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The Church of Ireland Diocese of Dublin |
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Previous issues of The Parish News Contents of this issue
The Parish News will be published monthly and will usually be available by the first Sunday. 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. THE RECTOR WRITESDear Friends, I hope you have all had a relaxing summer. Here in the parish we are gearing up for the winter season. All our organisations are starting up once again (more details elsewhere) and will be looking for new members. So why not think of getting involved either as a member or a leader? The Clonsilla Centre fundraising is also of course on the move again - see later for details of the Male Voice Choir visit and also the Golf classic. The fundraising is going very well, as we have well over €100,000 pledged and raised so far. This year will see the final push on this very exciting project. So please do give us your support in all the events which will be held over this year, as well as the direct giving if you haven't already contributed. September also sees the start of Confirmation preparation for another year. If you are interested in being confirmed please contact myself, Robert or Sandra as soon as possible. We hope that once again the service will be around May/June. Don't forget that you must be in at least 6th class to be confirmed - but that there is no upper age limit!! Two adults from our parish were confirmed in June, and anyone is welcome to enquire. Finally, as our Sunday Clubs gear up for another year, thanks are due to all our leaders for the hard work they put in week after week. In Clonsilla we have two new coordinators, Rachel O'Connor and Lorraine Melia, who will need the support of everyone to make their time successful. It's a very important job, please do be as helpful as you can, with your time and your interest. Sandra, Robert and I look forward to seeing you in Church soon! Its not the same without you..... Yours in his Service Andrew Harvest FestivalHarvest will be celebrated at St Thomas, Mulhuddart, on Sunday 21st September (note change of date). Ministers of the EucharistPresently, we are looking for more people who would be willing to take the chalice during the distribution of the bread and wine at the Eucharist. No special qualifications are needed, other than a committed Christian faith. There will be one evening's training and then you will generally be approached by the Churchwardens as required. Please contact Andrew or Sandra if interested. ReadersWe're always looking for new people to join our team of readers in both St.Brigid's and St. Mary's . If you'd like to take part in this special ministry, we can give you training. Contact either Yvonne Smith (Clonsilla) or Liz Gohery (Castleknock). Thank YouWe would like to thank every one concerned for the lovely gifts which we received at the Sunday Club Gift Day Service. We really appreciate these useful pottery gifts and reassure everyone that they will get plenty of use - in fact they already have. We very much enjoyed our time as leaders of Clonsilla Sunday Club, we watched the numbers grown from three or four attending on Sundays to now between 12 - 14. It was good building a bond between us the children and in particular seeing the children getting more and more confident until they were taking part in our family service. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone in the Parish for there support during these years and we wish future leaders all the best and hope you get as much pleasure out of it as we did. We wish the club every success in the future. Ruby and Margaret BOYS BRIGADE NEWSBoys' Brigade will re-open on Tuesday 16th September 2003 in the Parish Centre at the following meeting times:
Due to staffing levels there may have to be a restriction on intake of new members this year. If you would like any further information about 10th Dublin Company, please contact Robert Lawson. Mother's UnionThe Mothers' Union is a Christian organisation that promotes the well-being of families world-wide. 2001 saw the Mothers' Union celebrate its 125th Anniversary. The purpose of the Mothers' Union is to be specially concerned with all that strengthens and preserves marriage and Christian family life. The Aim of the society is the advancement of the Christian religion in the sphere of marriage and family life. In order to carry out this Aim, its Objectives are: 1. To uphold Christ's teaching on the nature of marriage and promote its wider understanding. 2. To encourage parents to bring up their children in the faith and life of the Church. 3. To maintain a world-wide fellowship of Christians united in prayer, worship and service. 4. To promote conditions in society favourable to stable family life and the protection of children. 5. To help those whose family life has met with adversity. Membership of the Mothers' Union is open to all who have been baptised in the name of the Holy Trinity and who declare their support for the Aim and Objectives of the society. On Monday 1st September 2003 the Opening Service with enrolment of new members will be held in St. Brigid's Church, Castleknock at 8 p.m. when the preacher will be the Rector, The Rev. Andrew Orr. A light supper will be served in the church after the service and members and visitors will have time to catch up on the summer news and hear about the varied programme the committee has organised for the coming session. Please feel free to join us at this service and indeed at any of the meetings throughout the year. These will be publicised in the Sunday Announcement Sheet prior to the monthly meetings. Chairperson of the Branch is Muriel Kellett, if you would like to know more. Valerie Greene, Hon. Secretary. Castleknock School NewsCongratulations to Ms. Olive Smith who has been appointed principal from 1st September in place of Mrs. Beattie. Ms Smith is of course well known to all pupils and parents, having taught for many years in the school and has been Deputy principal for a number of years. Congratulations to Olive also on her recent marriage to Mark Wilkinson of Tyrrelstown House. Parish Walking GroupThe parish walking group held two marvellous trips this summer to Ireland's Eye and to the Boyne Valley. Reports elsewhere in this edition. The next walk is on Saturday 13th September to the Grand Canal Feeder at Milltown, Co. Kildare. Meet at St. Brigid's 9.30 am. All are welcome. CLONSILLA PROJECTFORTHCOMING FUND RAISING EVENTS DUBLIN WELSH MALE VOICE CHOIR CONCERT SATURDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER in Saint Brigid's Church Castlekncok, at 8 p.m Tickets €10.00 Available from Mrs. Pat Gray or GOLF CLASSIC 26TH SEPTEMBER 2003 IN WESTMANSTOWN GOLF CLUB [BY KIND PERMISSON] ENTRY FORMS AND FURTHER DETAILS SEE NOTICE BOARD FOR FURTHER DETAILS News of Young Parishioners Sporting AchievementsTHEO LAWSON Theo's brother Paul continues to develop his playing career at Phoenix Cricket Club. JONATHAN FILDES He has had various podium finishes include two firsts, various seconds and thirds. He is currently lying second in the championship with fellow Irishman Eoin Murray fourth. If you have Sky digital you can following the racing on channel 416 live, they are then repeated during the week on a Wednesday or visit the web site which is www.cliocup.com. Organisations: Reopening DatesMothers Union: 1st September opening and enrolment service. AT A GLANCELooking forward to October and beyond: Harvest Festival The GIFT FAIR will be on 16th November. Stained Glass WindowsThe heraldic memorial window at the west end of the north aisle in St Brigid's, which had been destroyed by vandalism, has been replaced by a replica of such good quality that it is hard to tell that it is a new window. Abbey Stained Glass have done a wonderful job. We hope also to have the window above the Holy Spirit Chapel restored in the next month or so. Meanwhile, on the recommendation of the insurers, all the windows of St Brigid's are being fitted with metal grills as the existing protection was not sufficient. The Holy Land?Do you sometimes despair when you hear the news about the violence which threatens all the people who live in the Holy Land, or perhaps more correctly, in the Land we call Holy? We go on praying for peace in Jerusalem; we wonder whether it will ever be possible for the Jewish and Muslim people to live together in harmony; and we try to remember the plight of the Palestinian Christians who live as a tiny minority in both Israel and Palestine. But is anything positive happening on the ground? And is there anything we can do? Well, the answer to both questions is, yes. A seed of hope has been planted in East Jerusalem. Led by an Anglican priest, Dr Naim Ateek (himself a Palestinian and Israeli citizen), a group of ten people founded a centre for ecumenical biblical study: they named it 'Sabeel' (an Arabic word meaning the Way, or the Spring of Life giving Water). Sabeel brings together Palestinian Christians and many other ecumenical partners, who are looking at the Bible to help them develop a spirituality which will be based on justice, peace, non-violence, liberation and reconciliation for all the different national and faith communities in the Holy Land. This is especially important for Christians, who felt that some parts of the Old Testament were being used to justify their suffering; even though the Bible shows us a God who is concerned with the oppressed, and the poor. Earlier this year, I was privileged to hear Dr Ateek speak in Dublin (as part of his tour around Ireland). Following that visit, a number of people (including Methodist, Church of Ireland, and Roman Catholic) have got together to form an Irish branch of Friends of Sabeel (there are already such groups in the UK, and in Europe, as well as in North America, Scandinavia, and Australia). As well as supporting Sabeel's work, these groups try to encourage prayer, and education about what is happening on the ground. The newly formed Friends of Sabeel-Ireland locally plans to raise funds for Sabeel and at the same time support the Palestinian economy by selling olive wood carvings and other Palestinian crafts at Christmas fairs. It also hopes to encourage individuals and groups to become members: for €25 (for individuals) you will receive the quarterly journal 'Cornerstone' from Sabeel in Jerusalem, as well as other local information. We can support our fellow Christians by prayer, but our prayer needs to be informed both by education and by action. If you wish to find out more about Friends of Sabeel-Ireland, please let me know. Sandra Pragnell (Curate). FarewellWe have had to say farewell to two parish families. First, to Andrew and Alana Best and their boys Zack and Joshua, who are returning to Northern Ireland. We wish them well as they return to their home parish of Shankill, Lurgan, and look forward to seeing them again next year. Also, to Peter and Jane Laithwaite, and their children Jessica, Dominic and Joseph, who have returned to Portsmouth in Hampshire following the end of Peter's contract here. We pray for God's blessing on them all. The Episcopal Church is Thriving in Joyful Christian MinistryThe controversy over the election of Canon Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire, the first openly practising homosexual bishop in the Anglican Communion, can make the Episcopal Church of the USA seem very much at odds with itself. This statement puts a rather different perspective. The Episcopal Church is thriving in joyful Christian ministry: [ACNS source: Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee] We recognize that emotionally laden issues are often surrounded by misunderstanding, and we offer the following reflections of clarification as signs of our unequivocal love and support of the Episcopal Church. We acknowledge a variety of differences among faithful Episcopalians, and we are grateful to be members of a church that not only welcomes but joyfully accommodates such a wide spectrum of perspectives and opinions. Most recently, our differences of opinion on matters of human sexuality have been aired in the secular media, and we are pleased that the media has noticed the civility and charity that prevailed in our deliberations. Along with the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, the Dallas Morning News, the Commercial Appeal, and others, we too hope that our church's way of handling such an emotionally volatile issue can become a model for the difficult debates that go on in the larger society. We affirm the Holy Scripture of the Old and New Testaments as the Word of God, and we recognize that our different opinions on difficult social issues often stem not from varying degrees of reverence for the Bible but from varying ways of interpreting the Bible. We recognize that some Christian denominations, on the basis of their interpretations of the Bible, do not allow women to be ordained or to hold certain positions of leadership in their churches. The Episcopal Church interprets the Bible differently and benefits from women serving in all levels of church leadership, lay and ordained. We recognize with sadness that, in former days, some have supported the institution of slavery by quoting certain passages of the Bible out of context. We affirm the Episcopal Church's prayerful discussions of the complete witness of Scriptures, together with holy tradition and our God-given reason. This traditional, Anglican approach does not always yield unanimity, but we hope our approach contributes constructively to the important ongoing task of interpreting the ways of God to human beings. We, along with Episcopal churches across the United States, are engaged in and strongly committed to a wide variety of ministries. While we pledge ourselves to meaningful study and dialogue about many issues facing the world today, including issues of human sexuality, such study and dialogue certainly will not dominate our life as a church. Following the example of Jesus and inspired by the Holy Spirit, we are continuing our tradition of addressing a variety of concerns, including homelessness, hunger, poverty, education, racism, violence, and the stigma of mental illness, to name just a few. And while we are actively engaged in social ministries that we hope express the love of God for the world, we continue to worship in the beauty of the Anglican tradition, in spirit and in truth. Our churches are strong, vibrant, and alive in the Holy Spirit. No church is perfect, but we want all people to know what we so deeply and joyfully feel, that God is at work in wonderful ways in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America and that those concerns that occasionally divide us are secondary to the deeper fundamentals that unite us. Chief among those fundamentals, we believe, is the Truth revealed to us in the incarnation and resurrection of Jesus Christ - the unconditional love of God for all people and God's desire to draw all people to God's self. The letter is signed by the bishop and many clergy and lay people of the diocese. Ireland's Eye by Alice M. BestIn the glorious weather that we have been privileged to enjoy after so many disappointing summers, the Parish Walking Group were fortunate to have arranged to visit Ireland's Eye. How many of us remember learning by rote at school "Lambay, Ireland's Eye, and Dalkey Island," the three islands off the Dublin coast. Armed with a little advance information, a reputable boat was arranged and everyone carefully fitted themselves into the life jackets provided for the trip across from Howth Harbour. The tiny "landing stage" looked rather precarious but there was plenty of assistance for anyone who felt a bit anxious. We climbed over the rocks and on to the higher cliff to view the flock of black backed gulls that live and breed on the Island. In July the young birds are still dependent on their parents who are very aggressive in defending the chicks that are already so big they look like adults except for their beautiful brown patterning that they will retain for their first year. We saw one adult bird give an unknown chick a very severe bite, grasping it around the neck in his strong beak and shaking vigorously until it ran away. We saw one adult bird give an unknown chick a very severe bite, grasping it around the neck in his strong beak and shaking vigorously until it ran away. As we had an early start there was a coffee break that took place to the accompaniment of the myriad cries of all of these gulls flocking around overhead. We walked over the higher cliffs and were surprised to find two gull chicks nestled together on the footpath obliging everyone to make a small detour to avoid disturbing them. On the rocks all around there were thick layers of the beautiful lichens, vivid orange, delicate grey and pale green, a tribute to the purity of the air, as lichens cannot grow in a polluted atmosphere. There was ample evidence of the rabbit colony in the form of burrows, although having since learned that Puffins lay their young in burrows, it is just possible that some of these had been occupied by a Puffin chick. There are several ruined buildings, a round tower and granite posts which obviously mark some boundary on the island. The weather remained glorious all the time for us and for the several large groups of visitors, Spanish students, and minibus parties who began to arrive later by the half-hourly boat service. We finally settled on the lovely sandy west-facing beach to enjoy our lunch, and the sun continued to beam on us, as another family arrived on the beach direct - by their own motor launch! We also met an adorable little dog who loved the water and raced in and out with a piece of wood three times his size as his owner threw it for him. She assured us that he had already jumped down over a cliff after a baby seal below. Our only disappointment was that we saw none of the seals and as we made the return journey the boatman assured us that they often follow his boat as they mistake it for the fishing boats which are always good for a titbit. The Battle of The Boyne by Alice M. BestOn Saturday morning once a month a few stalwarts meet at St. Brigid's for a ramble in the countryside. This month our goal was the Boyne Valley and two carloads set out to explore our newest landfall. As we left Dublin by the Slane Road the closely packed houses gave way to some magnificent ranch-like farms with their full complement of very impressive livestock. From our car we even caught a glimpse of a cow being chased by a horse. (just playing of course!) When we reached the crossroads at Slane and waited for the traffic lights to change in our favour we could see the beautifully built granite houses set at an angle at the four corners of the square, and supposed these to be the business premises in the days when the Lord of the Manor dispensed justice locally and the management of the Slane Castle estate was carried on at a reasonable remove from the family home. We turned right and headed towards the bridge at Townley Hall, to commence the Boyne Walk that is signposted over the bridge. The path leads along the canal by the River Boyne and in June the hay meadows are high with the grasses waving gently in the breeze. The beautiful blue Damsel Fly floated along and disappeared behind a reed whenever our shadow passed as we tried to get a close look. Dragonflies flitted across the water and the yellow irises glowed in the sun. When we crossed another ancient stone bridge the canal disappeared and we walked near the river for a while, and then mounted a long flight of wooden steps through the forest to a ruined farmhouse on the hill. There was an amusing hole in the front wall, and someone remarked it was like a Tom and Jerry cartoon when Tom suddenly bats Jerry straight through a wall leaving a Jerry shaped gap. At this point there was a muttering in the ranks about a coffee break, which apparently went unheard. We followed the track over someone's farm and then passed a lovely terrace of tiny cottages, obviously part of an ancient estate, and all occupied and lovingly cared for. Then we emerged on another narrow country road and continued left until we noticed several kissing gates on either side of the road with marker posts (crossed swords) on a carefully laid out trail. Could this be the scene of the Battle of the Boyne? As these gates were not locked we chose to walk through and at least eat our packed lunches on the grass and in blazing sunshine. (No more muttering in the ranks!) Following some discussion we decided to take the path in the general direction of the river, and had sight of a large wild bird circling for prey high above us, one expert identified it as a kite, another has since found that it could be a peregrine which is described as keeping a lonely circling watch for prey. On the next few hundred yards as we passed through more hay meadows we saw several ancient canons on display and realised we were on the battlefield of 1690. The information boards on display informed us that the lovely terrace of cottages was Oldbridge Cottages and we were standing on the high ground occupied by the Jacobite forces as they awaited the charge of the Williamite forces crossing the Boyne. Our walk ended when we left the Information Centre and turned right again along the riverbank with birds singing on each side of the river in sweet harmony, or maybe just conducting their own Battle of the Boyne, telling the opposition "you keep off my patch!" FROM THE REGISTRARSHoly Baptism: On 2nd August at St Brigid's: Ethan Charles Grant-Freemantle (first child of Michael and Elaine Grant-Freemantle of Ravenswood Rise, Clonee). Ethan was baptised by his grand-uncle, the Most Rev'd Walton Empey, who was assisted by the Curate. The godparents are Wendy Grant-Freemantle, Henry Grant-Freemantle and Cathal Laide. Holy Matrimony: On 12th July in St. Brigid's: Jennifer Shirley Kellet and Robert Eric Copeland. Blessing of a Marriage - 24th June at St. Mary's Clonsilla: Jacqueline Maria Fay and Patrick Byrne. Grant O Lord that their home may be a place of love, security and peace. Our prayers are also with Sarah Fenton and Liam Cullen, of Clonsilla, who were married on 7th June at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Sarah's grandmother May White, who is a parishioner living at Marymount, was able to be present and thoroughly enjoyed the great day. Sympathy: We offer our sympathy and prayers to Susan Colton, and the wider Good and Colton family circles, on the recent death of Susan's father in Cork. Readings for Sunday Services
SERVICES FOR SEPTEMBEREvery Wednesday: Holy Communion at 10.30 a.m. in Parish Centre Sunday 7th September - Trinity 12 Proper 18 Sunday 14th September - Trinity 13 Proper 19 Sunday 21st September - St Matthew Sunday 28th September - Trinity 14 Proper 21 |
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Parishes of Castleknock and Mulhuddart with Clonsilla |
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