Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’
Back to Normal
As the final days of August ebb away thoughts inevitably turn to September and the return to what passes for normality in the life of the Church. Schools are back, cathedral choirs are poised to return from their summer recess, dates are fixed for meetings of parish vestries and cathedral boards and forthcoming events are advertised.
Holy Trinity church, Killiney, will be open to visitors every Thursday in September from 2 to 4 pm. Perched above Killiney Hill Road it was built as a trustee church in 1858 and became an independent parish in 1893. Following the retirement of Canon Gary Hastings the parish has been vacant but the Revd Jane Burns, curate of Taney, has been appointed to the incumbency and will be instituted on 22 September.
The Church’s Ministry of Healing: Ireland invites you to join them for Restival: Invitation into Sacred Pause. This is a day–long immersion in nature, a space to simply be and to return to the Source of our Being. It takes place on Saturday, 20 September, from 10am to 4pm, in Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow. In a world where rest is considered idleness, what does it mean to take a sacred pause, and bring compassionate presence to all that is here? Once you have booked, you will receive an Eircode, info about facilitators, parking and car–pooling; what to bring, etc. The itinerary includes: story; sacred pause; Scripture circle; centring prayer; a mindful wander; nature art. This is a donation–based event, with a sliding scale depending on your means. Go to www.ministryofhealing.ie to book or to get in touch with CMHI.
The 2025 Kildare Choral and Organ Festival will begin in St Brigid’s cathedral this evening (Friday) at 7.30pm with 4 in a Bar singing a collection of songs from the Renaissance to the modern day, with classical and popular composers alike extolling the wonders of love. The second night of the Festival, Friday 5 September at 7.30pm, will feature a solo performance from Irish organist Simon Harden, who lectures in organ performance at the TU Dublin Conservatoire and is Organist and Director of Music at Christ Church cathedral, Waterford. The closing night of the Festival, Wednesday 12 September at 7.30pm, will feature music from Bologna in Italy, performed by Thomas Charles Marshall, Norah O’Leary and Francesco Giusti. Tickets can be purchased online on Eventbrite or at the door.
Dublin & Glendalough’s partners in the Diocese of Jerusalem have called on all people to cease turning the sacred space of healing of their Al–Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City into a battleground. In a statement they outlined a series of attacks in the hospital compound in the early hours of 17 August which left several dead and injured and which left the hospital morgue and staff prayer room severely damaged. Archbishop Michael Jackson has expressed shock and sadness at this latest attack and described it as an affront to human dignity.
Published in the Friday edition of The Irish Times