Parish News Archives - November 2008

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

Rector Writes

Dear Friends,

I have written before on the dangers of measuring our “success” by how much we do, or how many people are involved in one activity or another. It’s worth repeating the words of Archbishop Alan Harper of Armagh: Churches, he said, were in danger of measuring themselves by how busy they were instead of how faithful to God they were. Too often, we replace “be still and know that I am God” with “watch, and see how busy we are”.

Remember we follow Jesus, who in all worldly terms was a failure: after three years teaching and healing he had just a few friends, who all deserted him at the first sign of trouble. He never wrote a book or had any official position; but by his sincerity, authenticity and above all the presence of God within him, he made more impact on human history than any other person.

God looks for our faithfulness, our compassion and our love as the signs of a healthy Christian community.

This Autumn, we will be looking at the book of Jonah over three nights: November 20th, 27th and December 4th. The book of Jonah is far more than just the whale! It speaks to us very powerfully today with its themes of God’s call, speaking to the stranger, anger and jealousy. Why not join us for at least one of these Thursday nights in Castleknock Parish Centre?

Yours in Christ

Andrew

From the Registers

Holy Baptism:
17th May in St. Brigid's: Adam Shane, son of Karl and Aoife O'Donoghue.

May he shine as a light in the world to the glory of God the Father

Christian Marriage:

Funeral:

In Memorium:

Organisations Reports

Girls’ Brigade
Our enrolment service took place on the 19th October and it was wonderful to see such a good compliment of girls there. A mixture of new faces, old faces and some “older” faces – we welcome you all! We were delighted to see Ros Garrett enrolled as our Captain and we congratulate her on taking over from Sally Darlington who served the Company with distinction for many years.

The girls and leaders are already busy now with craft, scripture and preparation for various competitions with the Feis and Choral speaking taking place at the end of November. Best of luck!

Thanks to the parents and Parish for your continued support to our girls.

Heather Hayes

Announcements

Coming up in November and Beyond:
Sunday 2nd November: Blessing of the Graves in Castleknock only 3.00pm.
Friday 28th November: Coffee morning for Christian Aid, Castleknock Parish Centre
Saturday 6th December: The one and only Christmas Fair, please give us your full support.

Dedication of Gifts:
Two dedications of gifts for St. Brigid’s took place recently: the Jameson Family donated new altar linen in memory of their parents, and Hilary Nason donated a magnificent baptismal shawl in memory of Pearl Nason. The shawl was beautifully made and embroidered by Suzanne Milligan. We thank both sets of donors for their generosity to the Church.

Harvests:
This year we welcomed Rev. Gary Dowd from Glenageary at Mulhuddart Harvest, and Rev. Mark Wilson from Tallaght Hospital at the Castleknock and Clonsilla Harvests.

The Mulhuddart Harvest was packed to capacity, and we were very pleased to see more locals attending again this year. An accident in Blanchardstown snarled up the traffic for miles around and meant a late start, but the enthusiasm of the crowd was unaffected! Thanks to the Churchwardens and Sadie Smullen for all their work over the summer, and to Hazel McClean for the terrific hospitality as always.

Harvests in Castleknock and Clonsilla were also well attended, indeed the largest aggregate congregation on record. Many thanks to Castleknock and Clonsilla Sunday clubs for all their hard work, in art, drama and singing. We were also delighted to have Mercy College, Raheny, singing for us in Clonsilla, including a beautiful rendition of Ag Chriost an siol. Congratulations to our own choir also for their singing in Castleknock. Thank you to all who decorated in the three churches and made them look so well.

More Harvesting:
A very different harvest festival was also held in St. Brigid’s the same day, as we welcomed the Discovery Chaplaincy to the International Community. Led by Rev. Obinna, it was an all singing, all dancing spectacular, with both Western and African music, a very extensive offertory procession (!) and great children’s singing and dancing. We were very pleased to welcome the Archbishop as our preacher, and the new Nigerian Ambassador, who led the congregation in song.

Food, drink and more music were the order of the day at the parish centre, with the cutting of the Harvest cake and lots of terrific dishes for everyone to try. A great day was had by all who attended, and hopefully these events will get more support from the diocese in future.

Sympathy:
Our deepest sympathies go to Paddy and Linda Griffen of Castlefield on the tragic death of their daughter, Louise. Paddy would be well known to parishioners as our confirmation photographer.

Castleknock Community College:
Andrew continues to work very closely with the staff of this school, sitting on the Board of Management and being very involved in policy making. The preference given to Church of Ireland students in the enrolment policy is a central part of the school’s commitment to diversity. The continuing struggle of the school for facilities such as a sports hall, and the fact that there is a very extensive waiting list for 2009, means that the school will continue to be in the public eye in the future.

St. Mochta’s Parish Centre:
Andrew was invited to the official opening of the new Parish Centre at St. Mochta’s, Porterstown on Saturday 27th September. It was a very enjoyable occasion, at which Archbishop Diarmuid Martin presided and preached.

School News:
The new Parents’ Association committee were elected at the recent AGM, and Julia Culleton is the new chair. Very many thanks to outgoing chair Clelia Murphy for all her hard work and enthusiasm.

Among many other exciting events, sixth class greatly enjoyed their trip to the Diocesan school service in Christ Church Cathedral, and of course the stop for food afterwards!

Congratulations to Ms. Frances Vickers who joins the permanent staff, following the departure of Ms. Shirley Hill, while we welcome Ms. Linda Kelly as temporary language support teacher.

Other News

Statement by the Archbishop of Dublin on Decision by the Minister of Education to Remove Certain Grants from Protestant Schools

The decision of the Minister for Education & Science, Mr Batt O’Keeffe TD, to remove certain grants, including the support services grant, from the voluntary secondary schools serving the protestant community strikes directly at the disadvantaged. The Minister has sought to make play with a statement that there is an anomalous situation with other fee charging schools. The Minister’s Department is well aware that the Protestant block grant and the ancillary funding has allowed our schools to provide for significant numbers of pupils from families in economic difficulties including those on the minimum wage or in receipt of social welfare. The so-called “anomalous situation” was introduced by one of his predecessors in recognition that the small number of Protestant Secondary schools existed to provide not only for a scattered community, but also for those for whom the State could not provide “free schooling” within the ethos of their own churches. The Minister’s decision to remove grants to these schools coupled with a rise in the pupil teacher ratio by two points will damage the delivery of education to the children of the Church of Ireland and other Protestant communities.

New Course for Training Clergy Approved by Trinity College Dublin and the Church of Ireland

New Masters Course in Theological Studies integrates academic theory with professional application. An inter-institutional agreement between Trinity College Dublin and the House of Bishops of the Church of Ireland was signed today. It underpins the introduction of a new Masters degree course in Theology which will revolutionise the training for ordained ministry in the Church of Ireland and will also provide opportunities for those training for work in other churches.

The new course will lead to a Master in Theology (M. Theol.) as opposed to the previous Bachelor in Theology Degree (B. Th.) and will be taught by staff of Trinity College Dublin and the Church of Ireland Theological Institute. Participants may choose between athree-year and a six-year part-time option with the latter being delivered in an innovative non-residential, distance learning mode. Both options will have a significant parish internship element.

The new course, which will have a rigorous academic core whilst also broadening the scope and content and assessment to include professional application, will commence in October 2009.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr John Neill said, "what is really exciting about this new course is that it integrates the academic study of Theology with the practical experience of working as a pastor within a parish. We believe this is a critical milestone towards the provision of effective and professional training and formation to enable clergy and laity to be prepared for the mission of the Church in the 21st Century. I would like to pay particular tribute to the Bishop of Clogher, the Rt Revd Dr Michael Jackson and the Ministry Formation Team for their work on finalising this agreement and the authorities in Trinity College for their support and co-operation. This agreement builds very positively on our longstanding relationship with the University and positions us effectively in partnership for the future."

The Provost of Trinity College Dublin, Dr John Hegarty said, “Trinity College is delighted about this agreement on the joint delivery of a Masters in Theological Studies. Introducing this new postgraduate programme with its innovative combination of academic and practical elements is an exciting and timely initiative that will develop and strengthen the long-standing, fruitful cooperation between Trinity College Dublin and the Church of Ireland.”

Participants in the Masters in Theology will be selected from those taking part in a one year foundation course available in each diocese in the Church of Ireland.

Advent

Advent gives us time to prepare for Christmas; it’s a word meaning ‘coming’ and so during the four weeks of Advent we look forward to the day when we celebrate the Word of God made flesh in the birth of the Christ child. Advent is also a time for thinking about Jesus’ Second Coming, the day he promised that he will return to the world in glory, to judge the world.

THE ADVENT WREATH
The traditional Advent wreath will be placed in St Mary’s and St Brigid’s churches on Advent Sunday (30th November) when the first candle is lit. On each of the remaining 3 Sundays in Advent, another candle is lit. Prayers are said as each candle represents a different group who prepared for the coming of Christ: the patriarchs, the prophets, John the Baptist, and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

POSADA
Once again we are following the Mexican custom (posada is a Spanish word meaning ‘inn’) whereby the crib figures of Mary and Joseph travel around the parish throughout Advent, staying each night in a different household, until Christmas when they return to the crib in the church for Christ’s birth. This is a prayerful and imaginative way to prepare our homes for Christmas. You will be able to sign up in both churches in November.

Hard Gospel Intercultural Training in Lucan

Four regional intercultural training days, organised by the Hard Gospel Project and led by a leading anti-racism activist Benedicta Attoh, will take place through November and December for church members looking to deal positively with issues of racism and interculturalism.

The Dublin training day will take place on Saturday 29 November in St Andrew's Parish Centre, Lucan, Co Dublin from 10am to 4:30pm.

The training days are designed to help church members acquire the necessary awareness to understand and meet the challenges associated with living and working in an ethnically diverse society, especially during a period of economic downturn. They will also provide information on the processes and manifestations of racism (individual and institutional) and the strategies to deal with it.

While there is no cost for participants, space is limited, therefore to sign-up either go to http://www.hardgospel.net to sign-up online or write to ‘The Hard Gospel Project, Church of Ireland House, Church Avenue, Dublin 6’ and register which training day you wish to attend. The Hard Gospel Intercultural Training takes place as part of the 2008 European Year of Intercultural Dialogue

Jobs in Clonsilla!

Clonsilla parish have two contract positions which will shortly be available.

Sexton/cleaner
Cleaning the church and parish centre and setting up for services, approximately 6 hours per week. Salary €250 per month.

Groundsperson
Grass cutting, weeding, tidying grounds etc. Salary €240 per month in the summer, and €80 per month in the winter.

The successful applicants will need to be comfortable working on their own, and be self-motivated. The work times will be reasonably flexible; the two positions could be filled by one person, or perhaps by a couple. For further information and job description, contact Parish Office (01-8200040), Gordon Hill or Valerie Fildes.

Christmas Fair

Church of Ireland
Castleknock and Mulhuddart with Clonsilla
Serving the Greater Blanchardstown Area

CHRISTMAS FAIR

Saturday, 6th December 2008
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Castleknock Parish Centre
Main Street, Castleknock, Dublin 15

Santa arrives at 11.30 a.m.
Parishioners – please help us to stock the stalls……...
Cakes « Household « Toys « Books
Old Curiosity Shop « Games «Snacks
Christmas stall « Competitions «
Bric a Brac « Good as New« Bottle stall
Teas and Snacks « Santa Claus « Gifts
««« MONSTER RAFFLE «««

Contributions and stock for stalls may be delivered to the
Parish Centre, Castleknock at any time on
Thursday 4th or Friday 5th November.

Setting up of stalls is between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. on
Friday 5th November.

Please make contact with Liz Fleeton
(Christmas Fair Co-ordinator) after 6.30pm with ALL offers of help.

Graduation Ceremonies

Elaine attended graduation ceremonies in James Connolly Memorial Hospital, Blanchardstown, on Thursday 23rd October, and in Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital on Tuesday 28th October. During these ceremonies the nursing graduates were presented with their badges and certificates, and the nurses’ hands were blessed by Elaine and the other chaplains.

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