FROM THE RECTOR
In the middle of
January the parish was approached by the Chaplain of Mount Seskin Community
College, Patrick Doyle, seeking a sponsorship donation for a new flag pole for
the college to be used as a symbol to celebrate the cultures of the students in
the college and as a symbol of respect.
The finances were gathered and a new flag pole was erected and on the
morning of Wednesday 30th January there was a ‘Flying the Flag of
Culture and Respect Ceremony’ to which I was invited to bless the new flag
pole. The Principal of the college spoke about the meaning of the Irish flag
which flew for the first week. You will be delighted to hear that the compares
rose an Anglican communion ( Church of Ireland) flag and this was the second
flag to fly during week two. On each Monday morning, a Student will share on
the meaning of each respective flag, it will be raised while playing the
National Anthem of that particular Country or an appropriate hymn reflecting
that Faith Community. This will cultivate a visual and powerful symbol of
education, leading to understanding and respect among the students.
I preached at Christian Unity Week service
in St. Mark’s, Springfield on the evening of Friday 18th January.
Fortunately our B.B. Company hadn’t restarted after the Christmas break so they
were not deprived of their Bible class!
This year for Christian Unity Week the
resources were put together by Indonesian Christians, the largest country in SE
Asian, compiling of 17,000 islands with 1,340 different ethnic groups, 740
local languages with a population of 260 million. The religious break down of
the people is 86% Muslim, 10% Christian and 4% Buddhist and Hindu. The theme
this year for Christian Unity Week was speaking out on ethic and religious
diversity, economic justice and religious pluralism. Indonesians live by the
principles of solidarity and by collaboration, this means sharing in all aspect
of life as brother and sister. These principles are being threatened by the
neo-liberal approach to economics which had led to Indonesian’s economic growth
which in turn has led to corruption both in business and politics, often with
devastating effects on the environment and the marginalised in society. They
have a saying ‘a mouse dies of hunger in a barn full of rice’, we can turn this
saying to ourselves here in Ireland, one of the richest countries in the world
when we look at our crisis with homelessness.
Thought provokingly, when you look at the
cover of the booklet produced for prayers for Christian Unity there is a photo
of the modern city of Jakarta with it’s shiny high rise buildings but in the
foreground you can see the juxtaposition of the reality of life for many in the city with it’s corrugated
sheds in the slums.
On Saturday 23rd February, following on from
my invitation to preach at the Christian Unity Service in Springfield I was
asked to speak at a ‘Quiet Day’ in The Priory Retreat House on Jeremiah 29: 11
‘For I know the plans I have for you, declared the Lord, plans to prosper you
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’. I used the previous
six verses to introduce the verse and the three after to set the tone. I asked
the group to form a circle, I had a copy of the reading for each person in the
circle and as we read a verse at a time interesting comments were made by those
participating, we ended up taking an hour and a half on the exercise rather
that the forty five minutes originally planned, with the input from those
involved. I was pleased to have been invited to the ‘Quiet Day’ and I think
those taking part appreciated my participation.
We will be using the BACI Lenten study
series during Lent with the theme for
2019 “Transforming Repentance: Coming
Home to God”.
God
Bless
William.
BAPTISM
At
our Family Service on Sunday 24th February we had the Baptism of
Eden and also of his parents Abass and Maimouna. We welcome Eden into Christ’s
flock along with his Mum and Dad and pray for them to discover God more
deeply. The family are new to the parish and have two other sons who have
previously been baptised. The service was followed by tea in the Hall and it
was lovely to meet with their family and friends.
LENT
During
Lent we will be using BACI’s (Biblical Association for the Church of Ireland)
Lenten study course at a Holy Communion Service each Wednesday of Lent at 10am.
The topics covered are: Temptation –
resisted by ‘coming home’; Repentance
– turning towards our death, From Roots
to Fruits – the barren fig tree; Coming
Home – the prodigal son; All my Love
– Mary anoints Jesus’ feet.
MOTHERING SUNDAY
Sunday
31st March, an opportunity to
show your mum how much you care!
CLOCK SPRINGS FORWARD
The
clock springs forward one hour on Sunday 31st March, put the date in
your diary.
ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE
This
year there will be a parade starting in TU Dublin (ITT) coming out of the
pedestrian gate, past our Church, along Main St., passing the Priory and
turning left onto the Greenhills Road before re entering the College side gate.
CONFIRMATION
The date for St. Maelruain’s confirmation
has be set for Sunday 9th June (Pentecost Sunday), if you or your
child is interested in Confirmation please contact the Rector on 086 803 0239.
SUMMER
SALE
The date for the Summer Sale has been
set for Saturday 11th May, you have plenty of time to clear out your
cupboards / garages / shed and donate items for the sale! Any unwanted gifts?
We will have all the usual stalls, raffle, teas
and refreshments….volunteers always needed, please do what you can to
make our Summer Sale a great success!
MOTHER’S UNION / FAMILIES
We had a very
interesting evening on Monday 11th February when Colin White from the Irish
Kidney Association came to talk to us about kidney donation and
organ donation in general and how important it is to have the conversation
about donation and people's wishes so that after a tragic accident it
makes things easier for the family when they know the person's wishes when
the question is asked regarding organ donation. Families who have
consented to donate a loved ones organs after a tragedy say it gives them great
comfort as time goes on. It was the only light in a dark tunnel. We now have
Organ donor consent cards and these will be in church if anyone would like to
take one.
Colin also gave us a
lot of information about the work of the kidney association and how it helps
and gives great support to kidney transplant patients and their families. We
had a collection at the end of the meeting which came to €185 for the
association so thank you everyone for your generosity to such a valuable
organisation.
Unfortunately
our speaker on ‘De-Cluttering’ has let us down at the last minute so it
has been decided in consultation with the committee to go to the Civic Theatre
to ‘Charlie’s a Clepto’ at 8.15pm on Monday 11th March, our usual MU night. The cost of
the show is €16. We will be meeting for tea at 6pm in the Civic before
the show. The meal will cost €17 for 2 courses and €20 for 3 courses.
Please let me know if you're coming as soon as possible as time is very short.
Sorry for the change of plan but it is outside our control. Hopefully
we'll have a good night anyway. Saoirse are looking for kitchen rolls this
month. Thanks very much. Looking forward to seeing you all soon. Valerie
BOWLS CLUB
As we go to print we say ‘Good luck’ to the Miller team who are in the semi finals on
Thursday 28th February when they play in Lucan. The teams will be drawn on the
night. We are busy with our club competitions and we thank our Captain Alan
Stewart for organising these matches. Heather
FLOWER GUILD
The
Church will be decorated for Easter on SATURDAY 20th APRIL 2019. All help
welcome, no experience necessary, donations of flowers, decorations and
greenery much appreciated.
Regina
BOYS BRIGADE
If anyone has a boy that may be
interested in joining Boy’s Brigade please
come on down we would love to have them.
Friday evenings: Anchors 7pm – 8:00pm
Juniors
7pm - 8:30pm Company
7pm - 9pm.
GIRLS BRIGADE
If
you are interested in finding out more about our Company, please contact
Captain Fiona Monahan (086)8519163.
WHIST DRIVE
Our
next Whist Drive is on Monday 18th March at
8.00pm in the Main Hall. All Welcome!
CRAFTY CHATTERS
Crafty
Chatters will meet on the 5th and 19th March from 2 - 4pm in the Parish Hall.
Come along with whatever craft you are working on, come and see what
others are creating or just for the chat, all welcome. Janet
PARISH COFFEE MORNING
Advance notice of our next few Coffee Morning
dates for your diary, 29th March, 26th April, and 31st May. Lots of
coffee, lots of chat, all welcome! Barbara
