Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland notes from 'The Irish Times'
Saturday 27 September 2008
Sermons in St Patrick's Published
At the suggestion of Canon Maureen Ryan, the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, Dr Robert MacCarthy, has made a selection from the sermons which were preached in the cathedral during 2007 and these have been published as A Year of Sermons in St Patrick's, Dublin.
As part of the liturgical round in St Patrick's there are sermons at both the Sung Eucharist and Evensong each Sunday. In addition the role if the St Patrick's as the national cathedral for the Church of Ireland, its attractiveness as a place for special services of thanksgiving, remembrance and celebration, and, because of its size, its capacity to host large liturgical events, has ensured an unusual breadth of sermons and addresses.
Inevitably, and quite properly, Dr MacCarthy's selection includes sermons by the dean, the dignitaries and the cathedral's canons as well as by the Dean's Vicar who is, by virtue of his office, the resident preacher. But there are sermons too from visiting Anglicans - the Archbishop of Armagh, the Bishop of Manicaland in Zimbabwe, the late Dean of Christ Church, the Very Revd Revd Desmond Harmon, and Dr Hueston Finlay, a Canon of Windsor. The ecumenical dimension is represented by sermons from Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and Bishop Anthony Farquhar while from the world of politics there are addresses by Councillor Mary Freehill and Senator David Norris. Most poignant of all, perhaps, is the text of an address from the former British Ambassador, Sir Ivor Roberts, on the 25th anniversary of the murder of one of his predecessors, Christopher Ewart-Biggs.
A Year of Sermons in St Patrick's, Dublin is available in the cathedral shop at €10.
Today the Meath and Kildare Diocesan Synod will be held in Wilson's Hospital School, Multyfarnham. In Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Evensong will be sung by members of the cathedral choir with the RSCM Voice for Life medal winners who will be presented with their certificates by the Dean, the Very Revd Dermot Dunne, and the Administer of St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, Canon John Flaherty.
A weekend of celebrations continues in St. Michael's Church, Blackrock, Cork. This includes a Flower Festival and a concert this evening (Saturday) featuring a brass band, choir and soloist. The celebrations conclude with a Service of Thanksgiving and Re-dedication tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon. The Rt. Rev. Michael Mayes, a former rector of the parish, will be the guest preacher and the Bishop of Cork will preside.
Tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon the final summer service will be held in St Kieran's Church, Clonmacnoise at 4pm while at Evensong in Belfast Cathedral the Bishop of Connor will preach and make presentations to organ scholars from parishes in the dioceses of Down, Dromore and Connor.
In Christ Church Cathedral the Archbishop of Dublin will present certificates in music and theology at Evensong when two new canons, the Revd Mark Gardner, Dean's Vicar in Christ Church, and the Revd Robert Deane, Rector of Swords, will be installed.
On Wednesday the Bishop of Cork will pay a pastoral visit to St Luke's Home with the Lord Mayor of Cork, to mark Positive Aging Week and on Thursday he will travel to Finland where he will give a lecture on ‘Religion and the Criminal Law in Ireland' at a meeting of the European Consortium for Church and State Research.
The annual Diocesan Service for Primary and Junior Schools will be held on Friday evening at 7.30pm in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, where the preacher will be the Revd Andrew McCroskery, Vicar of St Bartholomew's.