Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from 'The Irish Times'
Saturday 16 May 2009New Books
In recent weeks there has been something of an outpouring of books of Church of Ireland interest from the Columba Press, two of which were launched at the General Synod last week.
The more substantial of the two is Clergy of Meath and Kildare, edited by W.J.R. Wallace. This is a revision and updating of the late Canon J.B. Leslie’s unpublished biographical succession lists of the clergy of these two dioceses. Ronnie Wallace, former Head of History in The High School, Dublin, has previously edited Clergy of Dublin and Glendalough, and has again produced a high quality work of reference which is certain to stand the test of time.
Why the Whistle Went is a very different book. It is a memoir by a leading evangelical layman, Dr Alan Acheson, which deals with his family background and his life as a British army officer, as a schoolmaster in Ireland and Australia, and as a rugby referee. But the Anglican Communion and the life of the Church of Ireland in particular are never far from the narrative.
Less obviously Church of Ireland but with distinct Church of Ireland resonances are three further books. The Adelaide Hospital School of Nursing, 1859-2009, by Gerard M. Fealy, is a commemorative history of an institution that has a long and distinguished association with the Dublin Protestant community, while Where Two Traditions Meet, by Thomas J,. Morrissey SJ, is a study of Fr John Sullivan who began life as a member of a prominent Dublin Church of Ireland family and then became a Jesuit. The Jesus I Know, edited by Adam Harbinson, features thirty-nine interviews in which people discuss their journey of faith. Among the subjects are Lord Eames, the Bishop of Kilmore and the Bishop of Connor.
Today (Saturday) ‘The Sacred Weave of Life’ conference continues in the Church of Ireland’s Centre for Celtic Spirituality in Armagh where the Director is the Revd Grace Clunie. The conference will be addressed by the Revd Ray Simpson, Guardian of the International Community of Aidan and Hilda, Holy Island, Lindisfarne. In Glencree Centre for Reconciliation the Bishop of Cashel and Ossory will lead a Quiet Day for lay ministers in the Diocese of Dublin & Glendalough, while in Co. Donegal the Bishop of Derry & Raphoe will preside at the GFS Festival Service in Inver.
Tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon the Archbishop of Dublin will preach at the GFS Diocesan Festival Service in Athy. In St Macartan’s Cathedral, Clogher, the Bishop of Clogher will preach at the annual friends’ service while Canon Ted Ardis will preach at the Patronal Festival in the Church of St John the Evangelist, Sandymount, at 4pm.
For the first time special services have been arranged by Changing Attitudes Ireland to mark IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia). These will be held tomorrow (Sunday) in St George’s Church, Belfast, at 3pm, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, at 3.30pm and in St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork, at 7pm.
The Sunday School Society marks its bi-centenary during 2009 and there will be a concert 'A Celebration of Childhood' on Friday at 7.30pm in Rathfarnham Parish Church, Dublin. As part of the celebrations the dedicated charity has been Sightsavers International. The concert will include junior choirs from parishes in Dublin - Kilternan, Taney, Mount Merrion & Rathfarnham - singer Imelda Morris and the Stedfast Band. Meanwhile in St Multose Church, Kinsale, there will be a concert by La Crosse University Concert Choir, Wisconsin, in support of the Mission to Seafarers.