Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’
Access challenges
One of the enduring challenges with church buildings is that of access. At its most basic, this as about arranging to have buildings open outside the normal hours of worship but with
scattered rural communities and busy inner city locations this may not be as simple as it might appear. Most churches do not have permanent staff, apart from the clergy, while the recruitment of volunteers is rarely straightforward The days of leaving a key for unsupervised visitors in the shop next door are probably over and there needs to be a positive engagement with local communities which would benefit from the visitor potential of open churches.
There is also a wider dimension to access – how to safely navigate buildings and their surrounds, especially for those with impairments. Christ Church cathedral, Dublin, is currently recruiting volunteers for an access focus group, The cathedral and the grounds will undergo a full access audit next month and as part of the project the cathedral wishes to recruit a group of up to twelve volunteers with different access needs. The group will help Christ Church assess its current access provisions and provide vital advice on how to improve them. Further details may be had by contacting ruth.kenny@christchurch.ie
The Church’s online listing of places of worship – which can be found at www.ireland.anglican.org/find–a–church – shows locations in every county with the help of Google maps, and links into the Gloine record of stained glass windows which give a sense of views from the inside and how each building is laid out.
The 2024 Kildare Choral and Organ Festival, in St Brigid’s cathedral, marks the 1500th anniversary of the death of St Brigid with a range of performances from acclaimed women musicians in Ireland. The second night of the Festival takes place this evening at 7.30pm, with a choral performance from the celebrated Irish female vocal ensemble, Dulciana. Since its very inception, part of Dulciana’s mission has been the promotion of music by female composers, both those neglected by history, and those currently making history. They are particularly firm supporters of contemporary female Irish composers. Tickets can be purchased online on Eventbrite or at the door on the night of the concerts. Further details may be had at https://stbrigidscathedral.com
Tomorrow (Saturday) the choir of Christ Church cathedral, Dublin, directed by Tom Little, will begin a short tour in England where they will sing in Southwark cathedral and York Minster.
Sunday will be one of the few occasions in the year when the pulpit in St Patrick’s cathedral, will be occupied by the Dean, Dr William Morton. The celebration of the Eucharist will begin at 11.15am
The lunchtime organ recitals at St Fin Barre’s cathedral, Cork, continue on Friday at 1.10pm when Jack Wilson, from St Anne’s cathedral, Belfast, will play works by American composers: Dan Locklair, Leo Sowerby and Charles Ives.
Published in the Friday edition of The Irish Times