Parish News Archives - May 2009

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

Rector Writes

Dear Friends,

This will be the last letter I write in Parish News as your Rector.

I won’t be able to visit you all before I leave: instead I hope you will all come to Church on my last Sunday - 11.00 a.m. in Saint Brigid’s, Castleknock - for my farewell Sermon, and so that I may have the opportunity to say goodbye to you all in person.

It has been a joy and privilege to serve here for the past nine and a half years. Susan, Rachel, Patrick, Ciara and I will be very sad to leave you, but we are also looking forward to the new and exciting challenge that God is calling us to. So many of you have been great friends to us; in good times and hard times you have supported us with your love, your care and prayers. We especially valued your kindness when Susan was ill and after my mother’s death recently.

Do please come and visit us in Tullow. We will be delighted to see all our friends from Castleknock and Clonsilla at the Rectory – at the moment it’s only just over an hour, and new motorway will be opened by the end of the year, which will make the journey even quicker.

Please pray for us all at the Rectory in the days of preparation to come. After the institution on 29th May, I will no longer be your pastor, but we will always be your friends and brothers and sisters in Christ.

Your pastor, priest and friend,

From the Registers

Holy Baptism:
22nd March in St. Mary’s: Sean, son of Anna and Dedi Tjong of Tyrrelstown
29th March in St. Mary’s: Precious, daughter of Alex and Chibuzo Alino

May they shine as lights in the world, to the glory of God the Father.

Christian Marriage:
21st March in St. Brigid’s: Donna Henry and Colman Burke
28th March in St. Thomas’: Rebecca Ensor and Michael McHugh

Funeral:

In Memorium:

Organisations Reports

Girls’ Brigade
We finished off our session with our Annual Display on Friday 3rd April 2009 in Castleknock Community College. This was a lovely evening, with the girls showing their year’s work to the best of their ability. Well done to all the girls.

We are sorry to say goodbye to Jenny McCormack, who, for family reasons has decided not to return in September. Jenny has been a member of Girl’s Brigade for many years and we will certainly miss her.

We also wish Heather Hayes well as she takes a leave of absence from Girls Brigade.

We hope the girls have a lovely summer and look forward to seeing you back again in September.

Ros Garrett

Announcements

Quiz night:
Many thanks to all who supported the Parents Association Quiz night in Myo’s which raised over €1500.

Best wishes:
Good luck to Jim Carroll who takes over from Andrew as Rural Dean of St. Mary’s.

Coming up in May and beyond:
17th May: Rev. Andrew’s final Sunday followed by farewell lunch

14th June: Confirmation

Andrew's Institution:
Andrew’s institution as Rector of the Tullow Group of Parishes takes place on Friday 29th May at 8pm in St. Columba’s Church, Tullow.

Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend! Refreshments afterwards in the Mount Wolsely Hotel.

A bus to the service is being organised! Contact Gladys Hutchinson or Valerie Fildes to reserve your place.

Directions to the church: Take the N7 (Naas road), which becomes the M7. Take the exit for M9, signposted Carlow and Kilkenny. This becomes the N9. Go through Castledermot, at the far end of the town turn left for Tullow. On entering Tullow, turn left over the bridge and go uphill along the Main Street. The church is on the left, just after the Square. Journey time from Castleknock is about 70 minutes.

Alternatively you can take the N81 through Blessington, in which case the church is on your right as you enter the town.

Castleknock Brownie Unit Seeks Assistant Leader and Adult Helpers:
Castleknock Brownie Unit meets on Thursday evenings 7.45 - 8.00 during school term time. Brownies are girls between 6 1/2 and 11 years (www.irishgirlguides.ie).

We are looking for an assistant leader and adult helpers. If you are over 18 years of age and would like an evening of fun supporting girls and young women to develop to their fullest potential as responsible citizens of the world this could be for you.

Volunteer in your local community!! If you are interested pop in on a Thursday evening or email: castleknockbrownies at gmail.com. All leaders and unit helpers must be willing to complete Garda vetting procedures.

Clonsilla Vestry Results:
Rector's Church warden: Valerie Fildes
People's Church warden: Margaret Tutty
Glebewarden: Charles Seaman

Select Vestry Members:
Liz Fleeton, Gordon Hill, Frank Robinson, Bernard Sheridan, Alex Alino, David Kelly, Keith Bannister, Avril McCabe, Ruby Bannister, Edie Nuzum, Joshua Udolu, Bolo Sobowale

Lent Course:
Our Lent course, shared with Laurel Lodge parish, concluded with three very enjoyable nights.

Orla Quinn came from Trocaire to tell us about issues of fair trade and particularly what can be done at a local parish level. The 24th of March was a very exciting night, as a large came to discuss “Have we got the society we deserve?”.

John Lonergan and Brendan Purcell outlined their thoughts and responded to the audience’s searching questions. RTE’s Bryan Dobson expertly kept order: among the topics raised were the need for a proper integrated housing policy, the importance of volunteerism and a new ethic of social need.

Our course came to an end as the participants joined together in a Passover meal, organised and prepared by Jenny Cuipers and others from the parishes.

Many thanks to all who attended, took part in the discussions, catered and made it a very successful series.

Holy Week and Easter:
Many thanks to all who helped with the services: the readers, the organists and especially our preacher, Rev. David Godfrey, who spoke to us on the theme “Is forgiveness enough?” – which provoked a great deal of thought and discussion afterwards.

On Good Friday, Fr. Mick Cullen and Jenny Cuipers came and presented the engraved spade used to plant an olive tree two years ago, to commemorate the Good Friday agreement of 1998.

Johnny Lawlor, who planted a tree, was there to receive it. Easter Eve was once again a very enjoyable night as the The Easter Egg Hunt was followed by The Easter Vigil.

It was very good to have Raymond Russell back with us again.

Easter day was a great climax to the week as large crowds came out to celebrate the Resurrection.

Many thanks to the teams who decorated the churches for Easter, and had them looking so well.

Other News

Choosing a New Rector

The importance of being registered on the Register of Vestry members is well-underlined at a time such as this in the Church.
It is those parishioners who have registered who have the responsibility of electing, from among their number, the Select Vestry. Every three years those registered elect the representatives to the Diocesan Synods who in turn elect Episcopal electors and members of General Synod, and they also elect the parochial nominators.
The Parochial Nominators are those from the parishes charged, together with the Diocesan Nominators, with the task of finding a new rector for the parish.

The procedure is as follows:
The parish will have no rector from the moment of Andrew’s institution in Tullow, but of course it still comes under the pastoral care of the Archbishop who, with the Rural Dean, Rev. Jim Carroll will appoint people to take care of the various ministries of the parish during the interregnum (the vacancy). Under the Constitution of the Church of Ireland the parochial nominators who are in office at the time the vacancy arises remain in office until their job has been completed.

When the vacancy arises, the diocese will ask the Select Vestry to give assurances that the parish will pay the required stipend and allowances as well as provide a suitable house. In due course the Archbishop will summon a meeting of the Board of Nomination (four from the parish, five from the diocese and himself).

In order to protect candidates or applicants the nominators take an oath of secrecy. It is important that they are not troubled by inquisitiveness or insensitivity in fulfilling the task that the parish and Church have entrusted to them. The nominators for these parishes are: James Anderson, Anne Cadoo, Rachel Devlin and Frank Robinson

During the vacancy please support and encourage the curate, the Rev. Elaine Dunne in her ministry, together with our lay reader, Stella Obe and all the lay ministries in the parish. Pray for one another and for the nominators as they seek to discern God’s will in their choice of a new rector to lead you into the next phase of parish life.

The Feast of Pentecost Falls on 31st May this year

Pentecost was originally an Old Testament festival, since the time of Josephus calculated as beginning on the fiftieth day after the beginning of Passover. In the Christian calendar, it falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter. It was called the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), and in the Old Testament was originally an agricultural festival celebrating and giving thanks for the "first fruits" of the early spring harvest (Lev 23, Exod 23, 34).

By the early New Testament period, it had gradually lost its association with agriculture and became associated with the celebration of God’s creation of His people and their religious history. By the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, the festival focused exclusively on God’s gracious gift of Torah (the "Law") on Mount Sinai. It continues to be celebrated in this manner in modern Judaism.

While there are other references to Pentecost in the New Testament (e.g. 1 Cor 16:8), it is most significant in Acts 2 and the familiar scene of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on those in the "upper room." The New Testament writers associate the events of Acts 2 with Pentecost, and relate it to the prophecies of Joel 2 and promises of Jesus (Acts 1:8). In both, the emphasis is on a empowerment through the Holy Spirit to enable the people of God to witness to Jesus the Christ.

There is much debate in some circles about exactly what happened at Pentecost, whether it is a repeatable event or only for the early church, or whether it should or should not become a paradigm for personal religious experience. Those who advocate it as a paradigm are sometimes termed Pentecostals, although that term usually refers more specifically to church traditions who advocate speaking in "tongues" or a special Spirit-inspired prayer or praise language.

In any case, what seems clear is that Pentecost represents God’s gracious, enabling presence actively at work among His people, calling and enabling them to live out in dynamic ways the witness of being His people. Perhaps at this point there is direct contact with the Pentecost of Judaism, for in Judaism the Torah, God’s instruction to His people, is the means by which they become His witness to the world.

The word “pentecost” means “fiftieth day.” In most Christian traditions, Pentecost Sunday occurs 50 days following Easter Sunday (counting Easter Sunday since it is the first day of the week). Those 50 days span seven Sundays after Easter, so Pentecost is the seventh Sunday after Easter (7 weeks times 7 days = 49 days, plus Pentecost Sunday). Since Easter is a “movable feast,” meaning that it occurs on different days in different years (it is tied to the lunar cycle while the calendar is solar based), Pentecost is also moveable. It can occur as early as May 10 and as late as June 13 (see The Church Year for current dates). Some Christian traditions, Eastern Orthodox for example, use a different religious calendar and so have different dates for much of the Christian Year.

The colour for Pentecost Sunday is red, the colour of the church. Technically, red is used only for the Sunday of Pentecost, although some churches use red for the Sundays between Easter and Pentecost Sunday. The red symbolizes both the fire of Pentecost as well as the apostles and early followers of Jesus who were gathered in the Upper Room for the empowerment from God to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world.

For Christians, Pentecost Sunday is a day to celebrate hope, a hope evoked by the knowledge that God through His Holy Spirit is at work among His people. It is a celebration of newness, of recreation, of renewal of purpose, mission, and calling as God’s people. It is a celebration of God’s ongoing work in the world. Yet, it is also a recognition that His work is done through His people as He pours out His presence upon them.

The Old Testament Lectionary reading for Pentecost Sunday from Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones (Ezek 37:1-14) dramatically illustrates this sense of newness and renewal of mission. The reading from Isaiah 44:1-8 also connects renewal with the "breathing" of God in beautiful imagery of "streams in the desert" and the recreation of His exiled people. The Psalm reading (104:24-34) is also in creation language that speaks of newness and renewal. The New Testament readings include Acts 2, as well as John 14:8-17, 16:5-15, 20:19-23, all of which carry through this theme of God enabled mission in the world.

This focus on the church’s mission to the world, and the enabling presence of God through the work of the Holy Spirit in the church to empower that mission should provide a powerful impetus for churches, to recover this season of the church year. There is tremendous opportunity to use this sacred time to call people to renewal though the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

Pig on a Spit

The Pig on a Spit will arrive
On
Saturday 6th June 2009
At
The Coach House and Grounds of Leixlip Castle
(by kind permission of the
Hon.Desmond & Mrs Penny Guinness)
In aid of St Mary’s Church, Main Street, Leixlip
Restoration and Conservation Project
€50 per person
To include a sparkling wine reception,
complimentary bottle of wine per couple, good food and dancing!

Tickets are now available from any of the following:-
Hazel & Norman Robins, Linda & Peter Davis, Patricia & Brian Donohoe, Fred Moody & Valerie Hogg.

Bezplatna Pomoc Tlumacza - Free Assistance of a Polish/English Interpreter

Osoby, ktore chcialyby skorzystac z bezplatnej pomocy polsko – angielskiego tlumacza w trakcie ich wizyty w CIC, zapraszamy do przybycia w nastepujacych terminach:

Anyone who would like to avail of free assistance of a Polish – English interpreter at the CIC is welcome to visit us on the following dates:

01/05/09 10:00 - 13:00 + 14:00 -17:00
08/05/09 10:00 -13:00 + 14:00 -17:00
11/05/09 10:00 -13:00 + 14:00 -17:00
11/05/09 19:30 - 21:30 (By apt)
15/05/09 10:00 -13:00 + 14:00 -17:00
18/05/09 10:00 - 13:00
18/05/09 19:30 - 21:00 (By appt)
22/05/09 10:00 - 13:00 + 14:00 - 17:00
25/05/09 10:00 -13:00
25/05/09 19:30 - 21:00 (By appointment)
29/05/09 10:00 - 13:00 + 14:00 - 17:00

Citzens Information, Westend Office Park, Snugborough Road Extension,
Blanchardstown, Dublin 15
Tel 8220449: Fax: 8128702 Email: blanchardstown.cic at citinfo.ie

Adults Salsa / Latino, Ballroom and Hip Hop courses

Adults Salsa / Latino, Ballroom and Hip Hop courses
in
St Francis Xavier School in Castleknock
No partner or experience necessary. 6 wks, €75.

Starts Wed 29th April.
For fun, for fitness, for life, Just Dance!
Email: info at justdance.ie Web: www.justdance.ie.

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