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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. Please note that next months magazine will be for the months of July and August 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, Last month I wrote about our annual programme of door to door visiting in new areas and how important it was. The recent publication of census figures for 2002 bears out my point as well as making very interesting reading in some other ways as well. A word of caution: there are of course lies, damned lies and statistics. We need to be especially careful about playing "the numbers game" in matters of religious belief and adherence: numbers are not really a good measure of people's commitment or faith: they are much harder things to quantify. Nevertheless there are lessons to be drawn from the census figures. The total population of the Irish Republic is 3,917,203. The Church of Ireland population is 115,611 or 2.95% of the total. Roman Catholics are 88%, Presbyterians 0.53%, Muslims, 0.49%, Orthodox, 0.26% and Methodists 0.25%, while those replying "Christian" without naming a denomination were 0.55%. All these religious denominations noted a rise in membership since 1992, although the increase in the overall population meant that Roman Catholicism fell as percentage from 91% to 88%. The Church of Ireland population rose by 26,400, an increase of almost 30%, while Presbyterianism rose by 55% and Methodism by 99%. The largest increase was in the Orthodox Churches, which grew from 400 adherents to over 10,000, an increase of over 2,500%. Much of this increase, but not all, is due to immigration. Clearly, the census bears out what we knew already - that Ireland is becoming a much more culturally and religiously diverse society and the Church of Ireland is playing its part in that. A county by county breakdown shows that the highest percentage of C of I members is in Cavan (6.66%) followed by Dun Laoghaire - Rathdown (5.88%) and Donegal (4.59%). The lowest are in Limerick City (1.37%) and Cork City (1.53%), Louth and Roscommon. Here in Fingal there are 4,745 C of I members (2.42% of the total). What can we learn from these figures? First some very positive points. The Church of Ireland is far from dying - very different to what some doom and gloom merchants have been saying. This is especially true in the West where some have been calling for rationalisation - church closures and diocesan amalgamation and yet the number of members is on the increase. Too often we hear people moan that things were better in the past, and yet here is a substantial increase in Church membership for the first time since 1922 - surely we can celebrate this! But second, we can also make the point that we have much to do. If the C of I population in Fingal is 2.42%, and the population of Dublin 15 is approx 100,000, there should be 2,420 C of I members in our parish. Yet we have only some 1,300 on our books. We therefore have no contact with almost 50% of our membership. What better argument can there be for our door to door visiting? More next time. Yours in his Service Andrew PentecostThe birthday of the Church was celebrated in great style throughout the day in our three churches. A faithful little band rose early to attend the Dawn Eucharist at St Thomas Mulhuddart at 6am: it was a beautifully sunny morning with only the sound of birdsong to accompany us. Many thanks to Churchwarden Martha Waller for providing the delicious breakfast at the back of church afterwards. At 8.30am there was the usual (said) service of Holy Communion in St Brigid's, and then at 10am at St Mary's the Sung Eucharist included the Sacrament of Holy Baptism for Michael Eoin Kelly, first child for Wendy and Keith Kelly of Clonee (and formerly of South Africa). A full church at St Brigid's at 11.30am, which was decorated with birthday balloons, saw a lively all-age Service of the Word to mark the Sunday Club Prize and Gift Giving - with 111 children in our Sunday Clubs the prize giving is a real family affair. At 7pm we were back in St Brigid's to welcome the Fingal Choral Union who sang a Choral Eucharist, with a variety of well chosen pieces of music and anthems, including Schubert's Sanctus and some Taize chants. Our Night Prayer at St Thomas at 8pm was a quiet Vigil Office for the Eve of St Columba's Day. Thank You Letter from Lorna19th June 2003 Dear Parents and Children Thank you very much for the beautiful presents you gave me last Sunday. The painting by Daphne Levinge [Shackleton] is hanging on our sitting room wall beside the one we got for our wedding. It is a beautiful painting and it will remind me of my time at Castleknock. Your extremely generous cheque is put away safely at the moment until I decide what to spend it on. However my favourite present of all is the scrapbook from the children. I will treasure it forever. There are some things that money can't buy. The Barbeque was a great success.. Thanks to everyone who worked so hard with the preparations, prior to Sunday, and also on the day, cooking and serving food. It was no easy task to feed over 300 people in a very short space of time. It is with very mixed feelings that I leave Castleknock National School as Principal. Castleknock is part of me. It was a privilege to be associated with the school. Thankfully I am not severing all my ties with the school and I am looking forward to just being a parent at the school in September. I wish Castleknock National School every success in the future. Best wishes, Lorna Beattie BOYS BRIGADE NEWSOn 24th - 26th May the JS boys and leaders enjoyed a weekend at the Tain Holiday Village in Carlingford, Co Louth, with banana boating, archery, team games, kayaking, pier jumping and gorge walking. Robert Lawson Mother's UnionFor our outing to Kilkenny on 26th April, the early risers made it to the train for a 7.30am start. After breakfast in the Kilkenny Design Centre, we then did the cultural bit and had an interesting tour of the castle. A day for 'retail therapy' we shopped till we nearly dropped, but after a food stop in Langton's we were revitalised for the journey home. We congratulate Holmpatrick and Kenure with Balbriggan MU branch on their 60th year of MU activity, and we were pleased to be present at the North Area service when their new banner was dedicated. On the weekend 24-25th May we welcomed to Dublin a group of MU members from our link branch in Holywood, Co Down. For some of them this was their first visit to Dublin and they enjoyed a tour of the city with its various sights and shopping. This year we are marking the 25th anniversary of the inauguration of the link which was formed between our two MU branches in 1978, and it is great to see this link growing and bearing fruit. The Holywood visitors who could stay were hosted by members in their homes in Castleknock, following a delicious supper at the home of our Chairperson Muriel Kellett in Oak Lodge, which was also attended by the Rector and the Curate. On Sunday morning Holywood MU members joined us at St Brigid's for the main service, in which they took part. Valerie Greene, Hon. Secretary. Castleknock School NewsThis year the Feast of Pentecost, formerly known as Whitsun, falls on 8th June. After Easter, this is the second most important feast in the Church because it effectively marks the birthday of the Church. Pentecost is the 50th day after Easter (the word comes from the Greek pentekoste meaning fiftieth day) and it was the name given to the Jewish Feast of Weeks which fell 50 days after the Passover. At the Feast of Weeks the first-fruits of the corn harvest were presented (Deut 16:9) and it usually also commemorates the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses. Because this was the day on which the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles (Acts 2:1), the Church adopted the name Pentecost for the Feast to celebrate the beginning of the church. In the early church, baptisms usually took place at Easter, but Pentecost became the secondary date for baptisms. The white robes worn by those to be baptised led to Pentecost being popularly known as Whitsunday. Red is the liturgical colour for Pentecost (seen in the stoles worn by the clergy, as well as the pulpit fall and the coverings at the Eucharist): it signifies the Holy Spirit (which is why it is also the colour for Confirmation services). In the Eastern Church, there is a tradition of kneeling throughout the Vespers to mark Whitsunday evening, in contrast to their being forbidden to kneel at any service during the 50 days from Easter. Our church marks Pentecost with a special Dawn Eucharist, as well as our usual service, and Night Prayer. Nowadays we tend still to think of Christmas and Easter as the two great festivals: maybe it is time we rediscovered the importance of Pentecost, when (as Jesus had promised) the Holy Spirit was sent down upon the people who were the nucleus of the church. It's a dramatic story, where we see a small group of people transformed by God' Spirit and able to spread the Good News literally to all nations, and who were so ecstatic with the joy they felt that people thought they were drunk (Acts 2:13-15). Let us pray that we can rediscover the joy of Pentecost. Parish Walk12TH JULY IRELAND'S EYE - Weather permitting or GRAND CANAL-Milltown Feeder Meet at St. Brigid's at 9.30 a.m. CLONSILLA PROJECTFUND 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 Clonsilla Project Fundraising The Fund Raising Committee would like to thank everyone who has been involved in helping us to raise funds for this Project. New Treasurer for the Clonsilla Project If you have not returned your pledge towards the Clonsilla Project-please do so by sending it to Mrs. Donna Greenway, c/o the Parish Office, Main Street, Castleknock, Dublin 15. Ecumenical ActivityOn 22nd June in Christ Church Cathedral our parishioner Aisling Shine will be ordained as a Deacon, to serve in the Parishes of Drumcondra and North Strand, and we will celebrate that wonderful occasion with her. But what exactly is a Deacon? The word deacon comes from a Greek word (diakonos) which means someone who serves or ministers to others. All Christians are called to serve others, but the deacon has a particular function which is worth noting. In the Anglican Church we retain the threefold ministry of Bishop, Priest and Deacon (in the Orthodox church they add the ministry of the Reader to that list). Because you cannot be a Priest without first being a deacon, we tend to think of the Diaconate as a stepping stone to Priesthood, yet in the early church there were deacons who held the office for life. As the many references to deacons in the New Testament show us, the calling of a deacon is a serious one. The first deacons (in Acts 6: 1-6) were the seven, including Stephen and Philip, who were called to help the poor and distribute alms. In some of the Epistles (eg Phil 1:1 and 1 Tim 3:8) the deacon assists the bishop: later the chief deacon in a given place became the bishop's principal administrative officer (hence the term Archdeacon - now of course always a priest). During the period of the early church, deacons read or chanted the Epistle and Gospel at the Eucharist, received the offerings of the people, assisted the bishop or priest in the distribution of communion, and directed the prayers of the people. By the Middle Ages the influence of deacons had diminished because of the perceived superior role of the priests, which led to the Western Church tending to see the diaconate simply as a stage in preparation for priesthood. The Eastern Orthodox Church still has people who are deacons for life, and in recent years the Roman Catholic Church in England and elsewhere has ordained permanent deacons, usually men who are married. Nowadays deacons in the Anglican Communion have similar functions to their counterparts in the RC Church: deacons are authorised to baptise, to administer Communion, to read the Gospel at the Eucharist and to dismiss the people at the end of the service, to assist at weddings, to preach, and to officiate at funerals. In practice, deacons carry out most of the pastoral duties of a priest, with the exception of celebrating the Eucharist and pronouncing the Absolution and Blessing. As a historic office in the church, which meets pastoral needs inside and beyond the church, the role of deacon is an exciting one. And so we keep Aisling in our prayers as she takes this important step in her faith journey. The Curate Gift of Wedding KneelersTo mark the end of her second year in the parish, Sandra presented to the two parishes a pair of tapestry wedding kneelers (which had been worked by her mother). Up to now, for weddings we have always had to use the Confirmation kneelers (which show a white dove symbolising the Holy Spirit). The new kneelers, which are decorated with a gold ring, an open Bible, a dove and flowers, were used for the first time on 7th June at St Mary's Clonsilla, for the marriage of Colin Hogg and Laura Burke. CongratulationsCONGRATULATIONS to Aisling Shine on her ordination as a deacon. She was ordained on June 22nd in a packed Christchurch cathedral with three others, Joyce Rankin, John Tanner and Tim Irvine. The congregation heard Bishop Paul Colton speak of a changing Irish society where "a collage of modernity was being grafted on to a canvas of tradition". We were facing a tidal wave of change; it could not be ignored, nor should we let ourselves be swept away by it, but instead we should hoist our sail and steer our course, riding the wave but guided by God. "Surf's up!" he told the new deacons. A large crowd of parishioners came to wish Aisling and her family God's blessing as she begins her new ministry in Drumcondra and North Strand parishes. This happy day was followed by sadness, as Aisling's mother-in law, Mary Shine, died the following day in Cork. We remember Ted, Aisling and all the family circle in our prayers. Farewell to Maedhbh DalthunFAREWELL TO MAEDHBH DALTHUN, our organ scholar, as she and husband Ronan leave to go to Japan to spend a year teaching English. Maedhbh has been a great asset to our music in the parishes, working with both adults and children and we are very sorry to see them go. We wish them both all the best and look forward to seeing them back with us next year. Summer Quiz[DONATED BY Beth Dunne] Find the answers to this quiz they are all names of flowers: 1. The main between the mountains _____________ Answers later on this page. Castleknock and Mulhuddart Vestry NewsAnyone coming to St. Brigid's in the last few weeks will have noticed the large "cherry picker" parked outside the west door. Last year, Castleknock vestry decided to commission a survey of the roof and tower owing to a number of small leaks in the roof and the fact that has been many years since such a survey was done. The survey revealed that while the roof was in reasonably good condition (just a few slipped slates) the tower needed considerable work. The west face had a large crack running from the louvers almost to ground level and much of the pointing had also come loose. The roof of the tower had become a garden with several large bushes growing, their roots damaging the stonework. There is no access to the tower roof from the inside. All this has been fixed, the lightning conductor has been renewed, and the much of the guttering has been renewed or repaired. Older readers may remember that there was a spire on the tower until it was struck by lightning in 1957 and taken down. The cross from the roof of the spire remains in the Church porch. The cost of the work is around €20,000, we hope to have some of this reimbursed through the Fingal County Council Conservation Grants scheme. We have also once again had an attack of vandalism on St. Brigid's windows, with damage being sustained to the north side window nearest the gate and to the temporary window replacing the one damaged last time. Attacks were made the same night on Our Lady Mother of the Church in Beechpark Avenue and on a number of houses in Main St. However, it appears the culprits may have been apprehended during an attack later in the week. Wire guards are now being fitted to all the windows of the Church, an unfortunate, expensive, but necessary precaution. The repair to the West End window should be completed by the end of July. GroundbreakersYour Invitation Join our annual Bible Holiday Club A Week not to be Missed!! Theme: Groundbreakers Date: Monday 25th - Friday 29th August 2003 Places in each group are limited in line with the number of leaders and helpers. Bookings should be returned before Monday 7th July Sunday 1st September 2003 11.30 a.m. Groundbreakers Service in Saint Brigid's Church, Castleknock FROM THE REGISTRARSHoly Baptism: On 18th May at St Brigid's Castleknock: Emily Rachel Finnegan (daughter of David and Rosemarie Finnegan of Westway). On 8th June at St Mary's Clonsilla: Michael Eoin Kelly (son of Keith and Wendy Kelly of Clonee). Holy Matrimony: On 7th June at St Mary's Clonsilla: Laura Jane Burke and Colin John Hogg, of Blanchardstown. Rite of Confirmation: On 4th June at St Ann's Dawson Street: Mark Cinnamond and Lucinda Lily Jean Green (both of Stonebridge). Christian Funeral and Burial: On 9th June at St Brigid's Castleknock: Frances (Fanny) Coates (died 6th June 2003), late of Church Avenue, Blanchardstown, and formerly of Mercers and Morgans School, Navan Road. In Memoriam: Frances (Fanny) Coates (23rd July 1913 - 6th June 2003) Fanny Coates, at nearly 90 one of the oldest and most popular residents of our parish, died peacefully in James Connolly Memorial Hospital, on 6th June; her nieces and nephew-in-law and the Rector and the Curate were at her bed side. Born in Mullingar in 1913, at an early age Fanny and the whole family (of 5 girls and 3 boys) moved to Castleknock when her father took up the job of gardener and grounds man at the (former) Morgans and Mercers School on the Navan Road, living in the school Lodge. A close family, they all became an integral part of the fabric of the school, working as cooks and on the maintenance of the school, and in Fanny's case as gatekeeper. Pupils and staff alike held the family in great esteem - even this year Fanny was still getting visits and letters from former staff, including a former Headmaster. Fanny also worked at the Kraft margarine factory, and she and her sisters were at the heart of the local community of Castleknock and of the parish. Extremely regular church attenders, they continued living in the Lodge (even after the death of their parents) until the 1960s when the school closed. Then the 4 unmarried sisters (Lottie, Babs, Myra and Fanny) moved to Church Avenue, Blanchardstown, where Fanny nursed each of her sisters in turn through illness until they died (most recently Lottie in 1998). A lifelong cat lover, throughout her life Fanny must have cared for scores of cats: she was devoted to them, and most recently to Fluffy. A tireless supporter of the church, including helping with organising sales and fairs, Fanny was a woman of immensely deep faith. When ill health prevented Fanny from attending church, she welcomed the clergy visits and the regular Home Communion. Her faith supported her through everything: regular in prayer and bible reading, she would never complain and constantly gave thanks to God for all the blessings she received, and especially for her many very good friends and neighbours. In hospital she constantly gave thanks for the care she received from the staff in the Day Ward and then in Unit 5. Her trust was in her Lord, and at the end Fanny was prepared to go in faith. It was fitting that her close family and the clergy were praying with her as she died so peacefully. Readings for Sunday Services in July and August6th July (Trinity 3 Proper 9) 13th July (Trinity 4 Proper 10) 20th July (Trinity 5 Proper 11) 27th July (Trinity 6 Proper 12) 3rd August (Trinity 7 Proper 13) 10th August (Trinity 8 Proper 14) 17th August (Trinity 9 Proper 15) 24th August (St Bartholomew Proper 16) 31st August (Trinity 11 Proper 17) SERVICES FOR JULY AND AUGUSTEvery Wednesday: Holy Communion at 10.30 a.m. in Parish Centre Sunday 6th July - Trinity 3 Proper 9 Sunday 13th July - Trinity 4 Proper 10 Sunday 20th July - Trinity 5 Proper 11 Sunday 27th July - Trinity 6 Proper 12 Sunday 3rd August - Trinity 7 Proper 13 Sun. 10th August - Trinity 8 Proper 14 Sunday 17th August - Trinity 9 Proper 15 Sunday 24th August - St. Bartholomew Sunday 31st August - Trinity 11 Proper 17 Quiz Answers1. Heather, 2. Carnations, 3, wall flower, 4 Larkspur, 5, Red Hot Poker, 6. Poppy, 7. Honey suckle, 8, Marigold, 9. sweet pea, 10. Bizzy Lizzie, 11. Dandelion, 12. Butter Cup, 13. Livingston Daisy, 14. Primrose, 15, Broom, 16. Daffodil, 17. Blue Bell, 18, Flock, 19. Fox Glove, 20 Snap Dragon |
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Parishes of Castleknock and Mulhuddart with Clonsilla |
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