Irish Times Notes03 Dec 16

Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’

Archbishop of Jerusalem’s Visit

The Archbishop of Jerusalem, the Most Revd Suheil Dawani, is continuing his visit to the dioceses of Dublin & Glendalough and in the coming week will visit several locations.

Today (Saturday) there will be an ecumenical service in Christ Church cathedral at 5.00 pm. Bishop Hovakim Manukyan, Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church of the UK & Ireland, will attend and both he and Archbishop Suheil will give reflections. The service, which is also supported by Dublin Council of Churches, will be followed by a walk to Khachkar, a memorial to those who died in the Armenian Genocide which started in 1915, in the cathedral grounds.

Tomorrow (Sunday) morning Archbishop Dawani and Archbishop Jackson will be in Nun’s Cross church while Archbishop Dawani’s chaplain, Canon David Long, will preach in Christ Church cathedral. In the afternoon at 3pm, both archbishops will bein Kenure church, Rush, for a service to mark the 150th year of the church.  Kenure church is unusual as it was part of the Kenure Estate and built by the Palmer family and is privately owned.  A nephew of Colonel Fenwick Palmer is hoping to attend this service on its special day of celebration. All most welcome to attend.

In the Church of St John the Baptist, Clontarf, on Monday at 7.30 pm, there will be a seminar entitled ‘Christians in the Middle East: their plight, and the challenge for the West’. The panel members will be: Archbishop Suheil, Fr Canon Kieran O’Mahony (Roman Catholic, Ecumenical Canon of St Patrick’s Cathedral), Georgina Copty (a Palestinian Christian living in Belfast) and the Revd Dr John Parkin (Methodist, Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel). The moderators will be Philip McKinley and the Revd Dr William Olhausen. During the seminar there will be a launch of a Pilgrimage Course Guide and two of the six intended course booklets by Archbishop Suheil Dawani. This material has been prepared by the Revd Ken Rue.

On Tuesday morning at 10.00 am the archbishops will attend Morning Prayer in St Kevin’s Church, Hollywood, and the visit will conclude on Wednesday.

Tomorrow morning at 11.10 am RTE One will broadcast a celebration of the Eucharist with the Enniscorthy union of parishes, The celebrant will be the Revd Nicola Halford. In St Patrick’s cathedral, Armagh, at 4.30pm Canon Martin White will give the 4th Theo Saunders Memorial Organ Recital. 

A service of Lessons and Carols, as Gaeilge, will take place in St. George’s Church, Belfast, tomorrow (Sunday) at 5.00pm.  The Rev Chris Mac Bhruitin, Curate in St. Macartin’s cathedral, Enniskillen, will preside and Wallace High School Honours Choir will sing carols in Irish and Latin. In St George’s on Thursday evening at 7.30 a new parish history, written by Professor Brian Walker will be launched as part of the church’s 200th anniversary celebrations. The History of St George’s Church Belfast: two centuries of faith, worship and music has been published by the Ulster Historical Foundation.

During Advent, Christ Church cathedral, Dublin, will be home to a flock of mischievous hand–knitted sheep, let loose in the aisles and side chapels to guide visitors on a pilgrimage trail in the spirit of Advent. The Sheep Trail invites pilgrims of all ages to take note of some of the cathedral’s remarkable stained glass, architectural features and art work, helping us to remember the reason why we celebrate Christmas. Parish, school and community groups are welcome to book in free of charge for a visit to the Sheep Trail; email welcome@christchurch.ie for more information.