Archbishop’s thoughts on All Saints Day; Songs of Praise from Enniskillen Cathedral; Music and Song at Monkstown; Cumann Gaelach na hEaglaise Spiritual Tour to Glendalough; Sale at church on Derry’s Walls; Display Stands At General Synod; Media Review
Archbishop’s thoughts on All Saints Day
The Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson preached on All Saints’ Day November 1st 2012 at All Saints’ Church, Grangegorman, Dublin.
In his sermon Dr Jackson said:
I know that it is only a rather ridiculous idea of mine but I have in the back of my head the picture of Mrs Cranmer sitting, around this time of year, beside a meagre and mangy fire in Lambeth Palace – knitting. It is cold, it is wintry and the archbishop is tearing his hair out writing Collects for the Sundays and Saints’ Days of the Prayer Book in the English language. I have no idea if Mrs Cranmer knitted – she may well have done; after all she was the daughter of a German theologian and may, like Angela Merkel, herself the daughter of a German pastor, have been wise in her frugality. Be that as it may, as we all know, the architect of the Book of Common Prayer was Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, and I have always been struck by the use of this word: knitting in the Collect for All Saints’ Day. It carries with it a domestic feel which is often missing from the big occasions and All Saints’ Day is a big occasion in the life of the Church of God.
Those who know what they are talking about have suggested that the ideas for this Collect came to Cranmer from Ephesians 4:11–13 – but there is no mention there of knitting. I know of no other Collect which uses this word and, even if it has nothing to do with needles and balls of wool, I think it does speak of a very particular type of binding and entwining which are so important if we are to ‘get it’ about how Cranmer wants us to understand All Saints’ Day and to live day by day in its spirit:
O almighty God, who hast knit together thine elect in one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of thy Son our Lord Christ our Lord…and so it continues in the wonderful ebb and flow of language which we associate with Cranmer’s Prayer Book and which, realistically, we find nowhere else in the Christian world and its regular attempts to modernize liturgical language and idiom.
The Celebration of All Saints came out of the period of the church which we associate with martyrs. Martyrs are those who bear witness, the everyday people whose stance, in strong and resolute principle, for faith in God led to their sacrificing their lives for the cause of God. Martyrdom is a contemporary reality in worldwide Christianity as well as being an historical deposit. The understanding of martyrdom is deeply embedded in the Revelation to St John the Divine, which was written at the time of sustained persecution in the first century. We have the extraordinary picture of those who are washed in the blood of the Lamb wearing robes which are not red but white. The purity of their witness, their martyrdom, is what the author wants us to hold as a vivid and a glorious picture. They have direct access to the throne of God. All others who are there are elders and angels. But these humans are there because of the glorious ordinariness of their witness on earth. No longer are they struggling in pain and in suffering. Now they hunger and thirst no more; they have drawn together the very best of heaven and earth. The Lamb who is on the throne will actively shepherd them and lead them, without their having any lingering sadness or inferiority, to the living water which is such a feature of St John’s Gospel. The martyrs, like All Saints, hold together earth and heaven in a single space.
It would be a terrible shame were we to confine sainthood to the past. The readings for All Saints’ Day have no intention of allowing us to do this and neither has the Collect. The Collect continues as follows: Grant us so to follow thy blessed saints in all virtuous and Godly living, that we may come to those unspeakable joys, which thou hast prepared for them that unfeignedly love thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Songs of Praise from Enniskillen Cathedral
Songs of Praise for Remembrance Sunday, 11 November 2012 comes from St Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen. The programme begins at 5.25 p.m. on BBC One.
Music and Song at Monkstown
Monkstown Parish Church, Dublin, will host a Music and Song Extravaganza on Friday November 9 at 7.30 pm. A variety of musicians will be featured including The Brook Singers, The Quintessentially Brass Quintet, Janet de Vigne and Jane Lawrence. Admission is €15 by ticket only. Proceeds from the event will go to Blackrock Hospice, Smylie Trust Orphanage and Knox Hall Renovation. Further details are available from John Hewitson on 01–2807988.
Cumann Gaelach na hEaglaise Spiritual Tour to Glendalough
Cumann Gaelach na hEaglaise is organising a spiritual tour to Glendalough on November 24. A bus will be leaving Dublin at 10.00 am with places available on a first come first served basis. There will be a guided tour of the monastic sites, followed by a service. For further information contact Caroline Nolan, Irish Language Development Officer on (085) 1632 772 or gaeleaglais@gmail.com
A bilingual service of Evensong (in Irish and English) will take place in Christ Church Cathedral on Sunday November 25 at 3.30 pm.
Sale at church on Derry’s Walls
St Augustine’s Church, “the wee church on the wall” is throwing open its doors again this weekend as it holds its annual Sale of Work. It will take place in the parish hall on Saturday 10th November from 10 o’clock to 12pm.
The Sale has become a real feature for Saturday morning shoppers in the city. It is a wonderful opportunity for shoppers to take a well–earned coffee break, with coffee and scones included in the £3 admission price.
St Augustine’s has made its mark over the years with food – everything from St Augustine’s Deli chutneys, amazing baking and not to mention its very own cook book A Knife A Board and A Blender.
As well as the usual wide variety of crafts and stalls a new Christmas range of St Augustine’s well known chutneys will be on sale. St Augustine’s Deli chutneys have become a popular feature on many tables and have been available in the ‘pop–up’shop during the tourist season.
Rev Pat Storey, the Rector of St Augustine’s, said “We love to welcome the people in our city through our doors for the Sale “Every church depends on a willing team of volunteers. Our Ladies Guild team has shown their usual imagination and hard work to put on a great event”. She continued, “What better way to spend your Saturday morning then to come and bag yourself a bargain and have your morning coffee with us”.
St Augustine’s Church is situated in Palace Street, on the city walls. The Sale takes palace on Saturday 12 November, beginning at 10am and closing at 12pm.
Display Stands At General Synod
Synod will take place from Thursday 9 May to Saturday 11 May 2013 in Armagh City Hotel, Friary Road, Armagh, BT60 2FR. Groups and organisations wishing to have a display stand at the General Synod should apply by Friday 15 February 2013 in writing to synod@ireland.anglican.org or to the
Honorary Secretaries of the General Synod
Church of Ireland House
Rathmines
Dublin 6
MEDIA REVIEW
The Troubles may have quietened, but the trauma lives on
The Journal.ie – Although the peace agreement came into effect in 1998, the pain didn’t stop for many, writes Richard Barklie of Wave Trauma Centres.
http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/column-the-troubles-may-have-quietened-but-the-trauma-lives-on-598251-Nov2012/
Funeral of murdered prison officer
Irish Times – The funeral for murdered Northern Ireland prison officer David Black will take place today – Tuesday, it was confirmed The service will be held at Molesworth Presbyterian Church in Cookstown where the 52 year-old father-of-two had attended regularly.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/1103/breaking1.html
Irish Chamber Orchestra – Waterford
Waterford Today – Wunderkind is a showcase of prodigious works by Mendelssohn, Mozart, Weber and Widmann at UCH, Limerick on Thursday 22nd November and Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford (in association with Waterford Music) on Friday 23 November @ 8pm.
http://www.waterford-today.ie/waterford-entertainment/18102-irish-chamber-orchestra-18102.html