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The Church of Ireland Diocese of Dublin |
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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: wallerm@oceanfree.net. These should be submitted by the 10th of the preceding month, no matter what day of the week. If possible please send them in a word document and not in the context of an email. The next Parish News will be published in the first week of May. The Rector WritesDear Friends, I'm writing this as we approach the season of Holy Week and Easter - often called the Great Week - the heart of the Christian gospel. We often don't make as much fuss about Easter as we do of Christmas, which is understandable but a pity, because Christmas is only important because of Good Friday and Easter. What is even more of a pity is that we take Holy Week itself much less seriously than we do Easter - at least if Church congregations are any kind of guide. But the entire week is carefully shaped to allow us to enter deeply into the dramatic events of that most significant time. And it is a drama - as "The Passion of the Christ" reminds us it is an extraordinary story on any level. If we are to understand the story completely we need as far as possible to enter into that drama. We start with the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and then hear the whole story in a dramatic reading of the gospel. Each night in Holy Week we'll hear the story building into a series of climactic events. Maundy Thursday is perhaps my favourite service of the year, as we re-enact Jesus' washing of the disciples feet, and his sharing of his final supper with his friends. The service ends in darkness and silence as the furnishings of the Church are stripped as a symbol of Christ's desolation on the cross. Good Friday services are marked by simplicity, silence and grief, as fits the most solemn day of the Christian year. This is a feeling that we carry over to Easter Eve as Jesus' body lies in the tomb, but the Easter vigil, with its stunning move darkness to light as the Easter candle is lit, powerfully brings home the joy of the resurrection, and we celebrate again on Easter Sunday morning. The whole week is a unity, a seamless robe. To miss Holy week, and especially Thursday and Friday, is to miss the point of Easter. To come only to Easter Day is like arriving three quarters of the way through a film or a play.
So why not try to make space this year to get as much as you can out of this great drama? Remember, Jesus died on the cross for each one of us, and it's at the heart of our Christian faith that we follow him to the cross and beyond Yours in Christ Andrew AnnouncementsApril at a glance
Holy Week and Easter Services: Looking ahead to May: Boys' Brigade NewsCongratulations are due to both of our Junior Section teams that performed so well at the recent Battalion Figure Marching Competition. The teams were placed a creditable 4th and 7th in the competition. Our Lenten fundraising event this year was to support the work of the Irish Guide Dog Association and it was a "Gamethon" held on Saturday 3rd April. On Tuesday 30th March, a speaker came along to BB and talked about the work of the Guide Dog Association. Our 16th Annual Inspection and Display takes place on Friday 23rd April in the Parish Centre. The Inspecting Officer this year will be the Rev'd Sandra Pragnell. The Closing Service will be on Tuesday 27th April at St. Brigid's Church, Castleknock. Martha Waller, Secretary Girls' BrigadeOur District competitions were held on 6th March in The High School and we were delighted when our Explorer team came 2nd in their competition. Heather Skehan came 2nd in the Explorer skipping competition and one of our Junior/Senior teams was placed 3rd in their competition. Well done to all the girls who took part in these competitions. Good Luck to Brigader Liz Farrell and our Associate Team in their competitions in the All Ireland Finals. Our Display will be held on Friday 2nd April in Castleknock Community College. Ros Garrett Mothers' UnionThe AGM was well attended and followed the usual format. The meeting was chaired by the Rector and after the meeting the sale of cakes continued. Proceeds were given to the Rector's Discretionary Fund. Our Hunger Lunch on Palm Sunday is in aid of our link USPG project - St Anne's Hospital, Liuli, Tanzania. Please support this and bring your friends. Our visit to Holywood branch is planned for Saturday 24 April departing by bus from the Parish Centre at 8 am. Valerie Greene - Hon. Secretary Tiny TotsOur big fundraising event for the year, the Beetle Drive, took place on Friday 13th February. Over 80 children and parents took part in the junior and senior games during the evening. More than €650 was raised towards the Clonsilla Project through the Beetle Drive and Raffle. Many thanks to all the Tiny Tots members who generously donated prizes and sold raffle tickets. Our thanks also go to Robert Lawson who compered and kept order during the evening amid the many shouts of "Beetle". We look forward to seeing everyone at next year's event. Olive Good, Secretary What is Confirmation?Saying "yes" to God - a Celebration of the Holy Spirit within us. In the Acts of the Apostles, we see baptism being followed by the laying on of hands and the receiving of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8: 14-17, and 9: 1-6). Our Confirmation continues what has begun at our Baptism: it concerns the developing awareness and reality of faith, and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. At our baptism, faith was conceived; we became part of Christ's body, his Church. Through the Holy Spirit we are sisters and brothers of Christ. Confirmation , when the bishop (following the Apostles) lays his hands on each candidate, is the gentle unfolding of what our baptism means. In Confirmation, we celebrate the fact that we are being transformed by God's spirit within us, and that transformation will continue to take place in us until we are completely one with God. Each of us is on a journey to wholeness, peace and perfecting love; in Confirmation we say "yes" publicly to God's invitation to be part of the visible, Spirit-filled body of Christ. One adult in the parish is also preparing for Confirmation later in the year: if there is any one else who is not confirmed but would like to find out more, please speak to one of the clergy team as soon as possible. [Sandra] Welcome to a New Member of the Ministry TeamOn Sunday 2nd May, we welcome to the Parish Ministry Team, Irene Young (from Lucan Parish) who is here on a training placement (two Sundays a month) as part of her final preparation before being commissioned as a Diocesan Lay reader. We look forward to meeting Irene and hope that she finds her experience with us a valuable part of her final training as well as an enjoyable one. Here is a letter from Irene, in which she introduces herself…… Dear Parishioners I thought you might like to know something about my background. I was born and brought up in Ranelagh, in Dublin, and attended Sandford Parish National School and later the Diocesan Secondary School for Girls. I am the youngest of four siblings - two brothers Ken and Cecil, and one sister Daphne. When we married, my husband Billy and myself moved to Leixlip. We have 3 grown up children, Jennifer, Carol and Robert, a son in law Brian and a 6 month old granddaughter Emma. I am a Parishioner of Leixlip Union and have served as Rector's Churchwarden; I am a member of the Select Vestry and am involved in three different sub committees (St Mary's development, Stewardship. and Hon Secretary of the Parish Centre Management Group). I am also deeply involved in the Women's World Day of Prayer with the Lucan Committee.
Ten years ago I commenced my faith journey towards fulfilling my vocation to become a Diocesan Lay Reader by completing three courses in the Church of Ireland Theological College - the Archbishops' Course in Theology, a Pastoral Studies Course and a Parish Counselling Course. They were all evening courses as I am employed three days a week as a receptionist in a medical practice. I am very grateful for the support I have had throughout my studies from my Rector Rev Scott Peoples. I look forward to meeting you all Irene Young (nee Sherwood) Launch of the Book of Common Prayer (2004)Copies of the new BCP arrived in the parish on 23rd March and those of us who have now been able to hold one in our hands assure you that it is a prayer book that the church can genuinely be proud of and which you will want to treasure. For those of you who have already ordered a personal copy, or are dedicating in memory of a loved one a copy to be used in church, we will shortly be providing details of how to pay for and receive the books. Please note that, following the official launch of the BCP (2004) at General Synod in Armagh on 11th May, this Diocese will launch the BCP at Christ Church Cathedral on Ascension Day (8pm on Thursday 20th May). We hope as many parishioners as possible will be able to attend that special Eucharist, bringing your own BCP with you. For that reason, Ascension Day will be marked in this parish with a Eucharist earlier in the day. Eddie Greene Cycles in Sweden for the Clonsilla ProjectTrelleborg to Sundsvall - Do you even know where these places are. As some of you will know Eddie Greene, with others from the parish of Castleknock and Mullhudart with Clonsilla, some two years ago cycled around parts of the West of Ireland to raise funds for the USPG project which is ongoing in St. Anne's hospital in Liuli in Tanzania. In June of this year Eddie plans to take to the roads again as part of the fund raising efforts for the Clonsilla Project, but he has set himself a much sterner test in attempting to cycle from the Southern most part of Sweden (yes, Trelleborg near Malmo is in Sweden - but you knew that already- to Sundsvall in 8 days, which is some 650 miles to the north and a couple of hundred miles short of the Artic circle. He will be accompanied by David Hepburn, now living in Drogheda, who with his son Simon, in 1995, cycled around Ireland to raise funds for the then new Parish Centre in Castleknock. The two intrepids plan to depart Ireland on the 14th of June and start turning pedals in Sweden on the morning of the 15th. Little is known by the 2 adventurers about the conditions they will encounter but warnings of mosquitos the size of starlings and ferocious horned beasts such as moose and elk who stalk the country roads are enough to cause them a few sleepless nights. Hopefully, some 650 miles and 8 days later they will arrive in Sundsvall safe and sound and with your generous support the effort will raise some much needed funds for the new Project. Eddie is looking for support from, you the parishioners and your friends and contacts in the form of sponsorship - Euros to be precise. All monies raised will go directly to help the Project. Sponsorship cards are available from Eddie or Valerie Greene or any member of the Clonsilla Project Committee. This adventure is one more step in seeing the Clonsilla project come to fruition. The Steering Group would like to thank Eddie for taking on this venture A Prayer for Peace in the Holy LandMay the justice of God fall down like fire and bring a home for the Palestinian. Clonsilla ProjectEaster Flower Festival: St Mary's will be decorated for Easter with special flower arrangements telling the Easter story. The church will be open all day over the Easter weekend (10th-12th April) to give those living in the neighbourhood an opportunity to see the interior of the church, to enable as many as possible to enjoy the spectacular flowers, and to encourage gifts in aid of the Clonsilla Project. Concert: On Wednesday 14th April we are delighted to welcome to St Brigid's Church, the Leamington Sinfonia who will play in aid of the Clonsilla Project. The programme includes music by Mozart, Holst, Grieg and Haydn.
Palms, Crosses and the Passion of ChristPalm Sunday (4th April) marks the beginning of Holy Week and commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem to accomplish his saving work by dying and rising again. The worship on Palm Sunday is based on an ancient liturgy which has two distinctive features - the procession and the reading of the Passion Gospel (passion, a word which means the suffering of Christ). It is of course the procession that we see first. As last year, at the beginning of the service, the clergy will process into the church followed by the children carrying palm crosses or other branches, although the carrying of the palms is secondary to the procession itself. The point of this is to remind us of the main events in the last week of Jesus' ministry on earth. But the procession doesn't only remind us of what happened, it is also an act of praise to Christ the King who reigns and triumphs on the cross, which is reflected in our singing of a hymn of praise during the procession. The practice of using leafy branches, especially of the palm tree (based on the scriptural references (eg. Mark 11:8), is a well established one, and the making of palm crosses has a devotional value too. Many subsistence farmers in Africa and elsewhere rely on the sale of palm crosses to boost their meagre income. For the procession itself, it is the carrying, whether of branches or crosses, which is the really telling symbol, as we re-enact the actions of the people of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, welcoming Jesus with the words 'Hosanna in the highest!'
The Passion Gospel read on Palm Sunday then takes us into the heart of Holy Week, into the Passion of Christ. Whether we have seen Mel Gibson's film or not, it is the historical commemoration of the events of Holy Week that actually form an extended celebration of the victory over death won for us by Christ on the cross. The solemn reading on Palm Sunday of the passion (the suffering) and death of Jesus Christ is a culmination of our Lenten preparation and, coming after the triumphal procession, it is a vital and eloquent reminder that the kingly power of Christ is the power of self-giving love alone. The eloquence of that Passion Gospel is so strong that, traditionally, it is followed by a period of silence for reflection, and no sermon is given on Palm Sunday as the Gospel speaks for itself. So do make a point of coming and joining with us on Sunday 4th April , at St Mary's at 10am or at St Brigid's at 11.30am, to begin to mark Holy Week as the people of Christ here together. [Sandra] Ecumenical ActivityWomen's World Day of Prayer: Habitat for Humanity: 2004 - International Year of the Family Lord, we thank you that you have created us into families, A Daffodil Day Thank YouThank you to everyone who supported the Daffodil Day Coffee Morning in aid of the Irish Cancer Society. We had a very successful morning and have raised €1,200. A pleasant morning was had by all. Shirley McGuckin and Janet Seaman. Easter VestriesSunday 18th April: Clonsilla (after 10.00 a.m. Service) Sunday 25th April: Castleknock and Mulhuddart (after 11.30 a.m. Service) These are the AGMs of the parish - a chance to hear reports and see accounts, and to elect the select vestries and people's wardens for the coming year. It's your vote so use it! A crèche will be provided. The Castleknock Easter vestry will be followed by another feast of International food. Following on from last year's very successful event, there's a chance to celebrate our cultural diversity in the parish by sampling dishes from all over the world. Please attend these Vestries: you are the Church From the RegistersHoly Baptism: Christian Funeral: Sympathy: Welcome: Readings for Sunday Services
Services for AprilEvery Wednesday: Holy Communion at 10.30 a.m. in Parish Centre Sunday 4th April - Palm Sunday [Procession of Palms] Please see Announcements for details of Holy Week services Sunday 11th April - Easter Day Sunday 18th April - 2nd Sunday of Easter Sunday 25th April - 3rd Sunday of Easter |
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Parishes of Castleknock and Mulhuddart with Clonsilla |
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