Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’
Summer issue of Gazette
The summer issue of the Church of Ireland Gazette, which covers the months of July and August, is replete with news, comment and reflection.
Each issue of the Gazette has a feature on a particular diocese and in this issue its the Diocese of Connor. Covering a large part of north east Ulster the Diocese of Connor stretches from the River Lagan in the south to the north coast and from the River Bann in the west to the Irish Sea. It is a diocese of great contrasts encompassing most of the city of Belfast, the new city of Lisburn, the port of Larne and busy towns such as Carrickfergus and Ballymena, as well as seaside resorts like Portrush and quiet villages in the Glens of Antrim.
The Bishop of Connor, the Rt Revd George Davison, is based in Ballyclare from where he exercises his responsibility over 74 parish groupings (according to the current Church of Ireland Directory), making Connor the second largest diocese in the Church of Ireland after Down & Dromore.
This issue of the Gazette reports on the Connor Clergy Conference, events in Belfast and Lisburn cathedrals, the Connor link with Yei in South Sudan, the relocation of the North Belfast Centre of Mission to St Columba’s parish church, Whiterock, and more.
This issue carries reports of the Commissioning in Armagh Cathedral of the Ven Stephen McBride as All Ireland Mothers’ Union Chaplain, and of the Service of Thanksgiving for the former Northern Ireland football manager, Billy Bingham, in Belfast Cathedral. The Dean of Ossory, the Very Revd Stephen Farrell, previews the Kilkenny Arts Festival in which St Canice’s cathedral plays an important part, and there is an introduction to the new Master of the Music in St Anne’s cathedral, Belfast, Jack Wilson.
The Revd Maeve O’Herlihy reflects on her life as an Ordained Local Minister on Achill Island while from the centre of the city of Dublin Canon Paul Arbuthnot, Rector of St Ann’s, Dawson Street, ponders on the Christian response to instances of intolerance of immigrants. A timely feature on creation in the Church is contributed by the Church of Ireland Press Officer, Peter Cheney.
In news from the wider Church there are reports on the appointment of the Archbishop of Dublin as Co–Chair of Dialogue with Oriental Orthodox Churches, on the signing by the Anglican Consultative Council of the Faith Leaders Fossil Fuel Non–Proliferation Treaty, and of events in South Sudan and Kenya,.
The Church of Ireland Gazette is edited by Dubliner, Emma Blain. Those wishing to subscribe to the Gazette should go to gazette.ireland.anglican.org or telephone 048/028 9266 7580.
This evening (Saturday) at 6pmin St Brigid’s cathedral, Kildare, ‘East meets West – the Music of Japan & Ireland’ will be performed by Riley Lee, Hans Araki VI, Triona Marshall and Thomas Ranjo. Tickets at €15 may be had from www.eventbrite.ie. This event is part of the St Brigid’s Cathedral Choral and Organ Festival 2023.
In Dublin, tomorrow (Sunday), the 11am Eucharist and Evensong at 3.30pm in Christ Church cathedral will be sung by the Marlborough Street Consort, while in St Patrick’s cathedral there will be a Said Eucharist in the Lady Chapel at 11am.
In St Barrahane’s parish church, Castletownshend, Co. Cork, the annual Festival of Music festival continues. On Thursday at 8pm there will be a concert by Ailbhe McDonagh and Trio Elatha (Lynda O’Connor – violin, Brendan Walsh – guitar, Ailbhe McDonagh – cello) who will play a mix of Irish traditional and classical chamber music.
Published in the Saturday edition of The Irish Times