Parish News Archives - September 2008

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

Rector Writes

Dear Friends in Christ,

The Lambeth Conference of bishops, which we have reflecting on in a number of sermons over the summer, concluded at the beginning of August. Over 600 bishops of the Anglican Communion were present, with about 200 staying away. Contrary to media speculation, the conference did not cause an irrevocable split in the Communion. Nor did it dissolve in a welter of recrimination and bitterness.

Instead the wise organisers split the bishop into small groups of around 40 called indaba groups. Indaba is a Zulu word for discussion leading to mutual agreement. These groups discussed many different issues – mission, justice, the bishop’s role, as well as the bugbear of human sexuality. Something remarkable seems to have come out of the process – a genuine engagement with each other’s views, a willingness to listen and a determination to remain united. “We have decided”, said one bishop, “to sit closer to God and give each other space for true understanding and honest resolution.” Another said, “It is a recall to basic gospel principles. Jesus didn’t start a political movement or issue books of rules — he made friends.”

This is so much more productive than the grandstanding, name calling and cheap abuse that has been the hallmark of much of the debate up to now. It is truly a movement of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of much prayer and the inspirational willingness of all to listen and work together. What can we all learn from those bishops in our own conflicts?

In the parish, we are beginning a new year of service and care for one another. This year may produce many changes in our parish life, but the essential work of the church will carry on: the worship of Almighty God, care for one another, deepening our life of prayer, understanding the bible more deeply and spreading the gospel to others. Thank you to all of you who work for the good of the parish in many many different ways – well over 100 at the last count. We are all blessed by the work of so many – no matter what our contribution, everyone serves to bring forward God’s kingdom. There can be no better reward than that.

Yours in His service

From the Registers

Holy Baptism:

Christian Marriage:

Funeral:

In Memorium:

Organisations Reports

Mothers’ Union
MU resumes with our first meeting “Beetling About” on Monday 8th September. The annual opening service takes place on Sunday 14th September in St. Mary’s, Clonsilla when the preacher will be Rev. Aisling Shine. On 28th September, a christening shawl for use at baptisms will be presented in memory of Pearl Nason. New members will be very welcome.

Susan Green

Announcements

Trip to Oakwood:
19 members of the youth club and leaders departed at 4.15am to catch the 8.00am ferry from Rosslare to Fishguard. From there they journeyed to Oakwood theme park in South Wales to ride the rollercoasters, scream on the ghost train and generally have a wonderful day out, on one of the few decent days of the summer. The exhausted party arrived home again around midnight! Many thanks to the leaders and to all who came on the trip: we’ll definitely go again next year!

Sympathy:
Our prayers and sympathy are with Stella Obe on the death of her son’s father.

Farewell:
A little unexpectedly, we are saying farewell to teacher Shirley Hill as leaves to take up a new post in Kells, closer to home. We thank her for all her many contributions to the school.

Parish Bar-B-Q:
A parish barbeque will take place in St. Mary’s, Clonsilla at 12 noon on 14th September. Everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy the food and company. Hopefully the weather will co-operate!

Harvest:
The annual Mulhuddart harvest thanksgiving takes place on Sunday 28th September at 3.30pm, when the preacher will be Rev. Gary Dowd, rector of Glenageary. Refreshments afterwards, and all as always are welcome.

Sunday Clubs:
Castleknock and Clonsilla Sunday clubs begin on Sunday 21st September.

Other News

What is Safeguarding Trust?

The Church’s child protection code has been in place for a decade. This means that the thousands of children using Church of Ireland premises for worship and other activities, such as Sunday schools, youth organisations and clubs, are protected from all kinds of abuse, and that parishes are consciously promoting their general safety and welfare.

Our children’s ministry is also only possible because of the commitment of adults who are prepared to work with children and who have been selected, appointed and trained to feel confident that their practices are good and that they are protected from unfounded allegations.

Child protection is however an area of constant development. The church has moved to include it in its constitution and this has placed a requirement on bishops and dioceses to ensure that Safeguarding Trust shall be implemented and adhered to throughout the Church of Ireland as an integral part of the church’s ministry with children.
Child protection officers have been put in place in each jurisdiction to advise on and provide training, to assist the work of the diocesan evaluation teams and to provide advice and direction in relation to any necessary report about a concern, suspicion or allegation.

In the Republic there have been significant changes in legislation which must be taken into account in training. Access to the Garda vetting service has now been provided to the Church as a voluntary body providing services to children and to the schools at both primary and post-primary levels. Each diocese is providing, on an ongoing basis, opportunities for training both those who work with children and panel members. A power point presentation and training materials are available to assist with such training.

A new edition of the Code has been presented in a user-friendly loose-leaf folder to each parish. Parishes will be able to photocopy relevant sections including specific guidance to assist those undertaking particular activities.

Parishes have already received advice on topics including photographing children and the use of mobile phones and such briefings are included in the new edition.

Approximately every three years each parish undergoes an evaluation of how well it is implementing Safeguarding Trust. Here are a few of the questions which are asked of the parish panel and select vestry:
* Are notices displayed in church premises about Safeguarding Trust giving names of panel members?
* How are parishioners/young people being made aware of the role of panel members?
* Is a filing system of records of workers with children/young people in place?
* Are attendance registers, consent forms and completed accident and incident books and documents related to recruitment etc. kept securely?
* In new appointments of all workers in the parish, were the procedures of Safeguarding Trust followed?
* Was a Garda vetting check obtained for each new worker before commencing duties?
* When were the premises being used by young people last inspected on behalf of the select vestry with their safety and welfare in mind?
* Have you an evacuation procedure? Where is the accident/incident book kept?
* What ongoing training for leaders is being provided by the parish?

It is the responsibility of the panel and select vestry to ensure that the parish can answer these and other questions in a positive way. Safeguarding Trust helps us set high standards of care. Parents have a right to expect these standards as they entrust their children to the church. Children have the right to be protected from harm and leaders have a right to be secure in safe practice. The Republic has introduced legislation regarding reckless endangerment of children but Our Lord said 2000 years ago in Matthew 18.6: Whoever causes the downfall of one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea! For all these reasons Safeguarding Trust is a vital part of our church’s ministry.

Church of Ireland Board of Education

Safeguarding Trust – Our declaration

This parish accepts and recognises its responsibilities to develop awareness of the issues which cause children harm, and to establish and maintain a safe environment for them. As a community or organisation we are committed to reviewing our policy, procedures and practice at regular intervals, at least every three years.

We will endeavour to safeguard children by

* following carefully the procedures laid down for recruitment and selection of staff and volunteers
* providing effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support and training
* adopting child protection guidelines through a code of behaviour for staff and volunteers
* sharing information about child protection and good practice with children, parents, staff and volunteers
* ensuring adherence to safety procedures
* reporting concerns to the appropriate statutory authority.

We will also safeguard our workers by

* the provision of effective training
* the provision of appropriate resources
* the safeguarding of those who work with children from the consequences of unfounded allegations.

The Parish panel charged with implementing Safeguarding Trust are:

Rev. Andrew Orr
Rachel Devlin
Bernard Neary
Ruby Bannister

If you have any concerns about the safety or welfare of children on parish premises, you should contact one of these panel members in complete confidence.

In Bruges

How would you like to join the family on their next holiday? We visited Bruges in June. So began one of the most interesting and worthwhile holidays I have ever enjoyed.

Our apartment in Bruges was right in the heart of this magnificent old city. We turned left outside our door to find St Walburghakerk five minutes away. In here we sat at sunset to hear the most beautiful sacred music, in this environment the atmosphere was spectacular and I will never forget the soprano and baritone versions of “Panis Angelicus” played with the setting sun pouring through the west windows above us.

We turned right outside our door to reach the Burgh (City Square) in five minutes. The first sight of this environment is just breath-taking. The guide book explains that this is the centre of both civil and religious authority and the quality of the ornate architecture is in keeping. The oldest town hall in Belgium is a most spectacular construction with its miniature towers above the many stained-glass windows and the gold leaf sparkling in Bruges blazing sunshine.

The next treat in this square in the line-up of horses and traps (vis-a-vis) with their drivers. This is when we realise that the entire centre of Bruges, all its roads and streets are cobbled, which of course makes life much easier for the horse-drawn vehicles in which visitors can take a half-hour tour of the city. On our visit to Gent later in the week we took the opportunity to have a horse tour and enjoyed it enormously. Our driver told us she is a real estate agent who helps out in the family business (with the horse tours) at weekends. She had excellent English as has everyone in the tourist business. We were advised that fluency in four languages is a requirement.

As the week progressed we had the privilege of seeing inside many of the most ornate and beautiful churches to be seen anywhere. Our coach driver also informed us that there are seventeen churches in the City of Bruges, all of them apparently dating from the 15th and 16th Centuries, and built by the very wealthy nobility of their time. As part of the then Spanish Empire, the province of Flanders was a very prosperous and wealthy area. The Jeruzalemkerk was originally built based on the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The family Adomes had their sepulchre placed in the Church. The almshouses built by the same family beside the Jeruzalemkerk are now a lace-making centre and visitors may watch demonstrations of the craft. This entire area of Bruges and Brussels have been famed for lace-making and many other forms of cloth weaving for generations, but regrettably it is now so expensive, so few people are making lace, that much of the cheaper material on sale in the shops are imported from China.

After a time we realised every structure was built from red brick, but Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk is still a surprise to see its magnificent tower and spires also built in red brick. This is a massive structure and while much restoration work has been carried out it dates from the thirteenth century. Two former monarchs, Charles the Bold and Mary of Burgundy, (decd 1477 and 1482) are buried in mausoleums to be seen in the choir. During restoration work in 1979 these were returned to the choir from which they had been removed in 1806. It was only then that the amazing frescoes were found on the walls beneath, and they are now on view with angels, cherubs and crucifixes still clearly visible after so many centuries.

Next to the Burg, in the Markt, the one structure we were drawn towards on every occasion was the magnificent Belfry (272 ft high) and in early centuries at times of danger the bells of the Belfry were rung to warn the populace. All 47 bells are still rung on the hour, (nowadays powered by electricity) as well as being specially programmed to provide a musical treat at 9p.m. several evenings each week.

Bruges is now a UNESCE World Heritage Site since 2000.

Alice Best

Archbishop Rowan Williams says world has

Archbishop Rowan Williams says world has "genuine opportunity" to end extreme poverty

Dr Rowan Williams, spiritual head of the world's 78 million Anglicans, today called on wealthy governments to fulfil their promises on aid, trade and development or see the world's poor continue to suffer disease, starvation and death.

The call came at the end of a procession of 1,000 faith leaders and bishops from central London to Lambeth Palace.

The archbishop said that there was a "genuine opportunity" to halve poverty by 2015 - the slogan on the placards distributed throughout the march, which was headed by a banner proclaiming "Keep the promise".

Prime Minister Gordon Brown also spoke, lavishly describing the march as "the greatest public demonstration of faith that this great city has ever seen."
"A hundred years is too long to wait for justice and that is why we must act now". You have sent a symbol, a very clear message with rising force that poverty can be eradicated, poverty must be eradicated and if we all work together for change poverty will be eradicated," he added.

Mr Brown joined Dr Williams in warning that time was running out if the United Nations Millennium Development goals were to be achieved.

In a letter to 10 Downing Street, the archbishop declared: "In our human family the continuing consequence of failure is the death of millions of women and children from childbirth and preventable childhood diseases."

It continued: "Millions more have hopes for sustainable life diminished because of poverty-fuelled conflict, lack of education and gender inequality, all of which undermine a new generation's liberation from HIV."

Other faith leaders on the march were Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, leader of Catholics in England and Wales; Sir Jonathan Sacks, chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth; the former secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain Sir Iqbal Sacranie, and Network of Sikh Organisations director Dr Indarjit Singh.

Harvest

On September 28th St. Thomas’ Mulhuddart at 3.30 p.m.

On October 12th St. Mary’s Clonsilla at 10.00 a.m.

and St. Brigid’s Castleknock at 11.30 a.m.

ALL WELCOME

New Leaders for Junior Table Tennis

WANTED:

Junior Table Tennis is unable to run this year until more leaders are found, so if you are interested in helping out then contact Dave Dobson via the Parish Office.

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