Parish News Archives - March 2008

Rector Writes | Readings & Services | From the Registers | Organisation Reports | Announcements | Other News

Rector Writes

Dear Friends,

Mel Gibson’s film “The Passion of the Christ” has been condemned in many quarters - too gory, too Catholic, among other things. But the film does serve a purpose. First of all, he has reminded us of how terrible crucifixion and the tortures that often accompanied it really were. The Romans had lots of "nice" ways of executing criminals. Crucifixion was reserved for the lowest of the low, when Rome needed an over-the-top deterrent. In fact crucifixion was so repugnant that civilized Romans rarely even spoke of it. We Christians, on the contrary, have become so used to speaking about crucifixion that we tend to miss its horror. We can now understand why the message of the cross sounded so foolish to first-century Jewish and Greek listeners. They weren't crazy to think that a real God would have nothing to do with crucifixion, let alone suffer it.

The good news of the crucified Saviour is still regarded as folly by many in today's world. We can too easily forget the folly of the cross. We can also trivialize the perplexing paradox that God became human in Jesus, "and being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:7-8). "Even death on a cross!" This is indeed a stumbling block, in Greek, a skandalon. Jesus didn't only subject himself to death, but to one of the worst kinds of death imaginable.

Why do we Christians need to recover a sense of the scandal of the cross? For one thing, it helps us realize the depths to which God is willing to stoop in order to save us. This leads us to wonder, gratitude, and humble worship (Philippians 2:7-11). Moreover, it is only when we grasp the true meaning of the cross - including its scandal - that we'll be ready to communicate the full gospel of God to people who do not yet believe.

As a Christian community, I believe that it is vital that we try to experience Holy Week as best we can. We ask our organizations to stop meeting during this week, because it is absolutely central to our Christian faith, and we all need to make the effort to attend worship as often as possible. Our services are listed elsewhere in this magazine, but I would encourage you to come as many evenings as you can spare. Only if we experience Good Friday, can we really understand the joy of Easter.

On a personal note I would like to thank everyone involved in the care of parishes over the last year. Our new select vestries are due to be elected, with many new churchwardens. Thank you to all of them for their hard work since Easter 2007.

Yours in Christ

Andrew

From the Registers

Holy Baptism:

Christian Marriage:

Funeral:

In Memorium:

Organisations Reports

Boys’ Brigade
A great night was had by all at our annual supper dance. Many thanks to all who supported us and to all the organisers.

Janet Seaman

Mothers’ Union
Our next meeting takes place on 3rd March, as we hear “The Armchair Traveller’s Guide to Dublin”. Our AGM takes place on 7th April.

Susan Green

Announcements

Lent Course:
Our Lent course continues this year with “The Bible from Scratch”; a chance for everyone to get an overview of the whole sweep of the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. Thursday nights in Castleknock Parish Centre at 8pm sharp. All welcome!

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity:
This week was marked by a special service in Our Lady, Mother of the Church in Castleknock. Rev. Andrew spoke on the imperative of Unity, while Members of the congregation were invited to light a candle at one of three “stations” marking their commitment to Welcome, Care for the Earth and Justice & Peace. Thank you to Lillian Arlow and Sam McKeever, among others, for taking part. In our annual pulpit swap, Andrew spoke in St. Brigid’s Blanchardstown, while we welcomed Fr. Tony O’Riordan, chaplain in Blanchardstown Hospital, as our preacher.

Hospice for Hospitals:
Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown has been chosen as one of the pioneering hospitals for the “Hospice for Hospitals” project. This aims to bring the hospice ethos of “dying well” into mainstream hospitals, by training staff in the needs of the dying and their families, and providing adequate private space for all that is required in the many different religious traditions.

Mulhuddart News:
Many thanks to Andrew Glenn-Craigie and his team, (ably assisted by parishioners!) who replanted the hedging at St. Thomas’. Some larger trees had had to be removed as they had become dangerous, and others had become damaged in the road widening scheme. Some 150 beech, hornbeam and holly saplings were planted in the gaps.

Support Christian Aid in Lent:
It's not too late to pick up one of the Christian Aid Collection Boxes and support their work during what remains of Lent!

Holy Week:
Our theme this year in Holy Week will be “Lost: Discover the Secret…..”, in which Andrew will look at the meaning of the cross for us today. Services will be held every morning in St. Brigid’s at 7.30am, and in the evening at 8pm.

On Maundy Thursday, we will begin the great three days at the heart of the Christian faith, marking the Last Supper with a special Eucharist at 8pm in St. Brigid’s. On Good Friday, we will observe the Last Hour on the Cross in St. Mary’s at 2pm, and the Memorial of the Cross is at 8pm in St. Brigid’s.

Easter begins with The Easter Egg Hunt in St. Thomas’ at 5.30pm, followed by the Easter Vigil and Easter fire at 6.30pm. Everyone is welcome!

Our Easter services are at the usual Sunday times, and we hope that there will be a Dawn Service once again in the Phoenix Park at the Papal Cross.

Coming up in March and beyond:
St. Patrick’s Day will be observed on Saturday 15th March with a Service in St. Brigid’s at 10.30am.

Castleknock Easter Vestry: Sunday March 9th
Clonsilla Easter Vestry: Sunday March 30th

7th April at 8pm: Mothers’ Union AGM.

18th April: Girls' Brigade Display

25th April: Boys' Brigade Display

30th April: Another of our very popular Flower evenings organised by Dorothy Robinson. Tickets on sale from the parish office from early April.

25th May: Confirmation

Other News

Easter Vestries

Castleknock: Sunday March 9th
Clonsilla: Sunday March 30th

These are triennial year elections when Parochial Nominators and Diocesan Synod Reps are elected. Please do attend.

Confirmation 2008

This year ten of our young people will be confirmed by the Archbishop on Sunday 25th May at 11 a.m. in St. Brigid’s Church, Castleknock.

If any adult who has not been confirmed would also like to be presented for Confirmation at this service, please contact Rev. Elaine as soon as possible.

Questions and answers about Holy Week

What is Holy Week?
Holy Week is the final week of Lent. It commemorates the events of our Lord's last week before His death. The chief festivals of Holy Week are Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Great Vigil (Holy Saturday). Holy Week, together with Easter, is the most sacred part of the Christian calendar - the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

What is Palm Sunday?
Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter. On this day, Jesus, accompanied by His disciples, entered the city of Jerusalem in triumph (Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-44; and John 12:12-19). An enthusiastic crowd greeted Jesus by spreading palm branches along the road and shouting Hosanna, a Hebrew expression meaning "save us." The throng hailed Jesus as the "Son of David," the Messiah promised long ago by God. Services on Palm Sunday traditionally begin with a joyful procession into the sanctuary. Worshipers often carry palm leaves or wear crosses made of palm.

What is the Sunday of the Passion?
Palm Sunday is sometimes called the Sunday of the Passion because our Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem marked the beginning of His great and final humiliation - His suffering and brutal death on the cross to atone for the sins of the world. When Palm Sunday is observed as the Sunday of the Passion, worship services traditionally feature the reading of the entire passion narrative from one of the synoptic gospels (Matthew 26:14-27:66; Mark 14:1-15:47; and Luke 22:1-23:56). The passion account from the gospel of John is customarily reserved for Good Friday.

What is the Triduum?
The most solemn and joyful celebration of the Christian calendar is the period from Maundy Thursday through to Easter Morning. Worship on these days or evenings are traditionally considered to be parts of an unbroken liturgical service called the Triduum (Latin for "Three Days"). In the earliest days of the Christian church, the events we commemorate in the Triduum were celebrated in one day and night's continuous worship service called the Pascha (from the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew word for "Passover").

What is Maundy Thursday?
The first part of the Triduum begins on the evening of Maundy Thursday (also called Holy Thursday), during which Christians recall the events that took place the night Jesus was betrayed. The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke concentrate on the institution of the Lord's Supper (Matthew 26:20-30; Mark 14:17-26; and Luke 22:14-35). The gospel of John focuses instead on the Lord's final teachings to His disciples, dramatically punctuated by His washing of their feet (John 13-17). The word "maundy" is derived from the Latin phrase mandatum novum, meaning "new commandment." It refers to the Lord's words to His apostles as recorded in John 13:34: “A new command I give you: love one another.”

Some congregations reenact the foot-washing ritual on this evening. However, the true climax of Maundy Thursday worship is the celebration of the Lord's Supper. This night is the "anniversary" of the sacrament and therefore a memorable event, even in churches that celebrate Holy Communion every Sunday. After the sacrament has ended, the stripping of the altar takes place. The ministers and several assistants remove all vessels, crosses, books, candles, linens, banners, and other decorations from the altar and chancel area. This ancient ritual is a powerful and dramatic reenactment of the Lord's humiliation at the hands of the Roman soldiers. As the altar is being stripped, Psalm 22 or Psalm 88, portions of the Old Testament containing clear prophecies of Christ's suffering, is said. The altar, left bare, is transformed from the communion table of Maundy Thursday into the tomb slab of Good Friday.

What is Good Friday?
Good Friday, the second day of the Triduum, is the solemn remembrance of Jesus' death on the cross. The English designation of "Good Friday" is apparently a corruption of "God's Friday," although the term is a very fitting one since the Lord's death was for our eternal good.

Good Friday worship is marked by austerity and silence. The music of keyboards and other instruments is minimized or eliminated altogether. The altar, completely stripped, is normally not used. Instead, one or more lecterns or reading desks serve as the focal points of the service. The passion narrative from the gospel of John (John 18:1-19:42) is traditionally the appointed text for this day. The people then disperse in silence.

In spite of the solemnity of Good Friday worship, it is not a funeral service for Jesus. It is rather a time of quiet and serious contemplation on His great saving work.

What is the Great Vigil of Easter?
The third and final day of the Triduum is the Great Vigil, leading to Easter morning. The Great Vigil was for many centuries the most important festival of the entire church year. The Great Vigil is made up of four separate but connected worship services. First, The Vigil begins with the Service of Readings. The ministers and lectors read several portions of the Old Testament that tell of God's wonderful acts of deliverance in the history of Israel. Then, there is the service of Light. At this service, a dramatic reversal of the Good Friday Service of Darkness takes place. The congregation waits in the darkness in the church. All are given unlighted candles. The presiding pastor kindles a small fire, a symbol of the pillar of fire that guided the Israelites out of Egypt by night (Exodus 13:21-22). From this fire, the paschal candle, a large white candle symbolizing the presence of the risen Lord, is lit. The worshipers light their candles from this candle. A candle bearer then takes it up and places it in its stand by the altar. A beautiful and ancient song known in Latin as the Exsultet is said or sung.

The Renewal of Baptismal vows is the third part of the Great Vigil. All assembled worshipers recite the Apostles’ Creed, the creed traditionally associated with the sacrament of Holy Baptism.

The climax of the Great Vigil is the Service of Holy Communion on Sunday morning. The presiding pastor greets the congregation with the ancient greeting: Alleluia! Christ is risen! The congregation replies: He is risen indeed! Alleluia! All join in singing the Gloria in Excelsis ("Glory in the highest"), a hymn that has not been sung in church since the last Sunday after Epiphany.

The Holy Week festivals are wonderful and unique services that gather God's people together to celebrate the great paschal mystery - Jesus Christ's passage from death to life for our salvation.

Forgiveness

By request from a number of people, we print extracts from Andrew’s sermon preached on Ash Wednesday 2008.

RECENTLY I got a postcard from South Africa. It shows Nelson Mandela's cell on Robben Island, South Africa's Alcatraz for leaders of the anti-apartheid movement in the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s. The tiny cell may be fifty square feet, with a bucket in the corner and next to it, neatly rolled up, a thin straw mat to use for sleeping on the concrete floor. That was Mandela's home for 19 of the 27 years he spent in prison.

Most of us generally assume that horror and suffering harden souls, and understandably so. In most places, the response to violence and oppression is revenge and more suffering, a cycle of retribution – think of Ireland, the Balkans, the Middle East, Rwanda. Mandela, however, broke the cycle. He could have exacted just about any kind of retribution on his oppressors, but he rose above them and promoted forgiveness and reconciliation.

Numerous others did so as well. Another anti-apartheid leader, Malusi Mpluana, an Anglican priest, was jailed and tortured. His torments included the 'helicopter', that is being spun in circles while hanging horizontally from the ceiling with his hands shackled behind him to his ankles. While enduring the 'helicopter', Malusi was converted to non-violence. Incomprehensible? Not if you are a Christian.

South Africa's incredible transformation is the power of forgiveness. Archbishop Desmond Tutu developed this theme in his book “No Future Without Forgiveness”. He tells the story of the Americans Peter and Linda Biehl. Their daughter Amy, a long time anti-apartheid activist, was stoned to death while giving fellow students a ride home to a black township. She was tragically killed, Tutu writes, 'by the people whose cause she espoused'. The Biehls attended the amnesty application hearing of their daughter's killers, where [the Biehls] embraced the families of the murderers. With exceptional largesse, they later established a foundation to aid young people in the town where Amy was killed.

That's love breaking the cycle of revenge and retribution. Incomprehensible? Outrageous? Unjust? Absurd? Or Christian? Jesus teaches us, "Love your enemies", a radical, dangerous command that challenges and offends every one of us. Peter asked, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" And Jesus replied, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven." (Mt. 18:21-22) In other words, forgive continuously. Forgiveness must always abide in our hearts, because forgiveness is always in the divine heart.

When we hold grudges against other people, it destroys us – makes us small, mean, unpleasant, unhappy people. If nothing else, we ought to forgive others for our own spiritual health and well-being, for our own freedom and liberation. We should forgive out of selfishness if nothing else. But we often like grudges against other people. It makes us feel superior, morally more advanced. We feel holier than thou. So we can even begin to cherish having been wronged, or at least the feeling of having been wronged. This hardens our souls. Jesus says, "Let go of it. Try to reconcile with people." On the cross, Jesus prayed for his murderers. He called for mercy on them.

Many times a day we pray "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Forgiving other people, maturing spiritually, becomes easier when we look honestly at ourselves. We recognize our common humanity, that we all have failings and weaknesses, that we all are broken and not what we should be.

Focusing on the reality of our sin, the evil we've done, and do, is what Lent is for. But it's an opportunity, an opportunity to grow in forgiveness, to grow in love and compassion, to grow in gratitude. That begins by acknowledging some unpleasant truths about ourselves; that begins by cultivating a contrite heart.

Today we've heard Psalm 51, the quintessential penitential psalm. It should shape the way we approach and deal with sin. The psalm begins with a plea for mercy and cleansing. Then there's a confession of sin, an acknowledgment that every rotten thing we do messes up our relationship with God. What we have done and what we have left undone doesn't only hurt other people. It hurts God. Every person bears the image of God. Our sins against other people are sins against God.

But the thing to be mindful about a examination of conscience is that sin is not our whole truth. It's a part of us, but the whole point of confronting sin is so that it does not define us, so that it's not part of our identity. We want God to define us. We want Jesus to be our identity. We want to grow so that we can be capable of the kind of profound forgiving we see in the stories of Mandela and the Biehls, so that we, too, can be profoundly inspiring people. And I assure you that many such inspiring people are not sitting far from you this very moment!

St. Mary’s Church, Clonsilla – Communion Linen

The white Communion Linen set (burse, veil, cushion, pulpit fall and bible markers) in St. Mary’s Church, Clonsilla, are now very worn, to the extent that they now need to be replaced. This will cost approximately €600. Would you like to sponsor or co-sponsor this in memory of a loved one?

If so, please contact Rev. Elaine.

What does Love mean?

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?"

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." -- Rebecca- age 8
"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." -- Billy - age 4
"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." -- Karl - age 5
"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." -- Chrissy - age 6
"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." -- Terri - age 4
"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." -- Danny - age 7
"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss" -- Emily - age 8
"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." -- Tommy - age 6
"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore." -- Cindy - age 8
"My mommy loves me more than anybody You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night." -- Clare - age 6
"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." -- Chris - age 7
"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." -- Mary Ann - age 4
"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." -- Lauren - age 4
"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." (what an image) -- Karen - age 7
"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross." -- Mark - age 6
"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." -- Jessica - age 8
"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen." -- Bobby - age 7
"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate," -- Nikka - age 6
"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday." -- Noelle - age 7

Women’s Day Celebration

Join the Greater Blanchardstown Development Project with other community groups in Blanchardstown Area to Celebrate National Women’s Day
on
March 6th 2008
At Mulhuddart Community Centre.

Time: 10am - 6pm
Date: 06/03/2008
Venue: Mulhuddart Community Centre
Church Road
Dublin 15
Contact: Ann Osborne
Tel: 01-8201745/0860473990
E-mail: gbdpann@eircom.net
Price: Free of charge

Issue: Women’s Health and Family Healthy living

Introduction to Addication Studies

GREATER BLANCHARDSTOWN DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
in Conjunction with
GREATER BLANCHARDSTOWN RESPONSE TO DRUGS
and
Urrùs
Present an

INTRODUCTION TO ADDICTION STUDIES

The 4 Sessions will cover: -
Drug/Alcohol Information
Process of Addiction
Addiction & Family
Treatment Approaches / Making Referrals

Dates: Wednesday 27th Feb
Time: 7.00pm – 10.00pm
Venue: Parslickstown House

These 4 sessions are aimed at those who wish to find out more about drugs and addiction related issues. The sessions will deal with a number of areas and give participants a good basic understanding of drugs and related issues. This course is for those who wish to refresh their knowledge about drugs and gain further information.

For more information contact:

Ann Osbourne
Greater Blanchardstown Response to Drugs
Parslickstown House
Ladyswell Road
Mulhuddart
Dublin 15
01 8201745
Email: gbdpann at eircom.net

Rector Writes | Readings & Services | From the Registers | Organisation Reports | Announcements | Other News

Parishes of Castleknock and Mulhuddart with Clonsilla
Parish Office
Main Street
Castleknock
Dublin 15
Tel: 01-820 0040
Fax: 01-820 0040
E-mail: castleknock@dublin.anglican.org