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The Church of Ireland Diocese of Dublin |
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The Church of Ireland Diocese of Dublin |
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Contents of this issueOrdination of New CurateOur New Curate, Sandra Pragnall will be ordained deacon in Christ Church Cathedral on Sunday 17th June at 3.30 p.m. She will be one of four people to be ordained for Dublin Diocese this year the others are Olivia Williams for Greystones, Sonia Gyles for Taney, and Francois Murenzy for Bray. It is hoped that as many parishioners are possible will turn out to support Sandra on this very important day. Television BroadcastOn June 24th the Morning Service on RTE Television will feature the parishioners of our parishes. Places in the RTE Television Studio are limited to 60. We will be organising some practices of the music shortly and priority will be given to those who attended these rehearsals as well as which we will attempt have a good cross section of different ages and groups in our Parish. Details of Church Services on this day will be announced later. The Rector WritesDear Friends, As I write we are now in the middle of the Growing together campaign. We are delighted with the response so far. It is no accident that the campaign is being held at this time of the Christian Year. In Eastertide we celebrate the presence of the risen Lord Jesus among us, and the Easter season finishes with Pentecost, the festival of The Holy Spirit. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit with us that enables us to be the Church, and it is the gifts of the Spirit that are given to each one of us to be used in God's service. Remember that if a gift or talent is not exercised and used, it will disappear. Similarly, if each of us has been gifts and blessings from God, we need to use them to serve him and his Church. Please pray that the campaign will see a lot more people come forward to put their gifts at the service of God and our parish. Please think about it yourself. Read the literature carefully and talk it over with your visitor. Thank you. Please keep our new curate Sandra in your prayers at this time of exams and as she prepares for ordination. Please come and support her on June 17th. Yours in his Service, Andrew Introducting the New Curate Assistant, Sandra PragnellAfter Ordination as Deacon at Christ Church Cathedral on 17th June. I am delighted to be coming to the Parishes of Castleknock and Mulhuddart with Clonsilla to be your new Curate-Assistant. The Rector has asked me to write a little about myself by way of introduction. So here goes.: Having been living at college for the last 3 years. I’ve almost forgotten what it is to have free time, but I used to enjoy gardening, cooking and entertaining, hill walking and bird watching, and France was my favourite holiday destination. But perhaps the first thing people here ask, when they see my surname, is where I’m from, as it seems to be an uncommon name here in Ireland. We believe the name is originally Norman-French. I ma English by birth: my father’s family was from Hamble in Hampshire, where I was born [over 21 year ago!] and my mother’s family from Jersey [in the Channel Islands] and Brittany [hence my love of France]. But home for the longest period of my life was in Richmond in Surrey [a very pretty town on the River Thames], and I worked in central London as a civil servant, mostly in a personnel role. In 1994 I moved to Northern Ireland to work, which is where my connection with the Church of Ireland began. I lived in Holywood, Co. Down, and travelled around Ireland and began to feel at home here, and then in 1998 found myself beginning my training at the Theological College here in Dublin. Becoming a ‘mature’ student was a challenge: I had to give up my home in England and forget about holidays abroad, theatre and opera tickets, dinning out and so one which I had taken for granted, and I knew I would miss my family [mother, sister, brother, and five nephews and nieces] and many close friends. But I have not regretted a minute of the time here; Although I had been very active in my church in London in a variety of ways [pastoral, administrative, musical, and social], studying theology has been very rewarding. I have learned such a lot, both in college and in my placement as Student Reader in the Christ Church Cathedral Group of Parishes, and I really am looking forward now to the next stage in my spiritual journey, with all of you in Castleknock, Mulhuddart and Clonsilla. I ma also looking forward to have a ‘home’ again, where I will be joined by my 9 month old spaniel puppy who is called Tobit. God Bless, Sandra. ReportsPathfinders Youth Club The Alton Towers trip is still provisionally scheduled for 23rd to 25th August. However, we are waiting for further clarification on the 'foot and mouth' outbreak in the region before finally confirming all the arrangements. If you are interested in hearing more about the club, please visit our web page. Evelyn. Girl's Brigade Notes Holy Week Enneagram BB news Everyone in 10th Dublin were delighted to be able to march onto the floor for our 13th Annual Inspection and Display wearing our brand new uniforms. Many complimentary comments were received by Officers on our exemplary turnout and the new uniforms really added to the sense of occasion on the night. Much thanks must go to Robert Lawson for the hard work involved in ensuring that everyone received the correct items on time for the Display. Our Display theme this year was “Lucky 13”. All sections put a huge amount of work into preparing their items and I think everyone agreed that the two highlights of the night were preformed by Company Section. The first was “11- 13 will go”. Our own Company Section, together with boys from 7th Dublin Company did a performance of the drill movements, which saw the combined squad victorious at the recent Lewis Crosby Squad Drill competition. Congratulations to our own Company Section boys Mark Melbourne, Ross Melbourne and Nigel McKeever for all the time, effort and hard work they put into learning the movements for the competition. The second highlight was “Deck of Cards”. All of the Company Section boys, including Colum O’Reilly, showed outstanding commitment to 10th Dublin throughout the whole year, and every accolade must be paid to them in these days when there are many more demands on boys of this age than was envisaged 10/20 years ago. Congratulations to all boys who were awarded Cups and Plaques, and also to all those boys who received prizes for attendance and outstanding contribution to the life of 10th Dublin Company. Thanks must go to our Chaplain Rev. Andrew Orr for being there through every “high” and “low” and always being willing to provide advise and support. A huge vote of thanks must go to Philip and Russell, Robert, Hal, Bernard and Keith, Ruby, Janet, Martha and Mark, and also for a time, the two Emma's. A better team of Officers and helpers one could not wish to find. Have a brilliant summer break everyone and recharge those batteries for September! Martha Waller HUNGARY TRIP 2000Last summer I had the opportunity to travel to Budapest as part of a group working with Samaritan's Purse. {Samaritan’s Purse is a Christian Charity responsible for the shoe-box appeal at Christmas and the organisation of many trips to countries in need of assistance}. We set up a summer camp for approximately forty 6—18 year olds from Belarus and the Chernobyl area for three weeks. The aim of our camp was to provide fun, entertainment and to teach the campers Bible stories. Most of them has been badly affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986 although many were not born when the explosion took place. Extreme poverty applied to a large percentage of the children, many coming from large families with both parents unemployed. In some cases families with between five and seven children live in two room flats. Thyroid cancer affects most of these families with the incidence of it increasing by 200% in Belarus as a results of the disaster. Hospital facilities are not as they should be and one 10 year boy, George received 12 courses of chemotherapy. This proved too much for his young body and he has been given one year to live. His parents were told to try for another baby. One of the main purposes of the camp was to give the children the opportunity to breathe clean air as this increases their short live expectancy. Maksim, [a sixteen year old boy with thyroid cancer] spent three weeks in Italy where his hair began to grow again. Following his return home the new hair fell out. My group consisted of approximately 20 Irish and 5 English people. We had several meetings prior to our excursion to organise activities and fund raising for our trip. We set off on 8th August 2000 and flew to Prague. Although we were very organised we all felt apprehensive and didn’t know what to expect. The children and their leaders had travelled before us and were settled in when we arrived. The excitement and anticipation had proved too much for some children and as a results several suffered nose bleeds. Appearances can be deceiving and we were surprised by how ‘normal’ and similar to us they looked. The standard of English was good especially amongst the older children and we had interpreters for those who had not English. Our aim was to become friends with the Belarussians rather than leadership figures. To achieve this we shared chalets—I slept in a chalet with four Irish girls and five Belarussians. This way we really got to know each other and as we were all similar in age, we quickly became friends. We learnt about their family situations—one girl told of how her family relied on neighbours to provide daily food. The average wage of these families is about $30 per month. The collapse in the economy means that money is of low value against other currencies. Coins do not exist and a 100,000 Belarussian rouble note is worth about ten pence. Initially we were amazed at the toiletries the girls had. However we were later told that when people go away they are representing their village. Much of the luggage the children had was either borrowed or a collection had been made in their village to provide it. Throughout our stay we noticed a considerable shortage of clothes amongst the boys in particular. We had several ‘mother figures’ with us and they made daily trip to the markets of Budapest where affordable items could be purchases. Many of the children did not even have toothbrushes. One girl in my room had just one pair of heavy black jeans for the whole trip. Our programme was well structured and each day we had crafts, games, worship [songs, memory verses and Bible stories] and free time when we were able to use the swimming pool on site. It was extremely hot and a lot of my free time was spent indoors! We had a day trip to the city where we visited the zoo and had McDonalds for tea. This proved a huge success. Our day of departure was emotional. The Belarussians were staying on for another week and they all got up at 4.30 a.m. to wave us off. I have been writing to the friends I made in Hungary and they have maintained contact with each other also. I had a fantastic time and it taught me so much about those who have lee than I do. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supported me so generously. The money raised paid for expenses and also went towards crafts and the clothes we bought for the children whilst away. Sheena Cadoo The EnneagramThose who signed up to undertake this year’s Lenten Study group were all distributed with very bizarre questionnaires which we had to fill in and bring along on our first night. What were these going to tell us about ourselves? By the end of our first evening it was obvious that we were going to find out plenty about ourselves and others and how we interrelate with those around us. With this self- knowledge we were about to make two simultaneous journeys – one inwards, towards God and our inner essence, and another outwards, to understanding those we love around us. Our workshop Leader Aidan Hart is an amazing man who spoke so interestingly and with such enthusiasm that we (all 35 of us) were hooked on this as a tool to understand the way human personalities work. The premise of the Enneagram is that all personalities fall into 9 categories and that whatever motivates us to behave the way that we do is a dominant passion; these being in Aidan’s words “compulsive, sub-conscious, pervasive and both positive and negative.” Thus we have personality types ranging from The Perfectionist, The Observer to The Mediator. The course was a wonderful way to get to know myself better and also to meet other people whom I might not normally get a chance to speak to. It emphasized the importance of making time for yourself for quiet contemplation and prayer and, most importantly, it was great fun. by Lesley Anders Clonsilla ProjectThe Dream Auction so long anticipated has now come and gone. What a wonderful result £8400 profit in spite of the wet evening. The heroine of the event was, of course, Valerie Fildes who almost single-handedly conceived ,planned and organised the evening. Valerie a thousand thanks. We were also most fortunate to have David Herman from Herman and Wilkinson Furniture " Fine Art Auctioneers who gave his time and conducted the auction. No auction could succeed without dreams and some more earthly items to auction. People gave generously and we ended up with over one hundred and fifty lots. On the night wet as it was there was a good turn out and lively bidding. Finally the evening ran very smoothly due to the efforts of an army of volunteers- porters, spotters, ticket sellers, clerks, tea persons, and others. To all the above whatever your contribution many, many thanks. Funding raising is currently on hold due to the Christian Stewardship Renewal Program which began on 22 April and is running for the next six weeks. The one exception is a fund raising Gala Flower Demonstration by Catriona Flanagan, A.O.I.F.A. in the Castleknock Parish Centre on Wednesday 23 May 2001 at 8 pm. , please note this in your dairy and give it your support. The Clonsilla Project team will be meeting in June to plan the autumn program. There will be the official launching of the project in September , date to be decided and the other definite event is the gift fair in November. THANK YOU TO Gwen Montgomery [Robinson] for running a Tupperware party in Aid of our Project: This raised £250. Thank you Gwen for taking the time to come down and run this for us. Finally anyone out there who would like to join the project team please contact Valerie Fildes or Ivor Cherry. You can also contact us by visiting our webpage.. The Clonsilla Project by Ivor Cherry Mission ImpossibleHoly Week 2001 For many of us growing up in the 60’s the word GOD meant: a supernatural being “ out there” who created the world a long time ago and had on occasions intervened especially in the events in the Bible. God was not “here” but “somewhere else.” And some day, after death, we might be with God, provided that we had done or believed whatever was necessary to pass the final judgment. As the 20th century drew to a close, this older way of understanding Christianity that nourished the lives of millions of people for over thousand years has ceased to be persuasive to many in our time. This understanding of God worked for our parents and grand parents , but in the last 20 years , there has been a huge explosion in education , advances in the spheres of science and physics. The tradition from which we learned doesn’t fit very well with critical thought processes of the 21st century. Our culture is experiencing a surge of religious and spiritual interest. New Age movements, retreats for stressed out execs, philosophy courses etc. The increasing secularization of our society makes people suspicious of religion as a set of doctrinal claims about the way things are. We must be aware of religious pluralism, which makes us suspicious of the claim that no one tradition is the only way I am convinced that there is a lot of confusion and uncertainty about God in our culture and among our churches Uncertainty about God is a problem for mainline Christian and churches. As everybody knows mainline denominations have experienced a major decline in the past 30 years. I do admit that the causes are complex, but among the most important I think is doubt about the reality of God. Conservative Churches have done relatively well in part because of their strong convictions about God, reflected in their teaching preaching and worship. In many mainline churches, on the other and there is a “don’t ask, don’t tell” philosophy approach to the question of God. The conclusion from one report is this – churches that are uncertain about God will soon find their pews empty of people. How we think about God.- How we think about God matters. It affects the credibility of religion in general and of Christianity. Our concept of God can make God seem real or unreal, just as it can also make God seem remote or near. How we think about God affects how we see the religious life. Is the religious life focused on this life or the next ( if so in what proportion)? Over 200 years ago, in 1799, a brilliant young German theologian Friederich Schleirmacher. He wrote a book that is often referred to as the fountain head of modern Christian theology. He addressed to the “cultured despisers of religion”. Essentially scientific ways of knowing were beginning to replace a sacred tradition and divine authority as the basis of knowledge. In our time here and now most of us in the Western world have become “cultured despisers of religion” whether we are aware of it or not. What was confined to the educated elite’s of 200 years ago is now become the world view of many. Others of us try to fit the notion of God in the modern worldview.. Most of the time God is somewhere else uninvolved and not here. Others give up on the notion of God. For some this is a conscious decision because the notion of God seems too incredible and incapable of proof. For others , letting go of the notion of God is easier it happens more so than thought out. God is irrelevant, God plays no major role in their lives although they may say in opinion polls God exists but they are practically atheists. And finally there are others who take seriously what the Christian tradition and indeed other religious traditions have to say about God and the sacred together with the current body of knowledge and worldview. They seek to integrate Christianity with modern and postmodern perceptions, producing a contemporary understanding of God and the sacred. Is this indeed Mission impossible. Tuesdays Address: Re-imaging God Dates For Your Diary
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Parishes of Castleknock and Mulhuddart with Clonsilla |
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