Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from 'The Irish Times'
Saturday 3 October 2009
Cambridge Connections Celebrated
Marking the 800th anniversary of the University of Cambridge, Evensong will be sung in Christ Church Cathedral Dublin at 3pm today (Saturday). The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr John Neill, an alumnus of Jesus College Cambridge, will be the preacher. There will be music by composers with Cambridge and Irish connections - Charles Wood, Charles Villiers Stanford and Brian Boydell. The University will be represented by the Master of Peterhouse Professor Adrian Dixon, who will read a lesson as will the Minster of Finance, Mr Brian Lenihan TD.
Links between Cambridge and the Church of Ireland are longstanding. Prior to the foundation of Trinity College, Dublin, many clergy were educated at Cambridge: indeed the chapters of both Christ Church and St Patrick’s were dominated by Cambridge men. The foundation of Trinity in 1592, as a seminary to train reformed clergy, continued this influence. The first five provosts of the new college were Cambridge men and Ramist logic, which was firmly established in Cambridge, was the basis of logical teaching in Dublin.
Cambridge and Church of Ireland links continue. The Regius Professor of Divinity, Dr David Ford, is from a Dublin Church of Ireland family while the chaplain of Christ Church, the Revd Christopher Woods, formerly curate of Dundela, was trained in the Church of Ireland Theological College. An earlier chaplain of Christ Church was the influential Warden of the Divinity Hostel, Canon John Brown.
Further details of the Cambridge celebration are available from Charles Lysaght at 01 – 2692474.
Tomorrow (Sunday) Harvest Festival will be celebrated at Choral Evensong in St Bridget’s Cathedral, Kildare, at 3.30pm, when the Revd Leslie Stevenson will be installed as archdeacon. The first Choral Eucharist (10.45am) of the new academic year in Trinity College Dublin begins with a sermon series entitled “Twenty-first century Jesus”.
On Tuesday evening at 8pm in St Brigid’s Church, Castleknock, the Archbishop of Dublin will institute the Revd Paul Houston to the incumbency of Castleknock, Clonsilla and Mulhuddert in succession to the Revd Andrew Orr who is now Rector of Tullow in Co. Carlow. Mr Houston, who was ordained in 1981, has been Rector of Clondalkin since 1999 and a Minor Canon of St Patrick’s Cathedral since 2000.
If you would like to learn how to give your difficulties to God, and allow Him to carry them for you, go along to St Anne’s Cathedral Hall, Belfast, on Thursday at 8 pm when Brother David Jardine, Director of Divine Healing Ministries, will talk on the ‘Prayer of Surrender’ which he believes is the most powerful prayer of all. Some of his teaching will be based on Psalm 55 v.22 – ‘Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous stumble.’ Learning how to practice the prayer of surrender can transform our Christian lives as well as our prayer lives.
There is no charge for this event but there will be an opportunity to purchase CDs on the theme of surrender and other aspects of prayer and healing. Further information from: www.divinehealingministries.wordpress.com
Next Friday a contingent from the Mothers’ Union in the Diocese of Kilmore, which is linked to the MU in the Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, will visit Carrigaline where there will be a Festival Service in St Mary’s Church at 8pm. The preacher will be the Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin & Ardagh, the Rt Revd Ken Clarke.
Next Saturday Dr Chris Hewer, St Ethelburga Fellow in Christian-Muslim Studies in London will give a seminar on ‘Understanding Islam; The Basics’ at the Ahl ul-Bait Islamic Centre, Milltown, Dublin. Details may be had at 0872463335/0864038447