| Friday 21st March, 2008 You are here: Home - 21st March 2008 Index Page |
Reconciliation a ‘reflection of the Jesus way’ - Bishop Ken Clarke
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| Pictured at an ecumenical gathering in St Joseph’s Carmelite Monastery in Malahide, Co. Dublin are (left to right) Fr Gerry Tarham, parish priest of Malahide; Bishop Ken Clarke; Fr Miceál Comer, parish priest of Portmarnock; and the Revd Dr Norman Gamble, rector of Malahide |
Addressing a recent ecumenical gathering in Malahide, Co. Dublin, the Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh, the Rt Revd Ken Clarke, described the need for reconciliation in Northern Ireland as "as pressing as ever". "For historically divided communities to move forward together", the bishop said, "requires ridiculous generosity, phenomenal courage, Christ-like grace and never-ending patience", all of which would require a "decisive act of the community will".
Editorial
An early Easter
Easter has arrived very early this year. As we noted last week (Gazette, 14th March, Editorial, p.2), Easter is so early that the Church calendar for Holy Week demanded a change to the day on which we celebrated St Patrick. No other festival, no other commemoration, can be as important as Easter in the life of the Church. However, the fact that most people in Ireland - and at least one cathedral in the Church of Ireland - continued to allow St Patrick to displace the solemn commemorations of Holy Week shows how difficult it is for the Church to communicate both its core beliefs and the Good News of Easter in an increasingly secular and secularised society. Full Text
Home News
Mission partnership leads to opening of Sudan health care clinic
Rain is seen as a blessing of God in some parts of the world. So, following an unseasonal shower of rain in Yei, Southern Sudan, on 29th February, the opening of the Martha Clinic was seen as God’s sign of approval.
Friends of Cathedral Music visit Belfast Cathedral
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| Andrew Palmer (left), editor of Cathedral Music, seen here in Belfast Cathedral with Philip Stopford |
The Friends of Cathedral Music recently visited cathedrals in Northern Ireland and attended Sung Eucharist in St Anne’s Cathedral Belfast.
Clerical Honorary Secretary elected
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At its meeting on 11th March, the Standing Committee of the Church of Ireland elected the Ven. Robin Bantry White as Clerical Honorary Secretary of the General Synod for the Southern Province.
CIMS members hear of legacy of ‘troubles’ in North Belfast
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| Pictured at the CIMS quiet afternoon are (left to right) Canon Trevor Williams; Wilfred Young, CIMS Honorary Lay Secretary; Bishop Alan Abernethy; and Arthur Macartney, CIMS Honorary Treasurer. |
The Church of Ireland Men’s Society (CIMS) recently held its quiet afternoon in Holy Trinity church, Ballysillan, North Belfast, Diocese of Connor. A service of Holy Communion was celebrated by the Bishop of Connor, the Rt Revd Alan Abernethy, CIMS chairman, assisted by the rector of Holy Trinity, Canon Trevor Williams.
Feature Church
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Ardamine, Diocese of Ferns
When I used to teach in Dublin, I often heard the names Courtown and Ardamine spoken of in glowing terms, as students returned from their summer holidays. South south-east of Gorey on the coast of the Irish sea, Ardamine, in the Diocese of Ferns, is still a popular destination for Dubliners and other vacationers.
Tribute
Canon Gerald Samuel Magahy
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The following is an abridged version of the address given by Glascott Symes, Deputy Headmaster of The King’s Hospital, at a memorial thanksgiving service for Canon Gerald Magahy, held in the Chapel of The King’s Hospital on Saturday 2nd February 2008.
I approach this lectern with some trepidation, not just in attempting to pay just tribute to a distinguished educator and priest, who was both an eloquent speaker and preacher, but also because I expect an eventual summons to Gerald’s celestial study to be gently chided for making a fuss at his parting. Following the quiet funeral, which this essentially private man wished, it is right that his former pupils, colleagues and friends should meet to thank God for a life of exceptional service and no mean achievement.
Good Friday and Easter Thought
The succession narrative – restoration
By the Very Revd Norman Lynas
The successor - who will it be? Against the backdrop of disunity, disharmony, division and dysfunction, who will bring cohesion and unity once again to the sacred inheritance that is Israel? Now is the time when David must choose - for the sake of the peace of the kingdom and the security of a dynasty which will give the king the renowned title ‘son of David’.
World News
The Revd Joel Edwards to leave his post as General Director of Evangelical Alliance UK
One of the UK’s most senior Christian leaders, the Revd Joel Edwards, is to leave his post as General Director of the Evangelical Alliance UK after more than a decade of valued service.
Indonesian Council of Churches joins chorus for controversial film not to be shown
The Council of Churches in Indonesia has joined a growing chorus of calls for a controversial Dutch film about Islam not to be shown.
Commission report focuses on principles of Anglican identity
Since the 1998 Lambeth Conference, Anglicans have had reason to focus attention on the nature of their communion and on questions about how the Church’s unity can be sustained during times of intense disagreement.
Church leaders vow not to leave Kenya to politicians alone
Presiding Bishop Walter Obare of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya is keeping the charred remains of a Bible, retrieved from the ashes of a gutted church.
Letters to the Editor
Focus on The Porvoo Theological Conference
Ethics and Communion - theme of London conference
Andrew Pierce gives a personal reflection on the Porvoo Theological Conference
which took place in London from 22nd to 25th January 2008.
Following the Porvoo Agreement of 1992, the Churches of the Porvoo Communion - including the Church of Ireland - have periodically brought together theologians from member- Churches to consult together on matters of significance for the faith and order of the Communion.
THE THIRD PORVOO CONFERENCE
The first Porvoo Theological Conference took place in Durham in 2000 and the second was hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland in 2004. The third conference took place in London in January, at which participants were invited to reflect together on the theme of ‘Ethics and Communion’.
Soap
"Are you OK? Is there anything wrong? Is everything going alright?" Andrew Adams was home from Nottingham for the Easter holidays. He was in his second year, studying computer science. Since arriving home, he had seemed distracted and withdrawn and not his usual self. With a mother’s intuition, Fiona had noticed it and it worried her. Steve was so busy with Holy Week that he had hardly had time for a real chat with his son.
Popular Culture
Can we heal the past (3) – forgiveness
This is the third and final article in a series dealing with the past in Northern Ireland. In John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, the narrator tells us that "the bank is something more than men. It’s the monster. Men made it, but they can’t control it".
Life Lines
The party’s over
It’s quite likely that you, dear readers, are aware of food prices in the shops going up. Milk is one example: I suspect that the price has risen by about 20% recently in our local shops. Bread is another example: whether you bake your own, or buy the sliced stuff, it’s nowhere near as cheap as it was a couple of years ago. You could consider another question: Is there any kind of food that’s as cheap today as it was in the middle of 2006?
Yours Faithfully
Birth on the cross
Like a lot of people, despite cards, phone calls and flowers, I was alone on Mothering Sunday and felt it. Daughter and grandchildren were on holiday; son was at home in the South of France; the Professor was in Tblisi, attending Mass in the Georgian Orthodox Cathedral in a country which believes it’s under the special protection of the Mother of Jesus. He said it was a vivid service, with elusive, goldencrusted priests appearing and disappearing before antiphonal choirs; milling moneylenders and hawkers; government ministers and tourists; and one anxious shepherd - six sheep in tow - cradling a sick lamb.
News Extra
Up to 10,000 Chinese Christians in Ireland - DUFEM report
By Garrett Casey
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| Pictured at the launch of a report on the Chinese Christian community in Ireland are (left to right) Canon Patrick Comerford and the authors of the report, Dr Lan Li(centre) and Dr Richard O’Leary (right). |
There could be as many as 10,000 Chinese Christians living in Ireland in an overall Chinese population which could be as high as 100,000, according to a recently-released report which was part-funded by the Dublin University Far Eastern Mission (DUFEM).
Lambeth Conference controversy featured in latest issue of Search
A mainstream American view of the controversies besetting this year’s Lambeth Conference, offered by Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish of Utah, is one of the most compelling articles in the latest issue of SEARCH – a Church of Ireland Journal.