Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’
Saturday 26 May 2012
Centre for the Study of Irish Protestantism Conference
The first annual conference of the Centre for the Study of Irish Protestantism in NUI Maynooth will be held on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 June. The theme will be ‘Shaping identities: an historical and cultural exploration of Irish Protestantism’.
The keynote address will be given on the Friday evening by Professor Eugenio Biagini from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, who has been a regular visitor to Irish libraries and archives in recent years. Among the other speakers will be Professor Irene Whelan from Manhattanville College, New York, well known for her study of the Second Reformation, The Bible War in Ireland, Professor Alan Ford from Nottingham University who has written widely on Archbishop Ussher, and Professor Jacqueline Hill from NUI Maynooth.
Further details and booking information may be had from Dr Caroline Gallagher, Centre for the Study of Irish Protestantism, Department of Adult & Community Education, NUI Maynooth ([email protected])
The Centre, which is largely the creation of Dr Caroline Gallagher and Dr Miriam Moffett, will be officially launched on Friday evening.
Today (Saturday) from 1pm until 5pm there will be an Open Day at Damer Court, Upper Wellington Street, Dublin 7, which provides sheltered housing for members of the protestant community who can care for themselves. In Christ Church cathedral, Dublin, there will be a lunchtime recital of sacred choral works by the Fredheim Choir while in the evening there will be a Summer Concert by the Dublin Orchestral Players.
Tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon at 3.00pm, the Day of Pentecost, the annual open–air service which has customarily been led by both Bishops of Clogher will take place. This will be the first time that the service takes place at Inniskeen, a site of historical importance for the early Christian Church in this region. This will also be a significant year as it will be first time in which the new Church of Ireland Bishop of Clogher, the Rt Revd John McDowell, takes part in the service. He will join with the Most Revd Liam MacDaid, Roman Catholic Bishop of Clogher, to lead this special open–air service.
Meanwhile at 3.30pm St Doulagh’s Church on the Malahide Road at Balgriffin will hold its Annual Ecumenical Open Air Service of Praise in St Doulagh’s Field beside the church. The special guest speaker, will be Canon Trevor Stevenson from Fields of Life Trust who will tell of their work among families in Africa. Music will be provided by 1st Dublin Company Boys’ Brigade Brass Band and the Dublin Conservative Club Male Voice Choir. During the service a collection will be taken up for the work of “Fields of Life”. Following the service there will be guided tours of the Church and grounds.
Next Thursday is the closing date for applications to enter Year 1 of the Archbishop of Dublin’s Certificate Course in Church Music. Details and application forms may be had at [email protected]. In the evening, at 6pm in Christ Church Taney, there will be a Service of Thanksgiving to mark the retirement of Canon Robert Reed from Wesley College
Next Saturday, 2 June, the Centre for Spirituality in Armagh will hold a one day conference, ‘Weaving a Rainbow of Prayer’. The speaker will be Mary Fleeson who works in the scriptorium of Holy Island, Lindisfarne. She will speak about the Lindisfarne Gospels and conduct sessions on the use of its knotwork symbols. The day will conclude with Celtic Prayer in St Patrick’s cathedral. Details may be had at www.celtic-spitituality.net.
Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’