The revision of the Register of Vestry members takes place each year – normally during the month of January – and is announced by the placement of a no6ce on the Church door at least two Sundays before a mee6ng…
The Rector Writes – homelessness
As the familiar rhythms of autumn once again takes hold, the summer quickly becomes just a fading memory for most of us. For some it presents the opportunity to take a late holiday break away from the madding crowds of…
The Rector Writes – exam hopes, holiday wishes and time-out
As another school year draws to a close, long summer holidays now lie ahead for all those concerned. For those who have just completed their Leaving Certificate Examinations, the seemingly endless anxious wait begins ahead of results in mid August.…
Rector’s Thoughts – care for your soul; exam stress to calmness
Recently I was recommended a book entitled ‘Soul Keeping: Caring for the most important part of you’ by John Ortberg (Zondervan 2014). I have to confess that as I write I have not completed reading it. However, I am impressed…
The Rector Writes – studies and thanks; Easter General Vestry and Rescue 116 crew
As I write I am approaching the end of a twelve week part time course in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) which was based in Cork. It has been very intensive and exhausting but a rewarding experience and it will hopefully…
The Rector Writes – coursework; Lent and Spring into Easter!
For the past six weeks I have been undertaking a part-me course in Clinical Pastoral Educaon (C.P.E.) This course, which has a twelve week duration, aims to improve the pastoral skills of participants in hospital, Nursing Home and parochial settings.…
The Rector writes….US presidential election – The Gazette’s Editorial reproduced
Further to previous articles regarding the U.S. presidential elections, I reproduce hereunder the editorial from the Church of Ireland Gazette dated Friday 27th January 2017. The U.S. Episcopal Service’s Mary Frances Schjonberg reported before last week’s inauguration of President Donald…
The Rector Writes – hope amidst disaffection and faith in Jesus Christ
Advent is the time for Hope. Advent 2016 brings to a close a year in which the new word is – as the Oxford English Dictionary has declared – ‘post-truth’. What hope can there be, we might ask, for a…
The Rector Writes – siege of Aleppo; refugees Remembrance and the Good Samaritan
The sieges of Aleppo and Mosul have been dominating the international news headlines in recent weeks. In both these battles, large numbers of civilians find themselves trapped and the level of human suffering and misery can scarcely be imagined. The…
The Rector Writes – Syria, hope and Harvest
It would appear that the human capacity to inflict suffering on fellow human beings seems to have no bounds. In recent weeks there was a glimmer of hope that a meaningful ceasefire might, at last, have been possible in Syria.…