Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland notes from 'The Irish Times
Saturday 2 August 2008
Palestinian Visit
This morning (Saturday) in Dublin the Multi-Cultural Market at St Bartholomew’s Church, Clyde Road, will be supporting the Irish and Palestinian Youth Connections for Peace summer exchange programme for 2008 which has been taking place over the last two weeks.
Tomorrow (Sunday) in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, at 11am there will be a special service of hope for peace at the conclusion of the two-week visit to Ireland by 19 young Palestinians from Zebabdeh, in the northern West Bank. The ecumenical group have participated in the programme, Youth Connections for Peace, alongside students from north and south, funded by the Irish Youth Development Agency, Leargás, with generous additional support from aid agencies and the Irish Churches. The programme aims to connect young people in the context of post-conflict in Northern Ireland, by hearing the stories and experiences of each other and articulating their hopes for the future, and to enable the Palestinian Christian voices to be heard as ambassadors for peace.
Last week the young Palestinians visited ancient Christian sites in Co. Down. With young people from the Belfast-based Northern Ireland Memorial Fund and Ballinteer Community School in Dublin they learned about the legacy of St Patrick and the possibilities for reconciliation and peace-building at Down Cathedral and Saul Church, where they were welcomed by the Dean of Down, the Very Revd Henry Hull.
The Palestinian young people come from the Zebabdeh Youth Group for Peace and Reconciliation, established to explore a sense of identity and confidence for young people in the context of a shrinking Christian community in the Holy Land, which now stands at just twenty per cent of the population. Indigenous Palestinian Christians are descended from some of the earliest strands of Christianity. The Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Revd Alan Harper, met some of the group while on a recent visit to the Holy Land, when he commented that Palestinian Christians needed to ‘begin to believe that they are not a forgotten people’.
Today (Saturday) in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, there will be a lunchtime recital by the choir of St Paul’s Church, Bedford, who will also sing the services tomorrow. This evening in St Multose’s Church, Kinsale, there will be a concert by the New England Conservatory Metropolitan Flute Band while in St Mary’s Collegiate Church, Youghal, the Cologne New Philamonic Chamber Orchestra will play Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and pieces by Bach, Mendelssohn, Mozart and Pachelbel.
On Wednesday the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr John Neill, will institute the Revd Leonard Ruddock to the incumbency of Blessington in succession to the Revd Kesh Govan who has returned to England. Mr Ruddock was ordained in 1994 for the non-stipendiary ministry and served in Roscrea. Following additional training in the Church of Ireland Theological College he converted to the full time stipendiary ministry and in 2006 was appointed as curate in Stillorgan.
Details of the Annual Conference of the Irish College of Preachers have been announced. The conference will take place in the Church of Ireland Theological Institute from 10 to 12 September and the guest speaker will be the Director of the new Institute, the Revd Dr Maurice Elliot. The purpose of the conference is to encourage biblical and relevant preaching in the Ministry of the Word. and is open to all aspiring and practicing preachers, both lay and clerical. Details may be had from the Revd Ferran Glenfield, Kill o’ the Grange Parish Office, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin ([email protected] ).