Irish news digest

Easter Day video broadcast by Bishop John McDowell

The Bishop of Clogher and Archbishop–designate of Armagh, the Right Revd John McDowell, will be leading a video broadcast of a Celebration of Holy Communion on Easter Sunday.

The online service which will be available on the Clogher Diocese Facebook page and website from Sunday morning will come from Kiltermon Church, Fivemiletown.

It will also be aired on Northern Sound 96.8 FM and Shannonside 104.1 FM at 9.00pm on Easter Sunday.

Bishop McDowell will lead the service which will include recordings of several well–known Easter hymns and the prayers and intercessions will be led by Precentor Kyle Hanlon, Rector of Fivemiletown parish which includes Kiltermon. The Bishop will read the Gospel and preach a sermon.

This will be the main service of Holy Communion on Easter Sunday in Clogher Diocese.
[[] www.clogher.anglican.org ]

Easter Sunday worship on BBC One

This Easter Sunday, The Very Rev. Kathy Jones leads Sunday Worship from Bangor Cathedral with Easter hymns sung by a BBC Songs of Praise congregation which was recorded back in March 2018 and filmed before the closure of all Church in Wales buildings. This Sunday, 11.25 on @BBCOne

Sunday service from across Anglican Communion

As many provinces of the Anglican Communion have suspended public worship, the Anglican Communion Office is putting together online services for Sundays with contributions from around the world.…
[ bit.ly/39NAPbL ]

Offaly funeral home streams church services on internet

In an effort to bring Easter weekend ceremonies to the widest audience possible, church services are being streamed live from a funeral home in Offaly.

Sunday morning Masses celebrated by Fr Martin Carley, PP, Catholic parish of Rahan, and Sunday evening services from Rev Isaac Delamere, Church of Ireland Tullamore Union of Parishes, have been available for viewing through a webcam at the Lawless funeral home in Mucklagh for the last few weeks.

The number of viewers has been increasing each weekend and many more are expected to log on in what is one of the biggest events on the annual church calendar.

Undertaker Tom Lawless first got a webcam installed at his funeral home in Mucklagh in December 2018 through a specialist provider, MCN Media.

Using a password which can be provided by family members of the bereaved, mourners unable to go to a wake have been able to view proceedings on their computer.

“When the coronavirus initially came in I had a funeral and the family said to me could I put it on the death notice that there was to be no handshaking and I was the first to have that put on RIP.ie,” said Mr Lawless.

Since then, funeral attendance has been restricted to as few as 10 people and the diocese of Meath has suspended all public Masses.

Mr Lawless contacted local clergymen to see if they would be interested in using his viewing room.

The procedure for accessing the webcam is as follows – 1: log onto MCN Media, 2: click Republic of Ireland, 3: click Cameras, 4: click View Funeral Homes, 5: Scroll down to Lawless Funeral Home, 6: Double Click on Lawless Funeral Home. – Offaly Express

Prayer points

We stand on the edge of those three days where every Holy Week the altars are stripped, the tabernacle empty, and there is no water in the font. This year our experience of this is longer and deeper; and that is hard. Pray it will make our experience of Resurrection even more joyful.

Pray for Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin who turned 75 yesterday. Thank God for his service and witness.

God of the present moment,
God who in Jesus stills the storm
and soothes the frantic heart;
bring hope and courage to your people
as we wait in uncertainty.
Bring hope that you will make us the equal
of whatever lies ahead.
Bring us courage to endure what cannot be avoided,
for your will is health and wholeness;
you are God, and we need you.
(New Zealand Prayer Book, p. 747)

During that first Holy Week many carried on with their lives unaware of the momentous events unfolding day by day. Pray today for the many living through this week unaware of the significance of what Jesus has achieved by his death and resurrection.

If you’re in need of insight and comfort during this time when we can’t gather together, sign up here to receive our daily reflections from leading Christian writers. St Paul’s Cathedral [ http://bit.ly/2V5IBbM ]

God in creation