CHURCH OF IRELAND NOTES
For Saturday 2nd December 2000
From: The RCB
Library
Email: RCB Library
Advent Preparations
For many in the Church, who are increasingly disillusioned by the
relentless 'de-christianization' of Christmas, the season of Advent is
altogether more agreeable. Free from commercial hype and relatively
unaffected by seasonal frenzy it still manages to retain that sense of
quiet and ordered preparation which is central to its purpose to prepare
for the coming of Christ. Advent, in the western Church, is no longer
observed with the same strictness as Lent there is no fasting but the
use of purple as the liturgical colour emphasises the solemnity of the
season.
This is apparent also in the music and liturgy which will occupy the
faithful in cathedrals and parish churches tomorrow (Sunday), the
first day of Advent. A feature of such services, and particularly those
in the two Dublin cathedrals and in the parish church of St Bartholomew,
will be candlelight processions symbolising the progression from
darkness into light. Indeed those in Dublin can enjoy a feast of Advent
music beginning at 3.15 pm in St Patrick's, continuing at 5.00 pm in
Christ Church, and concluding at 7.00 pm in St Bartholomew's.
Today (Saturday) the Annual Sale in support of St Luke's Home,
Castle Road, Mahon, Cork will be held, and this evening in St Patrick's
Cathedral, Dublin, the Guinness Choir and Orchestra will perform Bach's Mass
in B Minor.
Tomorrow (Sunday) the preacher at the Advent Eucharist in the
Chapel of Trinity College, Dublin, will be Dr Colum Kenny, Senior
Lecturer in Media in Dublin City University, and during the liturgy an
Ethiopian processional cross will be hallowed. In St Canice's Cathedral,
Kilkenny, at 4.00 pm the Bishop of Cashel and Ossory, the Rt Revd John
Neill, will ordain the Revd Stella Durand to the priesthood. Lady Durand
has been curate in Kiltegan since last April. The ever popular
"Messiah for All", with the Dun Laoghaire Choral Society, will
begin in Monkstown Parish Church at 8.00 pm.
On Wednesday the Collegiate Church of St Nicholas, Galway, will
celebrate its patronal festival while in Christ Church, Clifden there
will be a recital by the celebrated pianist, Barry Douglas. In the
Chapel of the Tallaght Hospital there will be a Carol Service, beginning
at 4.30 pm, at which all are welcome. The Culwick Coral Society and the
Orchestra of St Cecelia will perform Handel's Messiah in St
Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, on Wednesday and Thursday evenings.
Today (Saturday), a major international conference on the
origin and development of the four Gospels and on the wider context of
early Christian literature and readership will begin in the Chester
Beatty Library in Dublin. In association with this conference the Abbot
of Glenstal, the Rt Revd Christopher Dillon, has opened an exhibition
entitled, "The Word and Its Beginning the Origin of the Fourfold
Gospel". This will offer an opportunity to view important biblical
papyri from the Chester Beatty collections dating back to c. AD
150 as well as material on loan from other collections including the
Vatican. The exhibition will continue until 28 January 2001.
Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, has announced that the Guinness
Organ Scholarship is available for the academic year 2001/2002. This
scholarship is intended for organ students wishing to gain experience in
all aspects of cathedral music, either before or after their college
course. The Cathedral is also offering choral scholarships in all voices
(SATB) for the academic year 2001/2002. A tutor's position, which may be
held in conjunction with a scholarship is also on offer. Details may be
had from the Music Secretary, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin 8
(telephone 671 2426, fax 679 8991).
Church of Ireland Notes appear in the Irish
Times whose web site may be found at http://www.ireland.com/ |
