Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’
Christian Unity Week
The Opening Service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025 in Dublin, organized by the Dublin Council of Churches, will take place tomorrow (Saturday) at 8pm in the Abbey Presbyterian Church, Parnell Square North, Dublin. The preacher will be Bishop Donal Roche, Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin.
This year the resources for the ecumenical celebration have been prepared by the community of Bose, an ecumenical monastery of brothers and sisters in northern Italy. In Bose, community life is shaped by the rhythm of regular prayer. As the bells call the sisters, brothers and guests to prayer, they all assemble at the church. The opening service is based on the resources produced by CTBI: https://ctbi.org.uk/resources-for-week-of-prayer-for-christian-unity-2025
Bishop Michael Burrows, Chair of the Church of Ireland’s Commission for Christian Unity & Dialogue, has encouraged parishes to celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and has commended the resources produced by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. He noted that ‘The liturgical resources which have been provided ecumenically and internationally for the coming year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity take a rather different tack to the themes of recent years. The compilers wish us to reflect together on the fact that 2025 marks the 1,700th anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, and therefore our thoughts are drawn to credal phrases for so long associated with the work of that Council. The service dwells on a text from John’s Gospel – ‘Do you believe this?’ – and asks worshippers to reflect in a unique way on the common faith of Christians and the manner of its expression and communication today. We are asked to enter more deeply into the faith that unites us all, not to be afraid to engage with matters of doctrine, and to reflect on how today, as at Nicaea, spirited discussion amongst believers holding varying theological perspectives is often the midwife of the gestation of greater truth’.
A new series of lunchtime concerts begins next week in St Mary’s cathedral, Limerick. The opening concert on Tuesday at 1.15pm will be given by John O’Shea (guitar) and Peter Barley (piano) who will play Rodrigo’s ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’. Admission is free with a retiring collection. For details on all of the musical events held in St Mary’s cathedral please log onto www.saintmaryscathedral.ie
Applications for displays stands at the 2025 General Synod are invited from interested groups. The Synod takes place in Lawlor’s Hotel, Naas, on Friday 9 & Saturday 10 May. Please apply to [email protected] on or before Monday, 10 February. Only one table will be allocated to each stand. It may not be possible to provide a stand to all groups who apply. Applicants will be contacted in March once the final arrangements for the available space have been made.
Published in the Friday edition of The Irish Times