Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from The Irish Times
Saturday 24 December 2005
Almost Christmas
For many, especially those in Dublin, the real harbinger of Christmas is the Christmas Eve Service of Nine Lessons and Carols in St Patrick?s Cathedral which takes place today (Saturday) at 4 pm. The late Diana McFarlan wrote evocatively of traveling from the See House in Kilmore, where her father was bishop in the 1930s, swathed in rugs to keep warm and singing all the way home. Many will have their own memories, often of shorter distances traveled from clubs and restaurants in the city centre drawn by pealing bells and the assurance of renewing old friendships. And when the final verse of Hark the herald Angels Sing, sung of course to Handel?s great melody from Judas Maccabaeus, have died, it will be Christmas. For those not fortunate to have tickets for this event the service will be broadcast live on RTE Radio.
Meanwhile in St Iberius Church, Wexford, at 3.30 pm the annual free Carol Concert , organized by Music for Wexford, will take place. This will mark the end of the four day fast for charity by the Rector of Wexford, the Revd Maria Jannson.
For those in Dublin in need of a last minute stocking filler a quick trip to Christ Church Cathedral might be the answer where a new CD, Live at Christ Church, is available. The CD features music from the cathedral choir, directed by Judy Martin, with Tristan Russcher at the organ. It was recorded between June and October 2005 and includes Herbert Howell?s ?Gloucester Service? settings of the evening canticles and the spellbinding angus dei from Frank Martin?s Mass for Double Choir. This is the first in a series of CDs which will include not only music from the normal cathedral repertoire but also this years carol service, a CD of organ music, and music from the choir?s forthcoming trip to the USA. Live at Christ Church is available from the cathedral shop at ?12.95.
In Christ Church Cathedral, at 11 pm the Archbishop of Dublin will celebrate the first Eucharist of Christmas and on Christmas morning, together with his fellow bishops, he will, according to custom, preach in his cathedral. RTE will televise a Christmas Day service with the Revd Ted Woods and the parishioners of Rathfarnham, while on RTE radio there will be a Service of Carols from All Saint?s Church, Carnew, Co. Wexford where the rector is the Revd Dermot Dunne. At 2.45 pm RTE will televise Christmas greetings from the Archbishops of Armagh.
The Mothers? Union has announced the appointment of Louise Despard-Hilliard as its first development worker to work with branches in the north and north-west of Ireland. This follows similar appointments in the diocese of Chichester, Worcester and Oxford. Ms Despard-Hilliard is a trained parenting facilitator, originally from Limerick, who now lives in Portadown.
The Mothers? Union in Ireland has been running parenting groups with trained facilitators in local communities for the last three years. The MU is particularly focused on maintaining and supporting the family and has already established several local initiatives such as parenting programmes and child contact centres. The Development Worker will build on these as well as encouraging and enabling MU volunteers to identify and address other needs within the community.
This appointment brings to fruition nearly two years work by a group of MU members who saw the need for such a professional. Funding for this pilot project came from contributions from members, the General Synod?s Priorities Fund, MU central funds and from several local charities.
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