Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’
Caroling
In St Patrick’s cathedral, Dublin, at 4pm on Christmas Eve the lone voice of a chorister will sing the first verse of Mrs Alexander’s famous ‘Once in Royal David City’, and the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols will have begun. First conceived of in 1880 by the then Bishop of Truro, E. W. Benson, and subsequently made famous by the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, the Festival has become an integral art of Christmas for many. The St Patrick’s Festival is so popular that admission is by ticket only but it will be broadcast live on RTÉ Radio 1. The Festival will also be rehearsed on Sunday at 3.15 when tickets are not required.
There will be Carols by Candlelight Service at St John’s Church, Park Avenue, Sandymount, Dublin, tomorrow (Saturday) at 4pm, with a voluntary collection for medical aid charities MSF–Doctors without Borders and SafetyNet. The Carol Service by candlelight in Calary Church, Co. Wicklow, which is organised by Music in Calary, will be held at 7.30pm. It will be an evening of lessons and carols with members of the Stedfast Band and local soprano, Maria Gorman. There will be a collection during the service which will go to Simon and Tiglin.
On Christmas Day the bishops, by tradition, preach in their diocesan cathedrals. In the National Cathedral of St Patrick, the preacher will be the Dean, Dr William Morton, while in St Anne’s cathedral, Belfast, the preacher will be the Bishop of Connor, the Rt Revd George Davison.
Christmas Day services on television and radio this year will feature churches from Clogher Diocese. This year’s Christmas service on RTÉ 1 will be led by the rector, the Revd William Jeffrey; with organist Lynda Lindsay; and the choir and parishioners from Lisbellaw parish church. A group of 33 people travelled to RTÉ studios earlier in December to record the service which will be broadcast on television at 11am on Christmas morning.
St Mark’s Parish Church, Aghadrumsee, will feature on this year’s Christmas Day broadcast on Northern Sound/Shannonside Radio. The service will be led by Captain David Hamilton with musical director Marina Elliott and will be broadcast at 5.15pm.
On RTÉ Radio 1 at 1.05pm the Christmas Message of the Archbishops so Armagh will be broadcast.
Published in the Friday edition of The Irish Times