| Friday 5th June, 2009 You are here: Home - 5th June 2009 Index Page |
Front Page
Mission to Seafarers hosts worldwide conference in Belfast
By Karen Bushby
 |
| Delegates at the Mission to Seafarers Consultative Forum at St Anne’s Cathedral Belfast (from left) the Rt Revd Paddy Glover, Bishop of Bloemfontein, South Africa; Bill Christianson, Secretary General, Mission to Seafarers; Canon Douglas Goddard, Chaplain, Mission to Seafarers, Belfast; Viti Whippy, Suva, Fiji; Simon Dharmaraj, Tuticorin, South India; the Rt Revd Richard Frith, Bishop of Hull, Chair of the Forum; Tom Heffer, Secretary General-Designate, Mission to Seafarers; and Simon Ro, Pusan, South Korea. |
Worldwide representatives of the Mission to Seafarers recently held their Consultative Forum in Belfast. This was the first time since its formation in 1999 that the Forum had met in Ireland - previous conferences had taken place in South Africa, Toronto and England. Canon Douglas Goddard, the Mission’s Provincial Secretary and Chaplain in Belfast, said that 40 delegates attended from 10 regions: Japan, Asia, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Canada, the Celtic Fringe and the USA .
Editorial
Acc-14 And The Draft Covenant
The debate at the recent Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Jamaica (ACC-14) on the Ridley Cambridge Draft Anglican Covenant has undoubtedly placed yet more strain on inter-Anglican relations, trust now having broken down to a considerable extent in parts of the Communion. Following a debate marked by a lack of procedural clarity at ACC-14, the decision was taken to refer Section 4 of the Ridley Cambridge Draft - the section which includes ‘dispute resolution’ - to a new working group for reconsideration. Full Text
Home News
New offices to help Londonderry city parish in social outreach
The Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, the Rt Revd Ken Good, recently opened new offices for the All Saints’ Caring Association at 6 Melrose Terrace in the Waterside, Londonderry. "At the most basic level, the centre will encourage further engagement between the Church and the community," said the rector of All Saints’, the Revd Malcolm Ferry. "This parish ‘home’ adds another aspect to our visibility and accessibility in the Waterside area of Londonderry."
St Patrick’s Cathedral Dublin to launch extensive new history
By Mark Bowyer
Dublin is an unusual city in that it has two mediaeval cathedrals. One, the diocesan cathedral of Christ Church, had its origins in an Augustinian priory, while the other, St Patrick’s, was created in the 13th century as a secular cathedral. While Christ Church developed close links with the city of Dublin, St Patrick’s became the centre of episcopal administration. This gave it a prominent place in the history not only of the Diocese of Dublin but also of the entire country
Divine Healing Ministries plans seven years of prayer
Divine Healing Ministries, under the leadership of Brother David Jardine, has announced details of a Day of Prayer in St Anne’s Cathedral Belfast on Saturday 20th June, from 10.30am to 3.30pm, which is designed as a forerunner to a Seven Years of Prayer programme for revival in this land.
Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh looks forward in faith and growth
By Craig McCauley
 |
| Bishop Ken Clarke addresses the Diocesan Celebration Service in the Slieve Russell Hotel |
Almost 1,000 adults and children from parishes throughout the Dioceses of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh recently came together in the Slieve Russell Hotel, Cavan, for the ‘Forward’ Diocesan Celebration Service 2009. The singing was led by the Diocesan Choir and the Mark Ferguson Praise Band. During the service, there was a drama reminding those present that to grow in faith each person needed to nurture his or her own faith.
Feature Church
Shillelagh, Co. Wicklow
 |
At one time, there were extensive mills and a bleaching green in the delightful village of Shillelagh in the river Derry valley, about 20 kilometres north-west of Gorey. On a hill above rises the magnificent church, built in 1834 in a mixed gothic style of architecture.
Celtic spirituality conference focuses on ‘sacred weave of life’
The Revd Ray Simpson, Anglican priest and Guardian of the International Community of Aidan and Hilda, was the special speaker at a recent conference in Armagh as part of the annual programme of the Centre for Celtic Spirituality which is led by its director, the Revd Grace Clunie.
Sunday School Society celebrates bicentenary with Dublin church concert
By Garrett Casey
A special concert was held recently in Rathfarnham parish church, Dublin, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the foundation of the Sunday School Society Ireland. Four youth choirs from the parishes of Taney, Kilternan, Mount Merrion and Rathfarnham took part and entertained the large audience with songs and poetry. The choirs were joined by the Stedfast Band and the singer, Imelda Morris.
New anthem premièred in historic East Belfast church
An anthem, anonymously commissioned by a parishioner of St Mark’s, Dundela, East Belfast, Diocese of Down, and written by Philip Stopford, organist and master of the choristers of Belfast Cathedral, was recently sung for the first time in public at Evensong in St Mark’s.
Diocese of Kilmore ordination
 |
The Revd Hazel Hicks (front row, centre) is pictured following her recent ordination to the priesthood in Belturbet church, Diocese of Kilmore, with the Revd Noel Regan, preacher, and Bishop Ken Clarke (front row, left and right respectively). They are accompanied by (back row, left to right) Canon Billy Stafford (bishop’s chaplain), the Revd Steve Clarke (rector of the Belturbet group of parishes), Dean Arfon Williams (registrar) and Archdeacon George Davison.
World News
Archbishop of Dublin to lead new Anglican Covenant working group
At the recent meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council in Jamaica, it was agreed that a new working group should be set up to consider adjustment to Section 4 of the text of the Ridley Cambridge Draft Anglican Covenant, in the light of Provincial responses.
Diocese of Huron, Canada, moves towards celebratory service for same-sex couples
Bishop Robert Bennett of the Diocese of Huron has asked a committee to begin to develop liturgies for a celebratory Eucharist and prayers for same-gender couples, but the service will not provide a nuptial blessing. He announced the plan, which closely resembles an approach previously chosen by bishops in the Diocese of Toronto, at the start of the Huron Diocesan Synod (annual meeting) which took place from 24th to 26th May at London, Ontario.
North Korea nuclear test causes Church concern
At a time when the international community is rekindling the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons, the recent North Korean nuclear test is a source of profound concern, stated the World Council of Churches (WCC) General Secretary, the Revd Dr Samuel Kobia. "The World Council of Churches is deeply troubled by North Korea’s nuclear test and profoundly concerned for the people of North Korea and surrounding countries," Dr Kobia said in a public comment on 25th May.
World’s oldest pupil baptised ‘Stephen’ in Kenya
The man declared as the world’s oldest pupil, Kimani Ng’ang’a Maruge, has said he has embraced Christianity and has been baptised, five years after he began studying at primary school at the age of 85 and learned how to read the Bible. "I commit my life to God, from now until the end," said the 90-year-old great-grandfather as he was baptised Stephen at the Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church in Kariobangi, east of Nairobi.
Letters to the Editor
Focus
The Anglican Consultative Council - ‘Lifted by parables - biblical and Anglican’
Kate Turner writes about the proceedings of the 14th Anglican Consultative Council which she attended with the Revd Dr Maurice Elliott in Kingston, Jamaica, from 2nd-12th May.
 |
| Kate Turner (right) and Dr Maurice Elliott are assisted by Alison, a Jamaican youth steward, with the Church of Ireland banner before processing into the ACC service in the National Arena in Kingston. |
The first day of business began with a quiet morning led by the Archbishop of Canterbury to prepare us for the next 11 days of packed business, as we met as the Anglican Consultative Council. He placed the work of the ACC within consideration of the parables of the Buried Treasure and the Pearl (Matthew 13: 44-46). He talked of the treasure of God’s kingdom and how we must concentrate on obtaining that treasure at the cost of all else. That afternoon, we first met in our discernment groups – each one comprising 24 people from three combined small Bible study groups, so that people had the opportunity to talk, listen, share and really understand what was felt and understood by each other of the topics discussed each day. The tension on that first day was palpable, but as the days passed and we talked through the topics, we first reached understanding and very quickly a good working relationship and, on the last day, there was genuine upset that we were parting for ever.
Soap
Down at St. David’s
By Ted Woods
Fête time in St David’s! A week of collecting, sorting - and binning! A large skip was discreetly parked to the rear of the parish hall, where unsaleable items could be placed without, hopefully, offending the donors. For some parishioners, the Fête was an easy way of getting rid of items that should really have been taken to the dump: cracked plates, broken televisions, ancient golf clubs, chipped vases and even unwashed clothes. It took great courage and a healthy constitution to be on the Bric-a- Brac stall.
Popular Culture
Forget your perfect offering
Gareth Higgins
It’s been a strange few weeks - suddenly UK politicians have been forced to live like the rest of us (or maybe just a little bit more like the rest of us); senior US politicians are claiming that the CIA lied to them about torture; a Scottish Presbyterian minister is comparing the gay rights movement to Nazism; US radio hosts are implying that President Obama is the antichrist; Tom Hanks is chasing the Illuminati; and Leonard Cohen’s still coming to town. Thank God. In mid-July, the Canadian poet, novelist and singer will once again perform his exquisite songs in public, over three nights in Dublin and one in Belfast, inviting his audience to participate in the mystic wandering that first spoke loudly for a generation seeking to live meaningfully, in the late 1960s, between what Martin Luther King, Jr. called the triplets of racism, materialism and militarism.
Life Lines
Wiser counsels
Ron Elsdon
We’re all angry; no wonder: they’re all on the make; have been for years. What do you expect, when they set up their own expenses system ... minimal external scrutiny ... active connivance by the officials who run the whole stinking mess? On the day I wrote this column, The Times carried a twopage feature entitled ‘Angry Avenue’, featuring a quiet street in Hemel Hempstead where everyone was disgusted. Beauty salon owner, Georgina Lane, expressed the collective judgement: "They are all corrupt … " Are they? Are they all corrupt? Really? How do we know?
News Extra
Bishop Jackson voices criticism of modern Ordination of Deacons service
Speaking at a recent Porvoo Communion conference in Oslo on the diaconate, the Bishop of Clogher, the Rt Revd Michael Jackson, compared the modern Church of Ireland Ordination of Deacons service (Service Two) unfavourably with the older service (Service One). Both are found in the 2004 Prayer Book. Dr Jackson said that, appropriately, Ordination Service One envisaged a twopart ministry, that of assisting the priest in Church and, where provision was so made, searching out the needy and informing "the curate" accordingly, for appropriate action.
Cork manuscript deposited in RCB Library
Mr Patrick Quinn, from Co. Galway, has, through the good offices of the National Museum of Ireland, deposited on indefinite loan in the RCB Library, a notebook of the renowned Cork antiquary, Richard Caulfield (1823-87), who was Librarian of Queen’s College, Cork. Mr Quin, who acquired the manuscript, most generously agreed that it should be placed in the RCB Library.
Church of Scotland imposes moratorium on gay ordinations
The (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland says it will not ordain homosexual clergy or engage in public discussion about the matter for two years. The move is seen as a bid to avoid a split in the denomination over the ordination of gay clergy, but the ban on discussion was criticised by those both for and against allowing ministers in homosexual relationships.
Appointment