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Front Page
Unite says bullying of clergy ‘needs to be tackled’
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| Rachael Maskell |
A culture of bullying has yet to be understood or addressed in the Church and in other faith communities, Unite, the largest UK union, says. Rachael Maskell, Unite’s National Officer in the Community and Non- Profit Sector, told the Gazette last week that the 2.1 million member union had 2,500 workers in faith communities in membership, with a small but growing number in Ireland, North and South. She added that the situation of abuse of clergy was "tragic" and "a serious problem in the Church". Full Text
Editorial
St Patrick, Bearer Of Hope
St Patrick, already in his early teens, was brought to Ireland to work as a slave. We understand from his own writings that, during his six years as a captive shepherd, his faith deepened. Alone, those bare details of his early life have much to say to Christians today. Full Text
Home News
Stained glass windows rededicated in historic Dublin church
By Garrett Casey
Two stained glass windows, which were the subject of a major refurbishment costing €27,000, were recently rededicated by the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd John Neill, in St Laurence’s church, Chapelizod, Dublin. The restoration was paid for by the fundraising efforts of parishioners, assisted by a grant from the Marshal Beresford Fund.
Kenya ‘blessing’ team visits Lisburn parish
By Karen Bushby
A ‘Baraka’ team from Kajiado Diocese, Kenya, recently visited St Paul’s parish, Lisburn, Diocese of Connor. (‘Baraka’ is the Swahili word for ‘blessing’.) The visit followed a trip to Kenya by 25 people from St Paul’s last August. The parish has contributed six motorbikes to Kajiado Diocese which have proved to be a great success, especially in some very remote parishes. The team was involved in a week of outreach and mission in St Paul’s called ‘Love is ...’ and led worship and praise in the final mission services, bringing a completely new dimension to an already contemporary service.
MU Annual Quiet Day
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Pictured at the Derry and Raphoe Mothers’ Union (MU) annual Quiet Day held in Clooney Methodist Hall, Londonderry, are (left to right) Mary Good; Kay Clarke, Diocesan President; Ruth Mercer, All Ireland President, who spoke on this year’s MU theme of ‘Relationships not Rules’; and Bishop Ken Good.
North Belfast parishioners visit local Synagogue
A group of some 30 parishioners from St Peter’s and St James’ parish, north Belfast, Diocese of Connor, recently paid a visit to the Belfast Synagogue, which is situated on Belfast’s Somerton Road - close to St Peter’s church - at the invitation of the local Jewish community. The guides, Neville Finch and Edwin Coppel, gave the guests a tour of the Synagogue, followed by a talk on Judaism in Ireland, dating back to 1079, and on some of the characters who had shaped the history of Jews in Belfast.
Belfast Cathedral service to focus on prayer for revival in Ireland
There will be a special service in St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, on Monday 15th March, at 8.00pm, to pray for revival in Ireland. The speaker will be David O’Connor, leader of John the Baptist Koinonia, an evangelical community in the Roman Catholic Church. A former lecturer in the University of Ulster, Mr O’Connor will address the theme of praying for revival, which is generally taken to refer to special seasons of divine intervention when God quickens and stirs his slumbering Church.
Tribute
The Revd Brian Henry Jones
The following is an abridged version of the sermon of the Revd John McDowell at the funeral service of the Revd Brian Jones held in St Mark’s, Dundela, Diocese of Down, on Thursday 4th February.
Near the beginning of this service, we said that "as children of a loving God, we seek his forgiveness … for he is full of gentleness and compassion". You might well ask where in Brian’s life was the evidence of that gentleness and compassion, given his many, complicated and, at times, deeply unpleasant illnesses. Where in all this was the good news for Brian - he who had a specific vocation to what St Paul calls "the priestly service of the Gospel of God"? Through it all, Brian prayed and he read and he fought and he wept and he loved.
World News
WCC concern for Egypt’s Christians
Senior officials of the World Council of Churches have warned that Christian Copts in Egypt are being made to feel like "aliens in their own country". At the same time, the WCC leaders have urged Churches in the country to "continue their involvement in Muslim- Christian dialogue". In a statement, the Executive Committee of the WCC said: "It is a matter of regret that in Egypt today Christians can easily fall victim to violence and hatred, and that their security is not fully guaranteed. Many Copts, in particular, are made to feel like aliens in their own country."
Hong Kong Christians urge China to release Sichuan quake investigator
Hong Kong’s Christian Council, which has called on its members to pray and offer assistance for those hit by recent lethal earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, is also urging Beijing to release a Chinese environmentalist jailed for five years. Tan Zuoren was sent to prison after he investigated building works carried out before the 2008 earthquake that killed 70,000 people in China’s Sichuan province. He was sentenced on 9th February after he had independently looked into shoddy construction in Sichuan schools after the May 2008 earthquake, in which thousands of students in the Chinese province died.
Substantial Salvation Army legacy
The Salvation Army is renowned for helping people, sometimes when they are in desperate need. But in its own hour of need, a Salvation Army branch in a small Scottish town had a pleasant shock after it received a donation of £850,000 from a pensioner who had benefited from the Christian organization’s welfare services. When 90-year-old Robert Saddler, a retired Edinburgh architect who lived in Forfar, 75 miles north-east of the Scottish capital, died in 2009, he left the Salvation Army the small fortune in his will.
Soap
Down at St. David’s
By Ted Woods
Jonathan was at his wits’ end. It was eleven o’clock at night and he still had nothing ready for the school assembly the following morning; nor had he any idea either. Although he took assembly only every alternate week, he had quickly run out of ideas and Steve was not for sharing any of his assembly books. Any really good ideas Jonathan wanted to keep for children’s addresses in church, but what was he going to do or say in the morning? Andrea had been on to him about going to dog behaviour classes, as Archie had just chewed one of her favourite penguin slippers - yet again.
Letters to the Editor
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Eucharistic hospitality Full Text
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Rejuvenating Christianity Full Text
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ACNA and the Church of Ireland Full Text
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Education in N.I. Full Text
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Bishop Jackson interview Full Text
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Archbishop Sentamu’s theological lectures at Queen’s University Full Text
Committee Briefing
Canon Gerald Field writes about the work of the Liturgical Advisory Committee
The work of the Liturgical Advisory Committee (LAC) can probably best be summarized as developing and sourcing liturgical resources to support those involved in leading (and participating in) the worship of the Church of Ireland to the praise and glory of God. MEMBERSHIP The Committee meets four times a year, its membership made up of three groups. There are 12 members elected by the General Synod for a triennium, the present Chairman being the Bishop of Down and Dromore, the Rt Revd Harold Miller. A further number (currently four) are co-opted by the elected membership, dependent upon the skills needed to undertake the work identified in each of the LAC’s sub-groups. Then there are a group of Consultants who may not attend every meeting of the LAC, but who can be called upon when their particular area of expertise is required. The Church of Ireland Theological Institute also appoints an observer from amongst its students.
Insight
‘Breaking the Silence’ on the reality of combat in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict
By Susan Hood
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| Yehuda Shaul, of Breaking the Silence, explains the impact of Operation Cast Lead in Gaza to an audience in Dublin. In the foreground is Proinsias de Rossa MEP who chaired the meeting. |
The truth can be painfully hard to hear, especially in the emotive context of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. So it was at a recent public meeting held in EU House, Dublin - hosted by aid agencies, Christian Aid and Trócaire - when Yehuda Shaul, a former Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) sergeant who served in a combat unit in the Occupied Palestinian Territories during the second intifada, 2001-04, spoke from the perspective of an Israeli soldier. His story made challenging and, at times, distressing listening for the packed audience which included Israelis, Palestinians and Irish friends of Israel and Palestine. For most Israeli men and single women, induction into the IDF and active military service is mandatory at the age of 18. Women serve for two years and men for three, followed by service in the reserves for men up to age 51 and for single women up to 24. For most Palestinian people, because of the occupation and omnipresent security, the only Israelis they will ever meet are these - frequently young - soldiers who administer control over their every move.
By the Book
The God wars (1 Kings 17: 22)
Edward Vaughan
For people of faith, much of life seems to be lived in tension. Can I trust God when my present circumstances feel so hard? Can I trust him in my unemployment, with my health crisis, with the issues in my relationships, with the difficulties in my family? God promises that he is good towards me - but can I trust him? Actually, that tension is shared by the characters of Scripture. In the time of Elijah, the twelve tribes of God’s people had split into two warring nations about 60 years earlier. The northern kingdom, Israel, had its capital in Samaria. The southern kingdom, Judah, had its capital in Jerusalem.
Musings
Like the man with the wheelbarrow…
Alison Rooke
I’m reluctant to book any holidays this year because I am still waiting for my cheque from the RCB to go to Australia to see the bishop (Gazette, 12th February, page 12)! I’ll need to sort out dates and make travel arrangements. I had hoped that I might have heard from them by now, but I expect they are busy, doing all those important things that the RCB does; but like the man with the proverbial wheelbarrow, it’s still ahead of me.
News Extra
Galway choir performs ‘spiritual journey’ composition in French Cathedral
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| The Galway Tribal Chamber Choir pictured following its performance in Chartres Cathedral. The Revd Anne-Marie O’Farrell is seen front row, extreme right, and Anne Walsh is front row, extreme left. |
In Chartres Cathedral, France, the eve of the first Sunday of Lent was marked by a performance of Danish composer Pallé Mikkelborg’s A Noone of Night. The performers were Galway’s Tribal Chamber Choir, conducted by Mark Keane, with harpists, the Revd Anne-Marie O’Farrell (non-stipendiary curate-assistant of Sandford and Milltown, Diocese of Dublin), and Ann Jones Walsh (outgoing Dublin and Glendalough Mothers’ Union President).
Prestigious education appointment
The Minister of Education and Science in the Republic of Ireland, Batt O’Keefe TD, has appointed Dr Harold Hislop as the Republic’s new Chief Inspector of Schools, in succession to Eamon Stack, who recently retired. Dr Hislop, a parishioner of Whitechurch, Diocese of Dublin, is a former principal of Whitechurch National School and a former General Secretary of the Church of Ireland Board of Education.
New Presbyterian Moderator to bring ‘biblical perspective’ to Church and social issues
The next Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Revd Norman Hamilton, 63, who has been minister of Ballysillan Presbyterian church, Belfast, for 22 years, said he was "greatly humbled and surprised" by his nomination and hoped to bring "a very biblical perspective to a wide range of issues that are important to both Church and society".
Appointments