Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from 'The Irish Times'
Saturday 18 April 2009
Visit of Archbishop of Sydney
One of Anglicanism’s more prominent leaders is to visit Ireland to address some of the controversies currently facing the Anglican Communion. The Archbishop of Sydney, Dr. Peter Jensen, will speak in St Saviour’s Church, Dollingstown, between Lurgan and Moira, Co. Armagh, next Monday evening at 8 p.m. The meeting has been organized by the Evangelical Fellowship of Irish Clergy and is open to all.
Under the title ‘Refresh the Vision’, Dr Jensen will consider how faithful the Anglican Communion is to the gospel of Christ Jesus and how effectively it shares it around the globe. The Communion has been marked by controversy in recent years with, in particular, a prolonged public debate on human sexuality, and more private, if no less intense, discussions at the last Lambeth Conference. Dr Jensen is one of the Anglican leaders who advocates a biblical and conservative position on sexual matters.
Before becoming the Archbishop of Sydney in 2002, Dr. Jensen was the Principal of Moore Theological College, Sydney. He holds a D.Phil. from Oxford in Elizabethan theology, has written a number of books and is a well-known public figure in Australia.
The Evangelical Fellowship of Irish Clergy (www.efic.info) is a long-standing organisation within the Church of Ireland that seeks to provide clergy and lay readers with encouragement, refreshment and teaching from the Bible. Details about its activities may be had from the Revd William Press at (048) 4376 8246 or e-mail.
Today (Saturday) Evensong in Christ Church Cathederal, Dublin, will be sung by the Belfast based chamber choir, Sciolto, who will also sing the services tomorrow (Sunday).
Tomorrow (Sunday) morning RTE Radio will broadcast a Service of Easter Readings and Carols conducted by the Revd Tom Gordon. In the Chapel of Trinity College, Dublin, the preacher at the Sung Eucharist will be Canon Ginnie Kennerley, one of the first women to be ordained in the Church of Ireland and the author of a recent book on the subject, Embracing Women, published by Columba Press.
As part of the ongoing 150th anniversary celebrations of three churches in the Enniskerry area, Powerscourt parish will run a Graveyard Trail from Sunday 19th April to Sunday 26th April. Leaflets will be available at the church and graves marked so that visitors can find some interesting people. The church will be open each afternoon from 2-5 pm except Thursday (10-12am) and Saturday (10-12 am and 2-5 pm) and there will be an exhibition of archives and photographs in the church along with extra information about the churchyard and the residents.
The graveyards theme continues on Tuesday when the Dublin City Council Biodiversity officer, Mairead Slack, will speak on ‘Dublin City Graveyards: a Haven for Wildlife’ in City Hall at 1.10pm.
On Tuesday the Standing Committee of the General Synod and the Executive Committee of the Representative Church Body will meet in Church of Ireland House, Dublin.
Thursday is St George’s Day when there will be Patronal Festival Eucharist at 1pm and Choral Evensong at 8pm in St George’s Church, Belfast. In St Donard’s Church, Bloomfield, Belfast, the Bishop of Down & Dromore will institute the Revd Kenneth Higgins to the incumbency. Mr Higgins has been Rector of Movilla, Newtownards, since 2001.
A new history of Kilkenny College will be launched by the Archbishop of Dublin on Friday evening. Where Swift and Berkeley Learnt has been written by Lesley and Andrew Whiteside. The book has been published by the college and details may be had from Kilkenny College, Castlecomer Road, Kilkenny (056-7761544).