Church of Ireland - Diocese of Dublin
Parish News
Castleknock and Mulhuddart with Clonsilla
June 2002 |
Previous issues of The Parish News
Contents of this issue
President McAleese visits Castleknock National School on 18th April
Thursday April 18th was an historic day for the pupils of Castleknock National School, as President Mary McAleese paid an informal visit. The emphasis of the short visit was meeting the pupils and let them talk to her, as well as giving The President the chance to see the new school.
On arrival she was greeted by the Principal, Mrs Lorna Beattie and the Chairperson, Rev. Andrew Orr and met members of the Board of Management and The Parents Association Committee. The Rector made a short speech of welcome, describing President McAleese as "our most distinguished parish resident" and outlining how the official opening had been performed by her "next door neighbour", the US Ambassador. The students then performed some great pieces - "The Teachers Prayer" and "Goodbye Old School" before President McAleese thanked everyone for their welcome and said this was obviously "the best school in the country, with the best pupils, best teachers and best parents!"
She was presented with a bouquet of flowers and the school Millennium Book by the oldest and youngest pupils in the school, Faith Meara and Stephen Hogan.
She then met the staff and pupils, answering questions such as "who made your jacket?", "what do you think of the war in Afghanistan?", "is being President an exciting job?", and "are all those people really your bodyguards?". Junior and Senior infants were very impressed with The President's description of living beside the zoo, and having giraffes peering into her garden, while some of the older classes were very interested in the presidential Mercedes.
President McAleese's visit will be long remembered, not just for the great occasion, but for the obvious enjoyment that she gained from meeting the pupils.
St Thomas'
St Thomas' in Mulhuddart: From June we revert to our summer timetable with Night Prayer every Sunday evening at 8 pm in St Thomas. Two special services are also being held there: first, the Dawn Eucharist which was held on 19th May at 6am to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost; and secondly, on 3rd July, the Patronal Festival of St Thomas will be marked by a Sung Eucharist at 8 pm at which our Curate, Sandra, will preside for the first time following her ordination to the priesthood. Refreshments will be served afterwards.
SCHOOL CLOSING SERVICE
The School Closing Service will be held on Sunday 23rd June at 11.30 am at St Brigid's. followed by a BBQ in the school grounds.
Parish Secretary
At the moment, we are without a parish secretary/administrator in the office, an we're unlikely to have one before the end of June as we change from one FAS scheme to another. This means that replies to your queries might be a bit slower than usual and also that the office may sometimes be unstaffed, even in the mornings. Please be patient and make use of the answering machine - we will get back to you in the end!
Wanted - Sexton / cleaner for St. Brigid's
Our recent cleaner of St. Brigid's has retired, and we are looking for someone or perhaps a couple who might be prepared to take on the task of looking after the Church cleaning and supplies in return for a small remuneration. The work would be about 4-5 hours per week - polishing, dusting, vacuuming etc and organsing the vestry and worship resources. No work on the grounds would be involved. Contact Rev. Andrew for further information. (820 0040)
Parish News Update
The Parish News will be published monthly and will usually be available by the first Sunday.
Have you any interesting stories to tell? We would welcome any articles or interesting stories which you think will make our Parish News more interesting to read. Please hand any material for consideration for inclusion in the magazine to Martha (Castleknock) or Iain (Clonsilla).
Copy Deadline Organisation reports should be sent either in written format to Martha Waller, C/O The Parish Office, or by email to MarthaWaller@Hotmail.com. These should be submitted by the 10th of the preceding month, no matter what day of the week.
NEW PARISH DIRECTORY
WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF UPDATING OUR PARISH DIRECTORY
IF YOU ARE A LEADER OF AN ORGANISATION CAN YOU PLEASE
SEND ANY CHANGES OR ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE
BEFORE THE 15TH MAY 2002- TO Valerie Fildes
THE RECTOR WRITES
Dear Friends,
A Just recently I attended a pilgrimage in Lough Derg, that wild remote place in South Donegal. We were only doing the gentle one day version, I hasten to add, not the rather more arduous three day event, without sleep or much food. What interested me most about the day was the way in which a traditional pilgrimage site, in use for at least a thousand years- has managed to reinvent itself afresh for a new generation. It has balanced its traditional inheritance of pilgrimage and prayerith a packaging aimed at encouraging people to take some time out of busy stressful lives and ask themselves where they are going, and take stock of their relationship with God. But at the heart lies the call to come apart- emphasised by the travelling across water- and to take time to devote oneself to prayer.
I can't help feeling that this something that we have often neglected in the Church of Ireland. We have been good at building a strong sense of community and many are attracted by the quality of our Sunday worship, but personal prayer is something that we often neglect. How many of us try to take for prayer every day, let alone going taking a sustained period of time each year? And yet prayer communication with God- is surely at the heart of what being a Christian is all about. How can we make a simple daily prayer available to all? that is the challenge for us as a Church and one which I hope we will be thinking about over the coming year.As summer comes, please don't neglect to go to Church when you're on holiday. a different experience of Christian worship is something that can enrich not just your own life, but the life of our whole parish. Try it and see!
Yours in His service
Andrew
Ecumenical Matters
We, with other local churches, are invited to an Evening Service organised by the Dublin West Community Church on Saturday 8th June at 7.30pm in An Draiocht Theatre, Blanchardstown Centre. This is part of the 3 day programme organised for the visit to Dublin of Dr John Stott and Dr Chris Wright, well-known international speakers.
EASTER VESTRIES 2002-2003
Castleknock and Mulhuddart
James Anderson, Malcolm Cadoo, Pat Gray, Eddie Greene, Gladys Hutchinson [Secretary] Gordon Kellett, Robert Lawson, Hazel McClean, Bernard Neary, Bernard Sheridan, Aisling Shine, Edwin Watters [Treasurer.]
Glebe wardens: [Rector's] Sam McKeever, [People's] Dave Dobson
Churchwardens:
- St. Brigid's [Rector's] Heather Hayes [People's] Hilary Nason
- St. Mary's [Rector's] Melanie Ellis [People's] Keith Bannister
- St. Thomas' [Rector's] Martha Waller [People's] Hal McGuckin
Clonsilla
Ivor Cherry, Linda Doyle, Valerie Fildes [Secretary], Elizabeth Fleeton, Avril McCabe, Edith Nuzum, Dorothy Robinson, Frank Robinson, Charles Seaman, Sean Skehan, Yvonne Smith, Bob Tutty, Hon. Treasurer-Mrs. Sharon Skehan.
READINGS FOR SUNDAY MORNINGS IN JUNE
June 2nd
Trinity 1
Proper 4 |
Genesis 6: 9-22; 7: 24; 8: 14-19
Psalm 46
Romans 1: 16-17; 3: 22b-28
Matthew 7: 21-29 |
June 9th
Trinity 2
Proper 5 |
Genesis 12: 1-9
Psalm 33: 1-12
Romans 4: 13-25
Matthew 9: 9-13, 18-26 |
June 16th
Trinity 3
Proper 6 |
Genesis 18: 1-15
Psalm 116: 1-2, 12-19
Romans 5: 1-8
Matthew 9: 35 - 10: 8 |
June 23rd
Trinity 4
Proper 7
SCHOOL CLOSING SERVICE
(St B) |
Genesis 21: 8-21
Psalm 86: 1-10, 16-17
Romans 6: 1b-11
Matthew 10: 24-39 |
June 30th
Trinity 5
Proper 8 |
Genesis 22: 1-14
Psalm 13
Romans 6: 12-23
Matthew 10: 40-42 |
Confirmation
On 19th May at King's Hospital, Ali Brindley (daughter of Florence and Tony Brindley of Mulhuddart)
On 21st April at St Brigid's we had a very enjoyable day with the Archbishop with us for our Parish Confirmation. Talking of his recent experiences in Honduras, the Archbishop inspired the young people as well as the rest of the congregation: "best sermon I've ever heard" said one teenager!
The following week we welcomed the newly confirmed at a Parish Breakfast, where they were presented with their certificates and a book of Christian prayers, and then joined their families at the Eucharist. We continue to keep these young people in our prayers: Rebecca Connolly, Ashling Cunningham, Jill Curran, Kyle Delaveri, Mark Ensor, Paul Ensor, Niall Fox, Ben Garrett, Emma Hamilton, Marc Hilton-Molyneux, Jennifer Hollingsworth, Mary-Jane Meara, William Meara, Patricia Murphy, Ciara Smullen, and Daire Smullen.
Youth Club Update
The Pathfinders' 10 Year Reunion took place on Sunday 28th April and really was a fantastic success. Over 70 people came along and it was lovely to see past and present leaders and members enjoy an evening together. It was also great that so many people who couldn't attend sent letters or messages of good wishes. The Right Reverend Paul Colton, Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, who was the club founder sent a wonderful message of congratulations.
Our most famous Pathfinder, Andy Orr, who is now a member of the Popstar series created band '6', sent his good wishes too. He couldn't attend as he was touring in Europe but his Dad very kindly secured a poster and an autographed photo for our album. Thanks to Caroline Hepburn who helped out with the organisation and catering for the evening. Beautiful presentations were made by Reverend Andrew Orr to James and I, as we retire as leaders this month and to Rachel Devlin who retired last year. Pathfinders will be back in action again under new leadership, with God's help, in September, so until then - stay well and happy.
Evelyn Pender
Ten Minute Quiz
Quiz By Sean Skehan
1. |
A painting of the Madonna and Child was saved for the nation with a £10.25million donation from the lottery, who painted it? |
2. |
If circumnavigating the Earth which of these is the greater distance: going east/west at the equator or north/south through the poles? |
3. |
In the phonetic alphabet what word represents the letter Z? |
4. |
In what year were the Winter Olympics re-adjusted to take place midway between summer games instead of being in the same year? |
5. |
What annually, according to a recent survey of council employees, is the time spent on cigarette breaks by the average smoker? |
6. |
What was Rodney's middle name in Only Fools and Horses? |
7. |
What is a narwhal (Pronounced nar-wal)? |
8. |
Who had a 1981 number one with Don't You Want Me? |
9. |
On a compass what do the initials NEbE stand for? |
10. |
Which spy plane, piloted by Gary Powers, was shot down over Russia in 1960? |
Answers
Boys' Brigade
BB News by Martha Waller—Secretary
BB News
The 14th Annual Display took place on Friday 19th April in Castleknock Parish Centre. Over 40 boys from Anchor Boys, Junior Section and Company Section put on a magnificent display. The night was enhanced with the presence of Eibhlin Sheridan on guitar and the 1st Company Brass Band.
The Inspecting Officer was Lt. Peter O'Callaghan, who is an officer with the 1st Company Harolds Cross and Mr. Maurice Hosie, a former BB parent, presented the prizes.
The Chaplain the Rev. Andrew Orr paid tribute to the boys, officers, and leaders.
A presentation of an engraved pewter tankard was made to Lt. Philip Denner to mark his retirement after 10 years with the 10th and almost 40 years in BB.
BB Weekend away
The annual JS/CS weekend away was held at River Valley Camping and Caravan Park in Redcross, Co. Wicklow from the 10th to 12th May, 2002.
16 boys were accompanied by 6 leaders. The weather was fabulous and the boys had a wonderful time at Clara Lara, played an indoor football tournament and used the facilities at the park. The company attended church on Sunday morning in Redcross to give thanks to God for the fantastic weekend.
Watch out for the next issue to read all about the weekend as described by some of the boys!!!!!!!
Girls Brigade
Girls' Brigade Notes
Our Session came to an end on Friday 26th April with our Annual Display which was held in Castleknock Community College. It was a great success, with all ages taking part - from the Tiny Tots up to the associates/officers (I believe there are photos being circulated!!!). Well done to all the girls and a big "Thank You" to their parents for all their support throughout the year with costumes, extra practices and lifts etc.
The Explorers have their outing on Saturday 18th May and the older sections have theirs on Saturday 29th June. No doubt the Leaders will have an outing too! - still to be arranged.
See you in September.
Ros Garrett
Ordination
On Sunday June 30th our Curate, the Rev'd Sandra Pragnell, will be ordained Priest at Christ Church Cathedral at 3.30pm. We look forward to many of our parishioners turning out to give her their support on this important and special day. Please keep her in your prayers.
On 23rd June our former Student Reader Stella Mikhail will be ordained Deacon (by our former Rector, the Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross) in St Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork at 4pm. At Stella's farewell service with us on 28th April, we presented her with a set of stoles in recognition of her 2 years with us, and we wished her, Wahid and the girls God's blessing for the future in Bandon, where Stella will serve as Curate-Assistant.
Please keep her in your prayers.
Brownie and Guide Notes
The girls have been busy with programmes to suit their ages.
Brownies have gained Blue, Green and Red Footprint badges, they have had International and Nature evenings as well as doing beautiful crafts.
Guides have been working on Spruce, Copper Beech and Silver Birch badges. They have had an International evening and a Cooking/Tasting evening as well as working on some lovely crafts.
Brownies and Guides had an enjoyable Parents evening when all our new members were enrolled. We welcomed our new Leaders Rachel Aston to Brownies and Margaret O'Neill to Guides. We ended our year with a Party and Sports.
We are taking names of girls of 61/2 to 10 years to join Brownies, and girls of 10 1/2 years and over to join Guides.
We will be starting back after the Summer on Thursday 12th September - Brownies at 6. 15p.m. and Guides at 7.30 p.m. Have an enjoyable Summer
Diana Hamilton - Brownies and Pauline McConnell - Guiders.
The Parish Hiking Group
The Parish Hiking Group resumed its monthly outing on 11th May (the second Saturday of the month) with a not too taxing walk on the cliff path around Howth Head. We were blessed with beautiful weather and spectacular views along the coast.
This month's walk, at Bray Head, is on Saturday 9th June.
All welcome: just turn up to meet us at St Brigid's at 9.30am.
Clonsilla Project
Building for the future generation
A good crowd was present at the launch of the project at our joint service on 28th April. The Rector outlined the need for the project in this fast growing area of Dublin, and the Architect Don Cromer described his plans for the extra facilities on the north side of the vestry. Frank Robinson then summed up the way the costs are to be met over a three year period, with a combination of fundraising, direct giving by parishioners, and grants and donations.
Forthcoming events where you support will be welcome are the two lunchtime organ recitals at St Brigid's on 13th and 20th June, and the Car Treasure Hunt and BBQ on 22nd June (details available from the Parish Office).
Friends of St Mary's Church are invited to consider making a pledge towards the project-and for further details on Gift Aid, pledges etc., please contact the parish office.
**** A few Dates for your Diary ****
MID-SUMMERS TREASURE HUNT AND BAR-B-QUE
On Saturday 22nd June 2002
Start 7 p.m. in the Parish Centre
12 per head or 40 per car of four.
Price includes a bar-b-que at the end of the treasure hunt
BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW-Contact Melanie Ellis
GOLF CLASSIC 27TH SEPTEMBER 2002
IN WESTMANSTOWN GOLF CLUB [BY KIND PERMISSON]
INCLUDED IN THE FEE:
- Golf, 4 person Team Event
- Four Dinner tickets for each Team
- Extra dinner ticket available.
COMPETITION:
- Four person team event. Rules of competition on the Scorecard
- Places are limited, so Teams must be booked early to be guaranteed a place
- All entries are subject to the approval of Committee
Handicaps:
- GUI Handicap Maximum Gents 24 Ladies 36
- Non GUI Handicap Gents 18 Ladies 28
WOULD YOU LIKE TO:
SPONSOR THE EVENT 1000, ENTER A TEAM 400 SPONSOR A TEE-BOX OR
GREEN 100, DONATE A TEAM PRIZE
ENTRY FORMS AND FURTHER DETAILS from the Parish Office Tel: 8200040 or Valerie Fildes
IF YOU FEEL YOU CAN HELP AND WOULD LIKE TO GET INVOLVED PLEASE CONTACT:
clonsillaproject@eircom.net
Galway Cycle Challenge in aid of USPG
David Dobson
Event Co-ordinator.
Route- Galway - Clifden- Oughterard- Galway - 106 miles
Ten intrepid members of Castleknock and Clonsilla parishes recently cycled 106 miles from Galway to Clifden and back in aid of USPG. Specifically, they were raising money for St. Anne's Hospital, Liuli, in Tanzania which the parishes have pledged to support through USPG. The team of ten - Robert Lawson, Dave Dobson, Dave Garrett, Eddie Colton, Eddie Greene, James Anderson, Laurence O'Reilly, Syd Nagle and Gordon Kellett were backed up by the George Chambers support vehicle. They had been in intensive training round the Phoenix Park and the out as far as Navan and Trim for several months and their firm thighs received admiring glances from many female parishioners.
The cycle itself was very successful and the round trip was completed over two days, stopping in Clifden overnight and returning to Galway the next day, with only one small injury en route. To date the team reckoned to have raised around 15000 for the hospital and would welcome further donations, which can be sent c/o Castleknock Parish Office, Main St. Dublin 15. The hospital is on the shores of Lake Malawi and its 100 beds cater for an enormous population in an area where malaria is rife and a large proportion of the population is infected with HIV. A big thank you to everyone involved in supporting the team and especially to the riders themselves.
Support for the Homeless
Over the weekend 15th and 16th June the Dublin Simon Community will be collecting at the church gates of St Brigid's, Castleknock (our Parish has been chosen for this as it is one of the Top Fifteen parishes which support the local Simon Community). All money collected will go to help the 4,000 people who are homeless in Dublin today and to bring them some hope for the future.
SUMMARY OF Rev. Sandra's Sermon for Christian Aid Week
CHRISTIAN AID WEEK (12th-18th May)
Thank you to all those of you who supported us by contributing to the envelope collection and coming along to the Coffee Morning hosted by the Clergy on Friday 17th May. The final total collected will be announced in the newsletter (and next month's Parish News). For those who may have missed it, here is a condensed version of the sermon preached on Christian Aid by the Curate on 12th May.
"As the body of Christ in the world, we are called, like the disciples, to proclaim to the ends of the earth the good news of God's kingdom. It's a life long journey and requires commitment, but for each of us we pray that this calling will bring us real peace and joy as we come closer to God.] And it is that relationship with God, which each of us has, which feeds into our commitment, the way we live our lives. And at the beginning of this year's Christian Aid week, I want to look at some practical ways we can live out the gospel.
Money tends to be a subject guaranteed to make you all switch off. But this is a generous parish and we have a lot to be proud of: we raised funds in February to buy an electric wheelchair for a parishioner; our commitment to outside charities is good; we are all committed to the recently launched Clonsilla project; only last weekend we generously sponsored our cyclists for the USPG hospital project in Tanzania; and now it is Christian Aid week and you will no doubt be thinking 'hang on, we're being asked for yet more money'. Surely there is a temptation to say 'are you serious, we have no more to spare?'
Christian Aid is serious: it is works across the churches and with people of no faith, it aims not just to give someone a hand out but a hand up, a hand of friendship - as its logo says - it believes in life before death. It's what Jesus preached when he said he had come to give us life in all its fullness, in abundance. Where I lived in England we would collect for Christian Aid door to door each May: every household had a red envelope through the door and later we would go to collect what we hoped would be a filled envelope. It was an interesting experience. One year I visited a new street and, failing to recognise the mezzuzah on the doorpost, knocked at a Jewish household. Worse still, it was a Friday evening and an orthodox Jewish household who could not put the light on or open the door - but it was the Rabbi himself who passed me a bulging filled envelope through the letter box. Real generosity for Christian Aid, because it works with people of all faiths - even today it is involved in both sides of the divide in the Holy Land, supporting Israeli and Palestinian projects to eradicate poverty, provide health care, and improve quality of life. Collecting door to door is daunting at times, especially in areas of high unemployment where people have little to spare. Interesting then, that on the occasions when people said they had nothing, and I tried to give them £5 - not one of them would take it but insisted it went into the Christian Aid tin. One woman took it reluctantly first, but then followed me up the road to put it in the tin after all. So even if we feel the Celtic tiger has passed us by, I don't think we should apologise for the red envelopes today, because even the smallest amount we can find to give goes a long way to help the very poor.
But it's not just money: the focus this year is on Trade for Life, aimed at changing the way that international trade currently works against the poor. We need to educate ourselves - even how what we buy in the supermarkets makes a difference. It matters to poor farmers in many parts of the world what kind of tea, coffee or chocolate we buy - some brands exploit them and impoverish them, in effect keeping them in slavery, while other brands are fairly traded and give the farmer a decent deal, a guaranteed minimum price, as well as supporting community projects in health, education and agriculture. Do we care enough to bother checking what we buy? The same goes for other foods, as well as clothes and shoes. How caring about our world are we?
Jesus' prayer for his disciples, for us, is that we may all be one (as he and God the Father are one). Yet our world is divided - our calling as Christians means doing what we can to ensure the fulfilment of Jesus' prayer, to overcome division, to break down barriers, to love our neighbours in practical ways, and to share the very many blessings we have. It is after all in giving that we receive.
Amen.
Diary for June
Sunday Service Times:
You are welcome to worship with us;
Children’s activities at the main morning services.
8.30am St Brigid’s
10.00am St Mary’s
11.30am St Brigid’s
8.00pm St Thomas’ (each week to end of September; thereafter 3rd Sunday)
7.00pm 2nd Sunday Healing service in St. Brigid’s (October -May)
Other Services in Lent – see below.
|
June at a glance |
4th June |
Castleknock Vestry meeting |
22nd June |
Car Treasure Hunt and Bar-b-que
in aid of Clonsilla Project
|
23rd June |
School Closing Service 11 a.m.
St. Brigids folowed by Bar-b-que
Stell'a Ordination in Cork
|
30th June |
Ordination of our Curate Sandra in Christ Church Cathedral |
Looking forward to July & August
PARISH NEWSLETTER/ PARISH DIRECTORY
The next edition of the magazine will be a two month issue-July/August and also a reminder of changes to the parish directory - please let us have them now
Answers to Ten Minute Quiz
1. Botticelli |
2. Round the Equator |
3. Zulu |
4. 1994 |
5. Three weeks
....[based on a 37.5 hour working week] |
6. Charlton |
7. Whale |
8. The Human League |
9. North-East by East |
10. U-2 |
Top of page
