Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from The Irish Times
Book of Common Prayer Inaugurated
Tomorrow, Trinity Sunday, the new Book of Common Prayer officially becomes the prayer book of the Church of Ireland superceding all earlier liturgies. In each parish the authorization will be observed with specially supplied words of dedication. For a wider audience RTÉ will mark the first televised use of the new prayer book with a transmission of the Parish Eucharist from St Nicholas? Collegiate Church, Galway, beginning at 11.05 am. The celebrant will be the Provost of Tuam, the Very Revd Patrick Towers, and the music and liturgy will be directed by the Revd Tom Gordon.
Despite the often stated reservations of those who choose to believe that the day of the printed book is over, and despite a rash of less than generous reporting which has focused to an unreasonable extent on typographical and textual errors, the new prayer book has been an enormous success. The first print run of 80,000 copies, has been sold out and a further 10,000 copies of the reprint have already gone.
The Liturgical Advisory Committee, the BCP editor and Columba Press have done their work. It is now the responsibility of the people of the Church of Ireland to turn the words of the Book of Common Prayer into worship.
Today (Saturday) the Dean of Cashel, Dr Philip Knowles, will be a guest at the opening of a Garden of Remembrance in Caen as part of the 60th anniversary D Day commemorations. Tomorrow afternoon (Sunday) Canon Cecil Bryan will preach at a special service in St Paul?s Church, Glenageary, there will be a Thanksgiving Service in Belfast Cathedral while the Dean of Connor, the Very Revd John Bond, will lead an Act of Commemoration in Broughshane.
Tomorrow (Sunday) the ordination season begins. In St Mark?s Church, Portadown, the Archbishop of Armagh will ordain Malcolm Kingston to the deaconate while, in St Columb?s Cathedral, the Bishop of Derry will raise the Revd Peter Thompson and the Revd Adam Quigley to the priesthood. On Friday the Bishop of Clogher will ordain Henry Blair and Ian Linton as deacons to serve in Monaghan and Enniskillen respectively. Tomorrow (Sunday) the Archbishop of Dublin will be in Limerick where he will preach at a Service of Installation in St Mary?s Cathedral. The Ven Malcolm Shannon will be installed as Archdeacon of Limerick, Canon Bob Hanna as Chancellor, and the Revd Stephen Neill as Prebendary of St Munchin and Tulloch
On Monday evening at 8.30 pm the Memorial Drive Church Choir from New York will give a concert in Cashel Cathedral in aid of the Bolton Library and on Tuesday at 8.00 pm the Augustana Choir will give a free concert of sacred music in St Patrick?s Cathedral, Dublin, where, on Wednesday, the evening organ recital will be given by David Leigh, the cathedral?s assistant organist.
On Thursday the Church of Ireland in Dublin will launch a new initiative to engage with newly arrived ethnic groups in the inner city. ?Discovery? which is based in St George and St Thomas? Church in Cathal Brugha Street, will provide seminars, and an associated exhibition, to inform new arrivals of their rights and the social services which are available to them, and to introduce them to useful Church of Ireland organizations. Details may be had from the Revd Katherine Poulton (01-2856180) and Canon Horace McKinley (01-4933953).
On Thursday and Friday the Archbishop of Dublin will represent the Church of Ireland at the General Synod of the Episcopal Church in Scotland which will be held in Edinburgh.
::rcblibrary::