Derry’s Arts Week, Methodist President’s visits, Cancer and the clergy, Connor ordinations, Eco–Congregation Ireland’s latest newsletter
+Derry Cathedral choir contributes to Arts Week – Despite “being on holiday”the choir will be taking part in the Choral Eucharist at 11.30 am on the first Sunday of Arts Week (11 August). music is scheduled for the day, including Dufay’s Ave maris stella, Palestrina’s Missa ‘Æterna Christi munera’ (the eternal gifts of Christ) and Stanford’s setting of Mary E. Coleridge’s poem ‘When Mary thro’ the garden went’, a meditation on her namesake Mary Magdalene’s state of mind on Easter Sunday, as she journeys at first light to Christ’s tomb. People of all religious persuasions and none are most welcome to attend.
+From the President of the Methodist Church in Ireland’s Desk –
“I once had the joy of being in the presence of Rev Dr David Spriggs as he advocated the need for prayer and evangelism to be at the forefront of the Church’s ministry. In ‘Dangerous Praying’ he wrote: ‘When I see God fulfil his promises or achieve the almost impossible, it seems to me that prayer does indeed deserve to be described as a great adventure.’ May God bless all your adventures with him, not least your adventures in prayer. I pray God’s blessing upon you as you use the Prayer Focus material. I pray God’s blessing upon your church family as you pray through it day by day. I pray God’s blessing upon our Connexion as we prayerfully use Prayer Focus to help us rise to the challenges ahead of us this year. I pray God’s blessing upon all those we’ll pray for as the Lord leads us all forward, upward and onward.” Yesterday, Sunday 4th August: The President took part in Castlewellan Holiday Week Service. From today until Wednesday his duties include Connexional pastoral calls.
+”The Big C, Christ, You and Me” – Rev Ian Harbinson, a retired PCI minister, and Julie Peake, a former PCI deaconess, have been writing a blog sharing about their experiences living with cancer.
Ian and Julie will co-present a seminar at New Horizon NI (Coleraine)tomorrow, Tuesday 6 August entitled, “The Big C, Christ, You and Me”. They will present a call to ‘hope-filled’ living with cancer as individual followers of Christ, in our familiies and in our fellowships. It is not only for those dealing personally with cancer, but for those who are involved in any aspect of pastoral care in churches who would like to be better prepared to minister to the many who face a cancer diagnosis.
See – http://bit.ly/2KdoKCf
+Connor ordinations – Bishop Patrick Rooke will ordain the new Connor priests and three Ordained Local Ministers. Two ordination services will take place in Connor Diocese during September, including the ordination of the first Ordained Local Ministers.
The Ordination of Priests will take place on Sunday September 8 in St Patrick’s, Ballymena.
The Rev Peter Stanley Blake (Antrim); the Rev Emma May Carson (Ballymena & Ballyclug), and the Rev Stu Reid (Ballymoney, Finvoy & Rasharkin) will be ordained by the Rt Rev Patrick Rooke, Bishop of Tuam, Killala and Achonry. The service begins at 3pm.
Three Ordained Local Ministers (OLMs) will be ordained at a service in Lisburn Cathedral on Sunday September 22 at 3.30pm.
They will be ordained by Bishop Rooke. The candidates are the Rev William Frederick Adrian Bell (Belfast: St Andrew, Glencairn and Belfast: Whiterock); the Rev Elizabeth Louise Bowes (Mossley) and the Rev Anne Locke (Whitehouse & Belfast: St Ninian).
+Eco–Congregation Ireland’s latest newsletter – is now available, highlighting examples of environmental projects undertaken by churches across the island of Ireland. This covers a survey of churchyards in the Diocese of Glendalough, to see what can be done to encourage biodiversity, a similar project from Christ Church, Portumna (in Co. Galway), and progress made by St Anne’s, Shandon, towards becoming an Eco–Congregation. The Revd Trevor Sargent writes on how to consider the carbon footprint of our holidays.
Eco–Congregation Ireland is an initiative of the Irish Inter Church Meeting, and includes members from the Roman Catholic Church, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian Church, Methodist Church and Religious Society of Friends. Contact person – Karen Nicholson
Administrative Officer +353 (0) 89 974 0744
info@ecocongregationireland.com