Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland notes from the Irish Times
Christ Church Cathedral Choir in New Zealand
"The cascade of mellow colours coming through the stained-glass windows of Auckland cathedral seemed to be reflected in the repertoire chosen by the choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin", enthused the New Zealand Herald review of the final concert of the choir's July tour. Beginning in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Christchurch, the choir sang its way from the cold South Island to the sub-tropical North Island. Without generous assistance from the Cultural Relations Committee at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Dublin; the Ireland Fund of New Zealand; Air New Zealand; the Friends of Christ Church Cathedral, and Independent Newspapers this significant musical venture would not have been possible.
From Christchurch the choir moved on to Wellington, performing an evening concert in the Cathedral of St Paul, and then combining with St Paul's choir for a special evensong. In the art deco city of Napier, home town of Mark Duley, Director of Music at Christ Church cathedral, the choir sang evensong and performed a concert in St John's cathedral. Last venue was Auckland, with a special concert for the Ireland Fund of New Zealand. After Eucharist in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, the final musical cascade was an afternoon concert, the audience including the Irish Society of Auckland. The choir has now resumed its usual weekly duties in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.
Today (Saturday) in Belfast the Annual Conference of the Church of Ireland Men's Society will be held in St John's, Malone Road where the speakers will be the distinguished former civil servant, Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, and Dr David Stevens, General Secretary of the Irish Council of Churches. This will be the last conference at which Bishop Samuel Poyntz will officiate as chairman. He will be followed in this post by the Dean of Armagh, the Very Revd Herbert Cassidy.
Today (Saturday) is St Fin Barre's Day which has been chosen for the launch of Cork's millennium celebrations. School children, teachers and public representatives will assemble in St Fin Barre's Cathedral where a millennium candle, that will burn until St Fin Barre's Day 2001, will be blessed by religious leaders. In the evening, the singer Finbar Wright will give a concert in the Cathedral.
Tomorrow (Sunday) the Patronal Festival of St Fin Barre's Cathedral will be celebrated with Sung Eucharist at which the preacher will be the Dean of Cork, Dr Michael Jackson, and Friends' Evensong when the Bishop of Cork, the Rt. Revd Paul Colton, will preach. In the parish church of St Catherine and St James, Dublin, the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Walton Empey, will institute the Dean of St Patrick's, Dr Robert MacCarthy, as incumbent of the St Patrick's Cathedral group of parishes. The Bishop of Tuam, Dr Richard Henderson, will preside at the Mothers' Union Diocesan Service in Tubbercurry while in Cloughjordan the Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe, the Rt. Revd Edward Darling, will preside at the GFS Diocesan Festival Service. The Harvest Eucharist will be celebrated in St Nicholas Collegiate church, Galway. Michaelmas term begins in the Theological College.