Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’
Consecration of Bishop of Derry & Raphoe
Tomorrow (Sunday) in St Patrick’s cathedral, Armagh, the Venerable Andrew Forster will be consecrated to serve as the new Bishop of Derry and Raphoe. He succeeds the Rt Revd Ken Good who retired at the end of May.
Archdeacon Forster was ordained in 1992 for the Belfast parish of Willowfield in the Diocese of Down & Dromore and was subsequently Church of Ireland Chaplain and Dean of Residence in Queen’s University, Belfast where he had been an undergraduate. In 2002 he was appointed as Rector of Drumcliffe in the Diocese of Elphin and served as Archdeacon of Elphin & Ardagh. Since 2007 he has been Rector of Drumglass (Dungannon), in the Diocese of Armagh, and Archdeacon of Ardboe since 2015.
The bishop–elect is a member of the Representative Church Body and has served on the Executive Committee and the Allocations Committee. He is also a member of the Standing Committee of the General Synod and has served on the Priorities Fund Committee.
Tomorrow (Sunday) the Archbishop of Dublin will preside and preach in Ballinatone and Castlemacadam churches in Co. Wicklow, which are part of the Castlemacadam group of parishes currently vacant following the retirement from the stipendary ministry of Canon George Butler. In the afternoon Dr Jackson will preside at the memorial service for the Revd Graham Jones which will be held in Christ Church cathedral at 3.30pm. In Limerick at 10am the Bishop of Limerick, Dr Kenneth Kearon, will preside and the Bishop of Tuam, the Rt Revd Patrick Rooke, will preach at a service in St Michael’s church to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the church’s consecration.
The historic cathedral of St Eunan’s in Raphoe will be transformed thus weekend when it is decorated with around 50 Christmas trees for a Christmas tree festival. The ‘Festival of Christmas Trees’ opened yesterday and will continue until tomorrow (Sunday). Such festivals are common in other Church of Ireland parishes but this will be the first time in its 800–year history that a Christmas tree festival will have been held in the Raphoe cathedral. All proceeds will go to the parish’s ‘Cathedral Restoration Project 2020’.
The annual Peata charity carol service and blessing of animals will be held in Christ Church cathedral, Dublin, on Tuesday at 1.15pm.
On Wednesday evening at 7.30pm the Armagh Robinson Library will host a public lecture by Dr Ian McBride, Foster Professor of Irish History in Oxford, will speak on ‘Francis Hutcheson: the Making of a Revolutionary’. The philosopher Francis Hutcheson had a profound influence on Irish Presbyterianism, the Enlightenment and the American Revolution. The lecture will explain how the different cultural traditions of Ulster, Scotland and Dublin informed Hutcheson’s influential writings. Admission is free with donations to the Library welcome.
Limerick City Parish’s series of talks leading up to Christmas continues on Friday in St Michael’s church, Pery Square, at 1pm when the speaker will be Una Burns, Head of Policy and Communications at NOVAS. These talks are aimed at all who experience overwhelming circumstances and difficulties within their lives. Each session will offer hope encouragement and perhaps a way forward. Within the talk there will be time for questions interaction and refreshments. Further information may be had from the Revd Paul Fitzpatrick on (086) 4113989.
On Saturday 14 December at 1pm the Mornington Singers will give a lunchtime concert, ‘NOEL’ in St Ann’s church, Dawson Street, Dublin.
Published in the Saturday edition of The Irish Times