Irish Times Notes27 Jan 24

Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’

St Brigid celebrated

On Thursday churches across Kildare and beyond will come together to participate in a special ecumenical service at 11.00am in St Brigid’s cathedral – ‘Celebrating St Brigid. Brigid 1500: A Service of Thanksgiving’.

This service is dedicated to commemorating the 1500th anniversary of St Brigid’s death and will take place on her Feast Day, Lá Fhéile Bríde. It promises an uplifting experience through music, prayer, and worship. Livestreaming of the service will be available worldwide. The co–leaders of this thanksgiving service are the Most Revd Denis Nulty, Roman Catholic Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin, and the Most Revd Patricia Storey, Church of Ireland Bishop of Meath & Kildare.  Canon Alison Joyce, Rector of St Bride’s church, Fleet Street, London, will deliver the sermon.

The service will also feature the leaders of the three local churches in Kildare town, Dean Isobel Jackson (St Brigid’s Cathedral), Fr Andy Leahy (St Brigid’s parish church) and Fr TC Antony (Carmelite church). At the end of the service, a Pause for Peace will be observed in the Cathedral at 12 noon. It will be introduced by Sr Rita Minehan from the Brigidine Sisters. This will be aligning with a broader initiative whereby the people of Kildare are extending a global invitation, urging individuals worldwide to pause for a minute’s silence at midday (local time) on St Brigid’s Day, the 1st of February.

Commenting on the service, Bishop Pat Storey said: “We are delighted to be a part of the Brigid 1500 celebrations which highlight the Christian heritage and living faith of many in this land. We are partners in the gospel alongside every believer as we remember the wonderful legacy of Brigid.”

Kildare County Council has extended a warm invitation to the community and visitors alike to participate in the Brigid 1500 Programme and celebrate the life and legacy of St Brigid throughout 2024. For more information and updates on the programme, please visit www.brigid1500.ie and all Brigid 1500 social media channels.

Today (Saturday) the  Bishop of Cork, Cloyne & Ross, the Rt Revd Paul Colton,  will hold s Vigil of Thanksgiving with prayers for Vocation and Ministries in Cork, Cloyne & Ross in St Colman’s cathedral, Cloyne, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with an invitation to join the Bishop, for part or all of the short vigil.

Tomorrow (Sunday) Dr Colton intends to mark the eve of the 25th anniversary of his election as a bishop by celebrating the Eucharist for The Presentation of Christ in the Temple in his home church, Holy Trinity, Frankfield, Cork.

Holy Communion will be celebrated as Gaeilge, in Christ Church cathedral tomorrow (Sunday) at 11.00am. Canon Gary Hastings will be the celebrant at the Service in honour of St Brigid and the preacher will be the Revd Professor Anne Lodge. Cór Chúil Aodha, under the direction of Peadar Ó Riada, will provide the music and choir. Fáilte roimh chách/ everyone is welcome to attend.

A new source for the study of St Brigid has recently been published. Two Lives of St Brigid has been edited and translated by Philip Freeman and is available from Four Courts Press.

Relatively few Church of Ireland churches are dedicated to St Brigid – Doagh, Drummaul and Mallusk in the Diocese of Connor, Kiltubride in Ardagh, Castleknock and Stillorgan in Dublin, There are two Kilbrides in the Diocese of Glendalough. In Meath there are the churches of Mount Nugent and Clara, in Ferns there is Kilrush and in Leighlin, Ballintubbert.