CHURCH OF IRELAND NOTES
For Saturday 18th September 1999
From: The
RCB Library
Email: RCB Library
Official Re-Opening of Church of Ireland House
On Tuesday the re-furbished administrative headquarters of the Church
of Ireland, Church of Ireland House in Rathmines, will be officially
re-opened and re-dedicated by the Archbishops of Armagh and Dublin in
the presence of the members of the Representative Church Body and the
Standing Committee of the General Synod.
The Church's administration moved from 52 St Stephen's Green to a new
purpose built headquarters, off Church Avenue in Rathmines, in November
1969, and was joined there in 1981 by the Dublin Diocesan Office which
was moved from the Synod Hall. The building has served the Church of
Ireland and the Diocese of Dublin well but in recent years the
requirements of modern administration and the demands of health and
safety legislation have combined to make the need for a major re-furbishment
essential.
The interior of the building has been completely re-ordered to
provide a more congenial and more efficient working environment for the
staff and for the bishops, clergy and laity who meet there to order the
Church's affairs. In addition, the installation of a lift and the
provision of extended reception and waiting facilities are welcome
developments. The opportunity has also been taken to create
self-contained accommodation for the Diocese of Dublin within the
building but with a separate entrance.
Following on the development of new diocesan offices in Cork and
Belfast and the improvements in the facilities in the Theological
College and the RCB Library in recent years, the re-furbishment of
Church of Ireland House is another welcome example of investment in the
Church's future.
Today (Saturday) the Meath and Kildare Diocesan Synod will be held at
Wilson's Hospital, Multyfarnham, where a visitor will be Canon Bob Fyffe
from the Diocese of St Andrew's with which Meath and Kildare is twinned.
In Holy Trinity Church, Drumbo, the Fellowship of Contemplative Prayer
will have a Quiet Day led by the Dean of Raphoe, Dr Stephen White, while
in Dublin the conference and AGM of the Association of Inter-Church
Families will be held in Taney Parish Centre. In Christ Church
Cathedral, Dublin, at 8.00 p.m. there will be a concert by the
Heidelberg Chamber Orchestra.
Tomorrow (Sunday) RTE will broadcast Morning Service from Arklow, Co.
Wicklow, where the rector is the Revd Nigel Sherwood. In St Patrick's
Cathedral, Dublin, the annual RAF Association Service will be held while
in St Brigid's Cathedral, Kildare the former Bishop of Connor, Dr Samuel
Poyntz, will preach at the Friends of the Cathedral Festival.
In Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, there will be two ordinations.
The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Walton Empey, will ordain Roy Byrne to the
diaconate, to serve in the cathedral group of parishes, and will raise
the Revd Peter Smyth, curate of Stillorgan and Blackrock, to the
priesthood. On Wednesday from 4.00 p.m., a vigil, organised by Debt
Coalition, will begin outside Government Buildings, keeping up the
pressure for the cancellation of world debt. Many Church of Ireland
members have already signed the Debt Cancellation petition presented in
Cologne last June, and it is hoped that parish groups will take part in
the vigil which will continue into Thursday.
On Thursday the Tuam, Killala and Achonry Diocesan Synod will be held
in the Synod Hall in Tuam while in St Saviour's Church, Arklow, the
Dublin and Glendalough Mothers' Union Festival Service will take place.
In Donaghmore, Co. Tyrone, the Archbishop of Armagh will institute the
Revd Shane Forster to the incumbency while the Revd Leslie Stevenson
will be instituted to the incumbency of Portarlington union of parishes
by the Bishop of Meath and Kildare.
In St Macartin's Parochial Hall, Enniskillen, the Clogher Diocesan
Synod will take place on Friday. The Dublin and Glendalough Diocesan
Service for Primary and Secondary Schools will be held in Christ Church
Cathedral where the address will be given by Ms Suzanne Harris, Lay
Chaplain to Newpark Comprehensive School.
Church of Ireland Notes appear in the Irish
Times whose web site may be found at
http://www.ireland.com/ |
