Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’
Saturday 3 September 2011
New Bishop of Tuam
Last April the Very Revd Patrick Rooke was appointed by the House of Bishops to fill the vacant see of Tuam, Killala & Achonry and next Thursday, in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, he will be consecrated as a bishop and will begin this new ministry.
The new bishop is a son of the rectory (his father was successively Rector of Castleknock, Bray and Tullow), was schooled in Dublin at Sandford Park and received his theological training at Sarum and Wells Theological College. He was ordained in 1978 for the curacy of Mossley in the Diocese of Connor and after a second curacy in Ballywillan was appointed as Rector of Craigs in 1983. From 1988 to 1994 he was Rector of Ballymore in the Diocese of Armagh but returned to the Diocese of Connor as Rector of Agherton and in 2005 and was appointed Archdeacon of Dalriada.
Since 2006 he has been Dean of Armagh where he has been closely involved in developing the heritage dimension of the cathedral, notably the creation of an exhibition space in the former diocesan registry on Vicars’ Hill. He is Co–Chairman of the Church of Ireland Historical Society and Chairman of the Church’s Ministry of Healing.
This weekend in Cahir Castle there will be a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the death of Lt Col Richard Butler Charteris, the last of the Cahir Butlers. The Butler–Charteris Memorial Lecture will be given this morning (Saturday) by the Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, Dr Robert MacCarthy, and tomorrow evening (Sunday) at 5pm there will be Choral Evensong in St Paul’s Church.
Tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon in St Colman’s Church, Dunmurry, the Bishop of Connor will ordain Melissa Jeffers to the diaconate and Iain Jamieson as a deacon to serve an internship in the parish of St Michael, Belfast, while in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, Dr Stephen White, Dean of Killaloe, will be installed as Chancellor.
In Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, the Junior Organ Scholarship scheme will be launched at Evensong. The scheme is supported by the Desmond Harman Memorial Fund which was established in memory of the former Dean of Christ Church who died in 2007 and his widow, Mrs Sue Harman, will perform the launch. The first recipient of the scheme, Jamie Boshell, has completed one year of the scholarship and recently passed, with distinction, the first year of the Archbishop’s Certificate in Church Music.
On Monday evening the Archbishop of Dublin celebrate the Eucharist before the AGM of the Theology Circle in CITI while the Bishop of Derry & Raphoe will institute the Revd Ivan Dinsmore as Rector of the Ardstraw group of parishes.
The lunchtime lecture in St Bartholomew’s Church, Belfast, on Tuesday will be given by the rector, Dr Ron Elsdon, who will speak on ‘Does Creation have a Future?’
On Wednesday evening in Castro Petre Church, the Bishop of Meath & Kildare will ordain Martin O’Kelly as an intern deacon for ministry in the Edenderry union of parishes. In London Dr Steven McBride, Archdeacon of Connor, will preach at the Eucharist in the Church of St Botolph without Bishopsgate where the Revd Dr Alan McCormack, formerly Dean of Residence in Trinity College, is Rector. Dr McBride and Dr McCormack will dine at Lambeth Palace on the preceding evening, at the Annual Feast of the Nikaean Club.
The annual conference of the Irish College of Preachers will begin in the Church of Ireland Theological Institute next Wednesday. The principal speaker will be Dr Michael Green, Head of Evangelism and Apologetics at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.