Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland notes from the Irish Times
Cathedral and Corporation Cooperation in Dublin
One of the more remarkable, through rarely remarked upon, features of life in Dublin is the close cooperation between Christ Church Cathedral and Dublin Corporation. The cathedral grounds are carefully maintained by the Corporation's Parks Department, the cathedral is part of the eco-friendly heating system which originates in the civic offices, and the cathedral is the venue for the annual Citizenship Service when representatives of Dublin life, led by the Lord Mayor, give thanks to God for his many blessings to the city.
Another phase in cooperation begins this week with the opening of a lunchtime lecture series entitled "Tuesdays in Autumn" which is sponsored jointly by the corporation and the cathedral. The first part of the series which will take place on Tuesdays in September will be held in City Hall and the theme will be "The Architecture and Conservation of Dublin's City Hall". This will be followed by a series in the crypt of Christ Church on Tuesdays in October when the theme will be "2,000 Years of Christianity".
The first lecture will be given on Tuesday at 1.15 pm in City Hall when the Conservation Architect, Paul Arnold will speak on "Conserving and Restoring City Hall: the Architectural Challenge" Mr Arnold is a singularly appropriate choice to begin this new cooperative venture as he was both the architect for the restoration of City Hall and is the architect for Christ Church. Admission to these lectures is free.
Another cooperative initiative will begin later in the month in Maynooth where there will be a series of talks on "Our Common Heritage". Contributions on the Church of Ireland, Roman Catholic and Presbyterian Churches, the Methodists, Baptists and Quakers, will be preceded by an examination of the Reformation and the series will conclude with some reflections on ecumenism. The series will begin on Thursday 13 September in Maynooth Post-Primary School where the speaker on "The Reformation" will be the doyen of Irish ecclesiastical historians, Mgr Patrick Corish. Details may be had from the Revd Adrian Wilkinson at 01-8253288.
Today (Saturday) the Revd Mark Harvey, formerly Rector of Monaghan, will take up his post as Mission Officer of CMS Ireland. The choir of Malahide Parish, directed by Rodney Baldwin, will be in Yorkshire where they will sing the services in Ripon Cathedral today (Saturday) and tomorrow (Sunday).
Tomorrow (Sunday) the services in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, will be sung by the choir of Chester Cathedral. In Rathfarnham parish church a Millennium Side Chapel, which incorporates a columbarium, will be dedicated by the Archbishop of Dublin. As well as providing a focus for the regular parish liturgy the chapel will be open each morning as a place for quiet reflection.
National Heritage Week will be marked in St Fethlimidh's Cathedral, Kilmore with a talk, tomorrow (Sunday) at 4.00 pm, by Mrs Lesley Whiteside, on the cathedral's stained glass windows. Admission is free and those interested are urged to bring binoculars. On Friday evening, at 8.00 pm, there will be a concert in aid of the Cathedral Restoration Fund.
On Tuesday and Wednesday the Archbishop of Armagh will preside at a residential meeting of the House of Bishops but will absent himself on Tuesday afternoon when there will be a presentation to Dr John Bartlett, the recently retired Principal of the Theological College.
The Bishop of Cork will preside at the Cork, Cloyne and Ross Mothers' Union Autumn Festival in St Matthias' Church, Ballydehob, on Friday evening. The preacher will be the Rector of Kilmoe, the Revd Eithne Lynch.