Irish Times Notes16 May 25

Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’

Search Colloquium

The bi–enniel colloquium organized by, the Church of Ireland journal, Search, will be held  tomorrow (Saturday) in the TCD School of Religion, Theology and Peace Studies. The theme will be ‘Invitations to Christian Commitment. Transformative Faith for the 21st Century’

Starting at 10am the colloquium will explore various avenues through which believers can open their arms to enquirers and spiritual explorers, making all comers feel truly welcome without subjecting them to any pressure. Benefits to be found in cathedrals, university chaplaincies, local communities, pilgrimages and fresh styles of parish worship will all be explored, with a distinguished team of experienced and forward–looking speakers.

The Revd Prof Leslie Francis, and Very Revd Shane Forster, Dean of Armagh, will speak on cathedral initiatives, while on the subject of university chaplaincies the speakers will the Revd Darren McCallig, former Chaplain in TCD, and Revd Scott Evans, Chaplain in UCD.

The theme of ‘Pursuing Social Justice and Compassion’ will be addressed by Kevin Hargaden from the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, and Fr Jim Caffrey, from the Dublin parish of Balally. The final session, ‘Behold the Spirit – a renewed Pentecost?’ will have contributions from Ruth Gyves, from Holy Trinity parish, Rathmines, on Informal Worship, and the Archdeacon of Limerick, the Very Revd Simon Lumby on Pilgrimage.

Booking is advised, through Eventbrite but walk ins on the day will be welcome.  A light lunch and morning and afternoon refreshments are included in the cost of €40 / £35 or €20 / £18 for students and seniors.

A new series of lunchtime concerts begins today (Friday) in Sandford parish church, Ranelagh at 1,10pm when the TU Dublin Junior Conservatoire Piano prize–winners will perform.

On Sunday at  11.00am on RTÉ 1 and RTÉ Radio 1 Extra, there will be  a service to mark the end of Christian Aid Week which will be a celebration of the work of Christian Aid Ireland, led by CEO, Rosamond Bennett.

A new series of organ recitals is underway in Christ Church cathedral, Dublin. On Monday at 6pm the recitalist will be Patrice Keegan, from Holy Criss church, Dundrum.

The Bishop of Meath & Kildare, the Most Revd Pat Storey, has announced the appointment of Canon Katharine Poulton as the new archdeacon of Meath and Kildare. She will succeed the Ven. Leslie Stevenson, who retires at the end of this month. Canon Poulton is Rector of Julianstown parish, and Canon of St Patrick’s cathedral, Dublin. She was ordained in 1987 and was the first woman ordained as deacon in the Church of Ireland. She has worked in parishes, both north and south of the border. Before becoming Rector of Julianstown she had been Dean of St Canice’s cathedral and Rector of the very diverse Kilkenny union of parishes for over seven years.  Prior to this she worked for a decade in a parish in Dublin city centre.