/136  as well as rare shots of the Industrial Exhibition held in Dublin in 1907 and other varied snapshots around Ireland over 100 years ago http://ireland.anglican.org/about/174 – all of which are digitally re–mastered and displayed online at the links above.

Like the Killaloe collection, the St Patrick’s collection reveals the important role that the church and church personnel played in disseminating visual materials in times past when photography was a relatively privileged and rare occupation. Since its acquisition by the library it has been arranged, catalogued and listed into five main groups, of which the War images are one component.

The online slide show speculates how such a collection might have ended up at St Patrick’s and demonstrates how they were used as contemporary educative tools to inform people what was going on in an otherwise limited visual era. In church halls, churches and cathedrals, audiences would gather to be brought up to date with on the realities of warfare, and specifically the progress of the Allied advance on mainland Europe between 1914 and 1918 and related events.

The lantern slide show is available at this link <www.archdrawing.ireland.anglican.org>.

The Church of Ireland’s short commemorative film about the Great War and ten letter writers from the trenches, The Boys From East Belfast, continues at this permanent link <www.ireland.anglican.org/about/196>.

The Archive of the Month is available at http://www.ireland.anglican.org/library/archive

‘Prepare a Place’ Children’s Resources Available to Download

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Prepare a place ChildrenMaterial to help children and young people engage with the ‘Prepare a Place’ Advent Appeal for Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza is available. A resource has been created for children and includes ideas for use in the classroom and in Sunday Clubs.

With Advent as its context, the resource talks about Christmas being a time of joy but also a time when we think of those who are struggling, homeless, unwell or in need of support. It also talks about the Diocese of Jerusalem which is helping those in need of support through the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza and sets out the idea of the ‘Prepare a Place’ appeal:

“We make room at our dinner tables, in our classrooms, even under our trees with signs of love for people from Gaza who are struggling this Christmas. Join with us by donating the price of a meal for a special guest or the cost of a Christmas present for a loved one to the work of the Hospital.”

The ‘Prepare a Place’ Appeal will run throughout Advent 2014 in Dublin and Glendalough. It is non–political and aims to raise €150,000 for the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza City.

It is being run as part of a longer term link between Dublin and Glendalough and the Diocese of Jerusalem. The funds raised will be used for two specific projects in Al Ahli Hospital: to improve facilities for on–call staff and to install solar panels to ensure a more secure electricity supply for the hospital.

Al Ahli Hospital is owned and run by the Diocese of Jerusalem and offers medical services to everyone, irrespective of race, religion or ability to pay.

Donations for ‘Prepare A Place’ can be made via Bishops’ Appeal either by envelopes available in parish churches or by electronic transfer to IBAN: IE BOFI 9000 1749 8394 99 BIC: BOFIIE2D (reference Gaza).

Keep up with developments during Advent and share ideas and plans on the appeal’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/prepareaplace.

To download the children’s resource click here.

Vacancy – Dublin and Glendalough Board of Education – Part–time Secretary, Bookkeeper and Administrator

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Dublin & Glendalough Diocesan Board of Education

Part–time Secretary, Bookkeeper and Administrator required for 1 February 2015.

10hrs per week, salary €10,400pa and expenses.

The successful candidate will have computer skills, accounting abilities and good interpersonal skills.

Applications, which must be accompanied by CV, references and the names of two referees, to be sent, by post, to:

The Archdeacon of Glendalough,

Powerscourt Rectory,

Enniskerry,

Co Wicklow.

To reach him not later than 19th December 2014.

Appointment will be by interview, to be held in early January 2015  

Mothers’ Union Autumn Council Meeting Highlights Members’ Work and Witness

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Mother’s Union branch members from all over Dublin and Glendalough gathered in St Brigid’s Parish Centre in Stillorgan for the organisation’s Autumn Diocesan Council. Reports were delivered from each MU diocesan section and diocesan President, Joy Gordon, urged council members to spread the news of what they had learned with their branches.

“It always surprises and saddens me when I meet members and they don’t know what’s going on in the diocese or in Mothers Union in general. Our All Ireland Mothers Union President, Phyllis Grothier at the All Ireland Council meeting last Saturday described, Mothers’ Union as a ‘Best kept secret’, so please don’t let our work and witness be a secret, please disseminate and share what you hear tonight,” she stated.

GENDER VIOLENCE

MU Autumn CouncilAs an active campaigning organisation, Joy said that Mothers’ Union would be speaking out against gender based violence by joining in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence which continues until December 10. In Dublin and Glendalough, she stated, Mothers’ Union offers practical support to women experiencing violence by providing food, toiletries and clothes for local women’s shelters.

Social policy representative, Sylvia Graham had organised short reflections and arrow prayers to be read at various stages throughout the evening to mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence.

Reporting on the Action and Outreach Unit, Daphne Townsend, said knitting for the maternity hospitals continued to be very popular and their work continued for Crumlin Hospital with Freddie Bags and Take Home Bags. Members are also supporting Darndale Children’s Project Christmas Boxes.

At Spring Council members were introduced to the concept of Fiddle Blankets for people with dementia and Daphne said that the Greystones branch had received terrific feedback and requests for blankets from a local nursing home, Wicklow Dementia Support and individuals. She introduced a variation on the theme – Fiddle Muffs and said that the pattern would be available on the website soon (http://www.dublin.mothersunion.ie/).

BRANCH PROJECTS

Daphne highlighted a number of projects being undertaken by local branches. In Tallaght, St Maelruain’s Branch supports SAOIRSE women’s refuge. Skerries Branch is organising a six week hand craft course. Raheny with Coolock Branch supports the women’s refuge in Coolock. Castleknock and Consilla Branch supports the Older Persons Unit in Connolly Hospital and the women’s refuge in Blanchardstown. Arklow/Inch/Kilbride Branch held a Beetle Drive for 8 – 80’s for the community. Christchurch Cathedral Branch knit hats, gloves, scarves and mittens the Simon Community. Athy Branch went carol singing in their local nursing home.

MU Autumn Council“These are just some of the ways MU members show their love, care and support for others in their Parishes and communities… thank you all for keeping the spirit of Mother’s Union alive in your parishes and locally,” she said.

Delivering the marketing report, Sandra Knaggs, gave an account of the Mothers’ Union General Meeting which took place in Belfast in the summer. She said the Mums in May would be running again in 2015 and would take a similar format to 2012. The monies raised will again be used to give grants to the dioceses to help fund new projects. 

She urged members to use the Dublin & Glendalough Mothers’ Union website (http://www.dublin.mothersunion.ie/) and use the “contact us” section to send photos and information on future events which can advertised on the site.

WOMEN’S BREAKFAST 

Sandra also highlighted the forthcoming women’s breakfast which will be held on Saturday February 28 2015 in Springfield Hotel, Leixlip with motivational speaker, Jacqui Armstrong. It will run from 9.30 am to 11.30 am and will cost €5 for scones/pastries tea and coffee. You don’t have to be a member to attend.

Sylvia Graham turned the spotlight on Social Policy with her report and spoke of the range of local, national and international social policies on which Mothers’ Union was lobbying. Issues include gender equality, gender based violence and domestic abuse and the exploitation and commercialisation of children, for example, with child beauty pageants.

Jean Thompson delivered the finance report and outlined the changes brought about by the Charities Law and insurance issues. She said there would be a small increase in subscriptions for 2015 and each member would be asked to pay €24. Of the subscription, €19.50 is sent to All Ireland with the remaining €4.50 being used to run the diocesan organisation.

She also said that Joy’s term of office as President would come to an end on December 31 2015 with a new President taking over on January 1 2016.

The MU theme for 2015 will be ‘United in Prayer” which continues from this year’s theme of ‘Sowing the Future Together’.

Photo captions:

Top – Dublin and Glendalough Diocesan Mothers’ Union President, Joy Gordon, gives her address at Autumn Council. (Photo: Karen Nelson)

Bottom – Fiddle Muffs knitted by MU members for use by people with dementia. (Photo: Karen Nelson)

 


CITI Ordinands Commissioned as Student Readers

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CITI Student ReadersTwelve student ordinands have been commissioned as student readers at the Church of Ireland Theological Institute by Archbishop Michael Jackson.

Philip Bryson (Connor), Jonathan McFarland (Connor), Peter Munce (Connor), Rebecca Guildea (Dublin and Glendalough), Danielle McCullagh (Connor), Stuart Moles (Connor), Geoff Hamilton (Down and Dromore), Nigel Cairns (Derry and Raphoe), Simom Scott (Dublin and Glendalough), Mark Gallagher (Armagh), Lucy Burden (Connor) and Chris St John (Down and Dromore) were commissioned during the Community Eucharist in the Institute Chapel.

In his sermon, Archbishop Jackson said it was important that people be commissioned to serve, challenge, obey and experiment in and from tradition in a spirit of holiness and dynamic of grace.

He focused on the word ‘Commissioning’. “Commissioning is an interesting word to unpick. Co–Mission–ing seem to me to express the three parts of this word and these parts draw us into the idea of sending and being sent out together with others. Connection and commitment are vital to this understanding of discipleship and ministry. And mission, therefore, forms the core of ministry,” he said.

He also said that mission had to be aggressive – not in the modern sense of the word but meaning that it had to be active in going towards those who are different from us.

“We have let the word: aggressive fall around our feet; we have used it to divide ourselves from others but this is not the primary or indeed best use of this word. It is for this reason that we need an active and not a passive understanding of mission and it is to this purpose that you are all being missioned together (commissioned) this evening by God, in this community and for the communities in which you will serve and work on any and every part–time basis,” Archbishop Jackson stated.

The Archbishop’s sermon is reproduced in full below.

Photo caption: The Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Michael Jackson (centre), the Director of the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, the Revd Dr Maurice Elliott (left) and CITI lecturers the Revd Dr Paddy McGlinchey and Revd Canon Patrick Comerford (right) with the 12 student ordinands who were commissioned as student readers: Philip Bryson (Connor), Jonathan McFarland (Connor), Peter Munce (Connor), Rebecca Guildea (Dublin and Glendalough), Danielle McCullagh (Connor), Stuart Moles (Connor), Geoff Hamilton (Down and Dromore), Nigel Cairns (Derry and Raphoe), Simom Scott (Dublin and Glendalough), Mark Gallagher (Armagh), Lucy Burden (Connor), and Chris St John (Down and Dromore).(Photo: Canon Patrick Comerford)

 

Church of Ireland Theological Institute

Service of Commissioning of Student Readers  

Wednesday November 26 2014

Readings: Revelation 15:1–4; psalm 98; St Luke 21:10–19

A sermon preached by the Archbishop

Revelation 4.8a: … day and night unceasingly they sing: Holy, holy, holy is God the sovereign Lord of all, who was, and is, and is to come!

I was preaching recently in the chapel of The Queens’ Foundation, Birmingham. I noticed something interesting towards the end of the service. Quite deliberately and just before the Dismissal, the presiding minister himself physically opened the doors, both the inner and the outer doors of the chapel, on to the world outside. Unlike this chapel where we are this evening, the doors opened out on to the open air and on to a pathway rather than back into the house. As he and I walked out, I noticed a sign which said: You are now entering a sacred space, by which of course was meant the space outside. It happened to be on All Saints’ Day which made the idea of sacredness and of holiness all the more pertinent and poignant since we had grappled with this holiness in our worship and in our shared Eucharist.

Holiness is not an individual achievement. Rather, holiness is a community creation: by this I mean a creation of a community by God and a creation by the community with God of something for God and for others. The very language of creation reconnects us with the presence of God in everything and in everyone who is. For us, as disciples of Jesus Christ, holiness is energized by the act of supreme condescension by which God became human in order to give to us a good, a restored, a redeemed relationship with God and to reveal to us and in us the brightness of God’s glory in the world of God’s creation. For reasons such as this it is important that people be commissioned – as are you this evening being commissioned – to serve, to challenge, to obey and to experiment in and from the tradition as we know it, in a spirit of holiness and in the dynamic of grace.

Today’s Reading from Revelation is framed in the context of holiness:

Who shall not fear you, Lord,

And do homage to your name?

For you alone are holy. (Revelation 15.4)

It is for such a reason as the real capacity of holiness to embrace and to energize within the justice of God that people gather to worship; it is for such a reason as the energy of being sent by the Spirit of Holiness to sing the praises of the Lamb of God that fresh communities are formed from and by confident communities of faith, hope, love. This month is shaped and framed by All Saints’ Day. The Communion of Saints encourages us not to settle for the partial or the temporal when, in fact, the fulness of God is freely offered to us. Holiness is enriching; and holiness is what binds together heaven and earth in a relationship of grace to the greatness of God.  

At this time of year as we move towards Advent and Christmas there is much warning and there is much apocalypse. There is a purpose in this and it is both to forewarn and to forearm us to be vigilant, to be alert and to be responsible and appreciative to the presence of God within and around us. The language of apocalypse is cosmic as well as personal; we tend to laugh at apocalypse. I suggest that this is not a wise place to be nor a wise thing to do. Understanding and interpreting the urgency of the eschatology embedded within the apocalyptic is our invitation and our calling as disciples; and as clergy–in–training it is our vocation to offer helpful interpretation to others in this minefield of imagery and of metaphor.

The Parable of the Talents from St Luke 19 is one such parable of urgency. Often we rush to alarm and to punishment, particularly of ourselves if we are vulnerable types, prone to being bullied either inside or outside the church; or alternatively we rush to the alarm and punishment of others, of those whom we think have ‘had it coming to them,’ if we are the sort of people who bully others inside or outside the church. The first reactions which any of us have to this parable are not particularly edifying. The parable deals with the delivery of work and with the fulfilment of potential – clergy are frequently prickly around any questions or explorations by others in such areas of life. Vulnerability and anger are emotions and characteristics which clergy need to keep in check if they are not to become a distorting filter of the grace of God to God’s people. I suggest that both vulnerability and anger as ways of reading this text are immature and no more than partial readings of the text. The extended parable does offer an active encouragement to us in our own day and time to be proactive in the things of God and neighbour. At the core of this parable lies the character of the individual who was too afraid to get moving and use what had been entrusted to him or her – to any purpose whatsoever within the kingdom of the parable; and this kingdom must, in some way or another, point towards the Kingdom of God. Inertia does not commend itself. And inertia is the curse of disengagement and it feeds the cynicism of clericalism. That is why ordination is not admission into a caste but into an order of ministry openly and freely shared with and fed by the ministry of all God’s people. The encouragement to us, therefore, is to transcend our own sense of either unworthiness or pride and do something for others with the gift of grace which God has given to us for them.

Commissioning is an interesting word to unpick. Co–Mission–ing seem to me to express the three parts of this word and these parts draw us into the idea of sending and being sent out together with others. Connection and commitment are vital to this understanding of discipleship and ministry. And mission, therefore, forms the core of ministry.  

Co–

Mission

Being sent out together.

It is not an individual achievement but a corporate act of commitment and service. It is a dedication to attentive altruism and therefore is a pro–active interpretation and implementing of service. Mission is always of God by God through us to our neighbours and therefore back to God. Mission has to do with the Body of Christ and with relationship. Mission connects the Creator and the creation and in so doing imparts to those who are sent a real sense of being participants in the exuberance of re–creation. Again, the dynamic potential of language comes to our aid. This type of recreation is in fact a refashioning and a reformation in the divine life. Humanity, as we live it, reconnects with matter itself and there is no dualism but rather a redemption of us and all those things and those people of which and of whom we are part in such freely–given divine life.

As you are commissioned, I want to offer you another word which has somehow got lost in our modern usage is the proper use of aggression and aggressive. Mission has to be aggressive by which I mean it has to walk towards those who are other than we are. We have let the word: aggressive fall around our feet; we have used it to divide ourselves from others but this is not the primary or indeed best use of this word. It is for this reason that we need an active and not a passive understanding of mission and it is to this purpose that you are all being missioned together (commissioned) this evening by God, in this community and for the communities in which you will serve and work on any and every part–time basis.

Increasingly, I am interested in preaching at what we conventionally call: the end of the service. I mean during The Dismissal and before The Blessing. Yes I know it is the point at which people are impatient to check their mobile phones; keen to get home and check how the dog has been since everyone has been away; but don’t worry it isn’t a second address, simply a dis–placed address. Why do I call it: dis–placed? I mean that it is out of its conventional or normal or even normative – again a word which needs correctly to be used and acknowledged – place; a little bit like dis–ease, the deep sense of being deprived of ease itself, a place of fear and alarm. But such reflections, at this stage, are for another evening.   

Revelation 4.11: You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honour and power, because you created all things; by your will they were created and gave their being.

 

 

Prepare a Place Interview on RTE Radio

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Sunday SpiritArchbishop Michael Jackson and Linda Chambers of the United Society both featured on RTE Radio’s Sunday Spirit programme this week. They talked to presenter Michael Comyn about Dublin and Glendalough’s ‘Prepare a Place’ Advent Appeal for Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza City.

A link to the interview is posted on the ‘Prepare a Place’ Facebook page and you can listen back by visiting the page by CLICKING HERE

The ‘Prepare a Place’ non–political Advent Appeal aims to raise €150,000 for Al Ahli Hospital by asking people to prepare a place for an imaginary Gaza guest at their festive tables this year and donate the cost of their meal and a gift for a loved one to the appeal.

 

Donations can be made to Bishops’ Appeal either by envelopes which are available in all parish churches or by electronic transfer to IBAN: IE BOFI 9000 1749 8394 99 BIC: BOFIIE2D (reference Gaza).

ICON – A Community of Communities

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The Revd Eoghan HeaslipDublin’s fledgling church plant has begun to find its bearings. ICON Community was commissioned by Archbishop Michael Jackson and launched in September.

Led by the Revd Eoghan Heaslip (pictured right) and his wife Becky, ICON Community is gently starting to make connections. With the mission of bringing people in their 20s and 30s to know God, ICON’s vision is to be a community of communities. They are hoping to bring people who have gone away from the church back to introduce them to Jesus.

They want to plant a network of missional communities who, individually and collectively give a creative and faithful expression to the Kingdom of God. They hope that each missional community will be a place of training and discipleship where people grow in their faith, life skills, ability to lead and love each other.

WHO ARE EOGHAN AND BECKY?

Eoghan and Becky are no strangers to church planting. Becky, who hails from Canada, grew up in the Vineyard denomination and her parents were church planters too. They were part of the team that planted CORE (now St Catherine’s, Thomas Street) and Eoghan was on their senior management team.

Eoghan is a Church of Ireland Rector. His father is the Revd Jack Heaslip. He was a teacher in Mount Temple and was later ordained and served as Rector of Westport and St Luke’s Cross, Cork. Eoghan studied music and the music business in Ballyfermot and it was while he was a student that he became involved in CORE.

Eoghan met Becky in Canada and it is there that they were married over 17 years ago. They have three daughters, Rachel, Abigail and Evelyn. They moved to London in 2008 where Eoghan studied theology at St Mellitus College; a college which is at the forefront of contemporary theological education in England. He was ordained as an Anglican priest in 2012 and served his curacy in the City of Worcester. The family moved to Dublin during the summer.

WHAT IS ICON?

ICON logoIt is part of human nature to try to pigeonhole things, but it is not easy to attach a label to ICON. Eoghan is a minister of the dioceses. ICON is a diocesan ministry but is not a parish. It is however a church and it is a community of people. While it is based at the moment in the family home, it is not a house church. Like many churches in the dioceses, it does not draw its members from the immediate vicinity in which it is based. It is an evangelical church and Eoghan points out that the strength of the Anglican Communion is its unity in diversity.

Like any church, ICON’s activities are based on prayer, the Sacraments, social action and Scripture. But how will ICON express this?

Eoghan points out that Dublin is Europe’s youngest city with hundreds of thousands of people under the age of 35, a generation almost entirely missing from the church in Ireland across the denominations.

“We have to adopt new shapes and expressions of church and ministry to reach out to these people. This is not a parish–based church. I’m not saying that parishes can’t be missionally focused or missionally shaped, but ICON hopes to do it differently by reaching out across networks,” he explains.

At the moment they are operating from their home in Clonskeagh. As such Eoghan is part of the Taney Rural Deanery. The community is developing with several people exploring and developing their faith already and journeying with the family.

ICON is a church which is gathered and scattered – they gather or meet up on two Sundays a month for gathered worship which involves the Scriptures, prayer and the Sacraments. They are scattered in that the members of the community are scattered servants in their places of work, education, interest groups, relational networks and on the streets where they live.

HOW WILL ICON DEVELOP?

Eoghan admits that they are on a massive learning curve but they have energy and patience and are prepared to take baby steps as they explore their new life in the city. Their starting point is to plant a pilot missional community in their own home, which will be a training ground for other missional communities and an opportunity to build community together.

Eoghan and Becky and family“We plan to develop slowly and intentionally. We have a principle of asking ‘who are the people of peace in our lives?’ Maybe they don’t have faith but it’s taken for granted that they know that we have faith. We engage with the people in our lives at the school gate, on the street, in the networks to which we belong – at Brownies, swimming, on the rugby pitch. It’s about letting your life as a family, and the life of the community, witness to others,” he says. The challenge is whether there is anything different about their family life and their community life, he adds. 

Now they hope to increase their fringe by going out to spend time with the people in their lives and networks. They will do community wide events and smaller events where people can have fun with those in their lives.

“It’s a slow burn thing,” Eoghan comments. “You don’t fill churches instantaneously. There will be an organised gathered expression of ICON Community but our primary identity will be to develop a network of communities. The way in which humans are most alive and have most meaning is in community and the way in which we can image God is by being individuals in community.”

While Eoghan understands that there is nothing traditional about ICON Community he points out that the concept of missional communities is not new. Acts chapter 2 for example, gives us some unique insight into the life, shapes and rhythms of the early church. Their expression of faith took place across the continuum of temple and home. Where alongside of the believers gathering together for public worship, we see the astounding picture developing of a community living as a network of extended families whose radical generosity and pursuit of the life of Jesus making an impact then which is still shaking the world today.

 

ICON Community 

t: +353 (83) 4705350

e: info@iconcommunity.ie | w: www.iconcommunity.ie

@icon_community |facebook.com/iconcommunitydublin

[This article first appeared in the November 2014 edition of The Church Review – the diocesan magazine of Dublin and Glendalough]

Photo captions:

Top – The Revd Eoghan Heaslip

Middle –  The ICON Logo

Bottom – Eoghan, Becky and their family.

Quality of Teachers Biggest Influence on Pupils – CICE B.Ed Graduates Hear

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CICE GraduationThe quality of the teaching is the most important factor in a child’s education, the 2014 B.Ed graduates of the Church of Ireland College of Education were told yesterday (December 4).

A total of 28 students graduated yesterday. They were conferred with their degrees at a ceremony in Trinity College Dublin before attending a ceremony in the chapel of CICE and being presented with their certificates and special awards.

Speaking at the CICE ceremony, Noreen Kavanagh of the Department of Education and Skills said it was a teacher’s duty to ensure that every child received the best quality teaching.

Addressing the graduates she said: “You are entering this career at a difficult time but you have learned the principles which will stand you in very good stead as you start this journey and you will continue to learn as you go. We’ve had to cope with cutbacks and it is a changed landscape. But some of those changes are for the better”. She highlighted the National Literacy and Numeracy Programme and the Whole School Evaluation system.

Brendan O’Sullivan, former President of the Irish National Teachers Organisation, stated that the Irish education curriculum had the child at its centre. He said it focused on the child as well as the academic.

CICE GraduationHe referred to international league tables which measured academic achievement, the child’s experience of school and expenditure on education. He said that while expenditure on education in Ireland lagged behind other countries, children continued to perform well academically and were happy at school. “There is one thing that links all these and that is the quality of our teachers,” he stated.

CICE Principal, Dr Anne Lodge, praised the graduates’ achievements and said that they couldn’t have done it without the support of their families. She added that the college staff were also there for the students. She thanked each one of the graduates for what they had brought to college life and said that they were the last of the old B.Ed group.

The Carlisle and Blake Award for the student who achieves the highest mark in theory and teaching practice was presented to Samuel Ross from Drimoleague, County Cork by Ms Kavanagh.

The Vere Foster Medal for the student who achieved the highest marks in teaching practice and curriculum areas was presented to Clair Baxter from Letterkenny, County Donegal, by Mr O’Sullivan.

The Governors’ Prize for contribution to the life of the college was presented to Samuel Ross by Archbishop Michael Jackson, chairman of the board. Runner up prizes were presented to Philip Thompson from Portlaoise, County Laois and Louise Hanbidge from Stratford–on–Slaney, County Wicklow.

Photo captions –

Top: The Class of 2014 – CICE’s B.Ed graduates.

Bottom: Brendan O’Sullivan, former President of INTO; Noreen Kavanagh of the Department of Education and Skills; Archbishop Michael Jackson, Chairman of the Board of Governors of CICE; Canon Neil McEndoo, CICE Chaplain; and Dr Anne Lodge, Principal of CICE.

Trinity College Chapel Community Says Farewell to Revd Darren McCallig

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Darren McCalligThe Revd Darren McCallig bade farewell to the community of Trinity College Chapel this morning (Sunday December 7). After seven years as Dean of Residence and Church of Ireland Chaplain of Trinity College, Dublin, Darren is moving to Denmark to become the Chaplain of St Alban’s in Copenhagen in the Diocese of Europe. 

Before a congregation filled with family, friends and well wishers, Darren preached his last sermon as chaplain. It also happened to be the last in the ‘By the Book’ series which has been running in the chapel this term and has featured addresses by visiting speakers who highlighted books that had influenced their lives.

The volume he chose to speak on was God Is Not A Christian by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the chaplain recalled the morning that Archbishop Tutu joined them in Trinity College Chapel for Morning Prayer on February 17 2009. 

He suggested that God Is Not A Christian contained three central convictions which Archbishop Tutu held dear and which he hoped had been central to the Trinity College Chaplaincy over the last seven years also.

The first conviction is the belief that we are all God’s children and therefore we are all, without exception, of equal worth and dignity. Discrimination of any type – racism, sexism or homophobia – is unacceptable and opposing discrimination is a matter of justice and love, the preacher said. 

The second conviction is the belief that God is bigger than any religion and no faith, even the Christian faith, could ever encompass God.

The third conviction is that this is a moral universe in which justice and love will have the last word over injustice and hate. 

The sermon received a round of applause. Podcasts of all the addresses given in the ‘By the Book’ series are available on the Chaplaincy website at www.tcd.ie/chaplaincy 

Darren McCalligTributes flowed to the departing chaplain at a reception in the Public Theatre after the service. 

Darren said that being Chaplain of Trinity College Dublin was the best job in the Church of Ireland citing the beautiful chapel, fabulous choir, the opportunity to cross borders and working with wonderful people. He thanked the many people who had contributed to his enjoyment of the job.

Dr Kerry Houston, Director of Chapel Music at TCD, said that Darren would be greatly missed but the time was right for him to move. He said Darren had brought a huge breadth of visiting speakers to the chapel pulpit and drew together the many strands of their addresses with his own thoughtful sermons. He also praised Darren’s attention to detail, the fellowship he brought to the chaplaincy and the help he gave to students. He warned him that taking a post abroad would mean that the chapel choir was going to follow him and said he could expect to see them in Copenhagen. He wished Darren and his wife, Analise, every success in the future. 

Senator Sean Barrett added his voice to the tributes and presented Darren with a Trinity College tie, which while he had never seen him wearing a tie, was a symbol of the ties that bound them together.

Photo captions:

Top – The Revd Darren McCallig and his wife, Analise, with their family, friends and well wishers.

Bottom – Brian Conry, the Revd Darren McCallig and Fr Paddy Gleeson following Darren’s last service as Dean of Residence in TCD.

 

Keys to Refurbished Donnybrook and Irishtown Vicarage Handed Over

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Donnybrook IrishtownThere was an afternoon of celebration in the parishes of Donnybrook and Irishtown as the keys of the newly refurbished vicarage were handed over to the Vicar, the Revd John Marchant. The beautifully refurbished house was dedicated by Archbishop Michael Jackson.

The vicarage now boasts new wiring and plumbing, new doors, a new kitchen and utility room and a new office. Insulation has been installed along with solar panels and water butts and outside, substantial landscaping has taken place.

Before handing over the keys, Archbishop Jackson thanked parishioners and neighbours for coming along to have a look at the work which he said was carried out to a very high standard.

He said the refurbished vicarage was the expression of the coming together of the two parishes of Donnybrook and Irishtown as it is shared by both parishes. He thanked the parishioners of taking the leap of faith needed to undertake the refurbishment. He also thanked the Vicar for the work he had done both in the current parishes and in the past.

Donnybrook IrishtownJohn said that the refurbished building represented a total transformation from the cold and unloved building it had been. He paid tribute to all involved in the refurbishment project and thanked in particular Nick Jones and Grace Dempsey, the two parishioners who had overseen the work.

“This [the vicarage] is a vote of confidence for the future of these two parishes,” the Vicar said. “It is something that we have in common and we have an office here where we can come together to see what else we have in common.”

Photo captions:

Top – The Revd John Marchant and Archbishop Michael Jackson.

Bottom – Nick Jones and Grace Dempsey.

Peata Carol Service Fills Christ Church Cathedral With Joyful Barks

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Peata Carol ServiceMore than 100 therapy dogs attended the annual Peata Carol Service in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. The dogs, along with their owners and many people who benefit from their visits, filled the cathedral for the service which featured the Christ Church Girls’ Choir, directed by Ian Keatley. Their voices contrasted with the barking which accompanied the favourite carols.

Throughout the service, the canine visitors were very well behaved with just a few harsh barks exchanged. Many dressed up for the occasion with a nod to festive fashion for the doggy world. The high point was the pet blessing which was given by Dean Dermot Dunne. He prayed for the continued work of the therapy dogs and gave thanks for the joy they bring to those people they visit.

Peata Carol ServiceThe collection this year was divided between Peata and the Peter McVerry Trust and the Dean said he was delighted that people were finally waking up to the plight of the homeless in the city. He thanked the Girls’ Choir for taking time off school to be present.

Peata is a voluntary organisation which provides a pet therapy service to caring institutions. Its visiting scheme involves approved volunteers and their dogs who generally pay weekly visits. The carol service is organised annually by Lesley Rue.

Photo captions:

Top – Dean Dermot Dunne gives the pet blessing during the annual Peata Carol Service.

Bottom – One of the canine members of the congregation.


Salve Regina – A Series of Advent–tide Services Sung by Peregryne

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PeregryneAppropriate to Advent, Peregryne, the vocal ensemble directed by Dr Stuart Kinsella, will sing a week of music reflecting on the mother of Jesus from Sundays 14 to 21 December, including four rarely heard Salve Reginas by composers of the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

Consisting of three services in three Dublin churches, these will be sung at Compline on both Sunday 14 December at 17.30 in St Werburgh’s Church and on Friday 19 December at 17.30 in the medieval setting of St Audoen’s church. The series will conclude on Sunday 21 December at 15.00 with a theological and choral reflection on the mother of Jesus in St Saviour’s church, Dominick Street.

The works include both four and five part Salve Reginas by Josquin de Prez (c.1450/5–1521), and two examples from the Eton choirbook by John Browne (fl.c.1490) and William Cornysh, senior (c.1430–1502).

All are most welcome.

The poster depicts ‘Our Lady of Dublin’, the early 16th–century wooden sculpture of the Madonna and child, thought to have been taken from the Cistercian abbey of St Mary’s west of Capel Street at the Reformation, and now located in Whitefriar Street church.

Further details are available online at: www.facebook.com/peregryne

Church and Society Commission Christmas statement in support of ISPCC Childline

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Last year, the Church and Society Commission of the Church of Ireland commended the work of organisations like Christians Against Poverty and encouraged people to be particularly mindful of those who are the most vulnerable during the Christmas season. This year, we continue to encourage those in the Church to look out for ways to protect and support the vulnerable by highlighting on particular group: Childline in the Republic of Ireland. Due to a shortfall in funding, Childline’s night–time operation is under threat in 2015. 

ISPCC Childline has been operating in Ireland for 26 years and relies almost exclusively on public donations for its funding. The night–time service has grown over the last 15 years to become a critical support to children in distress. In many instances the late night calls are from children who, due to their domestic circumstances, cannot call at other times of the day. Childline currently receives 1,800 calls per day with night–time calls accounting for about 11% of volume.

Such a shortfall could have a genuinely negative impact on children and young people across the country. Perhaps you might consider a donation, as an extra gift, this Christmas? Or why not encourage a group of friends or colleagues to make a grouped donation instead of exchanging presents? Many churches have special Christmas collections – might Childline be an appropriate beneficiary this year?

Children are often the focus of Christmas, and it is hard to imagine that for many children the prospect of Christmas is filled with fear rather than hope and excitement. The work of Childline reflects in many ways the heart of incarnational pastoral care: the Ministry of Presence. Do, if you can, consider supporting such work this year.

For further information on ISPCC Childline’s emergency appeal or to donate go to:www.savechildline24.ie

Glendalough Clergy Day Takes Place in Laragh

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Glendalough ClergyClergy from the Diocese of Glendalough were in Laragh this morning for the annual Glendalough Clergy Day. Following a service in St John’s Church, Laragh, at which Archbishop Michael Jackson preached, the clergy gathered in the Wicklow Heather Restaurant for their meeting with the Archbishop and Dean Dermot Dunne. The gathering was organised by the Archdeacon of Glendalough, the Ven Ricky Rountree and was followed by lunch.

Pictured are Archdeacon Ricky Rountree (Powerscourt with Kilbride), the Revd Brian O’Reilly (Rathdrum and Derralossary with Glenealy), the Revd Roley Heaney (Dunganstown, Redcross and Conary), Canon Nigel Sherwood (Arklow, Inch and Kilbride), the Revd Ken Rue (Wicklow and Killiskey), Canon Trevor Stevenson (Crinken), the Revd Baden Stanley (Bray), Archbishop Michael Jackson, the Revd Nigel Waugh (Delgany), Dean Dermot Dunne, Canon Fred Appelbe (Rathmichael), the Revd David Mungavin (Greystones), the Revd Terry Alcock (NSM, Blessington), Canon David Moynan (Kilternan) and the Revd Leonard Ruddock (Blessington).

Community Carol Singing at the Mansion House

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Mansion House CarolsThe annual Community Carol Singing at Dublin’s Mansion House took place this afternoon. The many favourite Christmas carols were led by St Agnus’ Crumlin Community Choir and Junior Gospel Choir with support from members of the Dublin Concert Band.

Seasonal readings were given by the Lord Mayor Christy Burke, RTE political correspondent David Davin–Power, Sister Bernadette Sweeney director of St Agnes’ Community Centre for Music and the Arts, Brother Kevin Crowley of the Capuchin Day Centre and Geoffrey McMaster honorary secretary of the Dublin and Glendalough Council for Mission.

The event is organised by the Dublin and Glendalough Council for Mission and the Archdiocese Office for Evangelisation and Ecumenism and money collected goes to the Lord Mayor’s Charity Fuel Fund.

Photo caption: The organisers and readers at the Community Carol Singing with the choir on the steps of the Mansion House.

Archbishop and Lord Mayor to Launch Black Santa 2014 on Wednesday

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St Ann's ChurchCharities working with homeless people will benefit from this year’s Black Santa Sit Out at St Ann’s Church, Dawson Street. The 2014 Christmas appeal will be launched on Wednesday December 17, at 2.00 pm by the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson and the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Christy Burke.  

The annual sit out will continue right up until Christmas Eve. The Vicar of St Ann’s, Canon David Gillespie, joined by clerical colleagues from around the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough, will remain outside the city centre church from 10.00 am until 6.00 pm each day collecting money for a number of charities.

They will be joined by different choirs each lunchtime including the choirs of Castleknock NS, St James’ PS, Francis Street CBS, CUS, The Seafield Singers, the Brook Singers, Dublin Male Voice Choir, the Line Up Choir, Taney Parish Junior Choir, Kildare Place National School, Loreto College, John Scottus School, the Revenue Choir, Dublin Male Voice Choir and the Steadfast Band.

The Black Santa sit out is modeled on a similar appeal, which has been run by successive Deans of St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast for many years. It became known as the Black Santa appeal because of the long heavy black cloaks worn by the clergy to keep out the cold. This is the 14th year that the appeal has been held in Dublin and in that time almost €400,000 has been raised for local good causes.

Last year just under €30,000 was distributed to local charities, among them Trust, The Salvation Army, The Simon Community and the Peter McVerry Trust all of which work with the homeless.

Other charities supported include Protestant Aid, Barnardos, St Vincent De Paul, the Laura Lynn Foundation and Solas Project.

Commenting on the appeal, Canon Gillespie said: “I have no doubt that Dubliners will respond with their usual generosity to our annual appeal. Many people collect for us all year round and will make their annual pilgrimage to the steps of St Ann’s Church to donate knowing that every cent that we collect is handed over to the charity.

“This year, of course, the plight of the homeless has been brought to our attention in a very acute way as the result of particularly sad circumstances. In past years, a significant amount of money is handed over to charities working specifically with the homeless and this will be no different this year.”

The Vicar thanked those in St Ann’s who will help organise what is a massive undertaking in terms of extending hospitality to the choirs who will sing outside the church.

“There is a small but very faithful team of people working behind the scenes in St Ann’s preparing food, counting money, and liaising with the many choirs who participate and to them I want to express my sincere thanks. We are all busy at this time of the year and the fact that parishioners from St Ann’s are willing to set that aside and help is very gratifying indeed.”

The money raised by the appeal will be distributed at a special service in St Ann’s in the New Year.

Canon Gillespie was interviewed about Black Santa on Sunday Spirit on RTE Radio One Extra. The interview is available to listen to at this link:

http://www.rte.ie/radio/utils/radioplayer/rteradioweb.html#!type=radio&rii=%2D1%3A20697437%3A18252%3A14%2D12%2D2014%3A

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