Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from 'The Irish Times'
Saturday 28 November 2009
Reader Ministry Celebrated
Today (Saturday) in Dublin the centenary of the ministry of readers in the Church of Ireland will be celebrated. At a special service in St Patrick’s Cathedral the Archbishop of Armagh will be the celebrant and the Bishop of Kilmore will preach. Following the service the Archbishop of Dublin will address the Readers at lunch.
The centenary will be marked also by the publication of Reader Ministry in the Church of Ireland which has been written by George Leckey who has been a reader in the Diocese of Connor since 1996 and who is a former Secretary to the Connor Readers’ Guild. Mr Leckey’s book charts the history of reader ministry and its development in Ireland. It discusses selection, rules and regulations, and workload and there are also chapters on women readers and on personalities and unusual events.
Reader Ministry in Ireland has been published by Church of Ireland Publishing and is available at €6/£5 in the Resource Centre Bookshop, Holy Trinity Church, Rathmines, Dublin and the Good Bookshop, Donegall Street, Belfast.
Tomorrow (Sunday) morning the Bishop of Cashel & Ossory will be the celebrant at the Sung Eucharist in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, where the preacher will be the Dean of Cashel, Dr Philip Knowles. In the Chapel of Trinity College, Dublin, the preacher at the Choral Eucharist will be Christina Rees, writer, broadcaster and chair of Women and Watch who will speak on ‘Transforming Faith’ In the evening, at 7pm, Canon Eithne Lynch will be installed as Prebendary of Timoleague in St Fachtna’s Cathedral, Ross.
Tomorrow (Sunday) the season of Advent begins and with it starts a new liturgical year and a fresh cycle of daily scripture readings. Sunday and Weekday Readings 2010, a 60-page booklet setting out clearly all the provisions for bible reading in church from Advent Sunday 2009 to the eve of Advent Sunday 2010, has recently been published by Church of Ireland Publishing. In its fourth year of publication, this helpful compendium has been found valuable as a resource for both clergy and laity, in churches and in homes. Its neat size is convenient for lecterns and makes it easily accessible for personal use alongside a bible. The booklet has been compiled by Canon Brian Mayne, who has provided the lectionary material for the Church of Ireland Gazette for the past sixteen years. It is available at €4/£3 from the Resource Centre Bookshop, Dublin, and the Good Bookshop, Belfast.
The weekday lectionary may also be viewed online at www.ireland.anglican.org/lectionary
Advent Sunday will be celebrated in Dublin with a Service of Music and Readings for Advent in St Patrick’s Cathedral at 3.15pm while in Belfast at 3.30pm the Choir of St Anne’s Cathedral will be joined by the Choir of St Peter’s Cathedral for Advent carols. In Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, the Advent Processions will begin at 5pm while in St Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick, there will be a Advent Carol Service at 7pm.
On Monday evening in St Mary’s Church, Athlone, the rector, the Revd Graham Doyle, will celebrated the 35th anniversary of his ordination. The preacher will be the former Provost of Tuam, the Very Revd Patrick Towers and there will be music from the Choir of St Brigid’s Cathedral, Kildare, and a local Gospel Choir.
A series of lunchtime recitals for December begins in St Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick on Wednesday at 1.10pm when Caoimhe de Paor (recorder) will play works by Handel and Telemann. Admission is free but there will be a retiring collection in aid of the cathedral’s music.