Diocesan News06 Oct 15

Annual Diocesan Service for Primary Schools in Cork, Cloyne and Ross

Arriving for the Annual Diocesan Service for Primary Schools.

St Peter’s Church, Bandon, County Cork was full to capacity on Thursday, 1st October, for the Annual Diocesan Service for Primary Schools in the United Dioceses of Cork, Cloyne and Ross.

Schoolchildren from every school in the Diocese, teachers, board members, and representatives of the Diocesan Education Committee had all accepted the invitation to be present from the Bishop, Dr Paul Colton, who is patron of all but one of the schools in the Diocese.

The children themselves led all the parts of the Service. They had made banners for their schools and each brought a school bell ‘to signal’ themselves to all the others present. The Bishop had a bell too and there was a joyous cacophony of sound at the end of the Service as all the bells were rung at the same time.

The organist was Colin Nicholls and the sermon was preached by the Reverend Sarah Marry. Collections in the schools, for the third year running, raised a lot of money for the Diocesan Project in partnership with the Bishops’ Appeal and Christian Aid to build houses in Haiti in the wake of the earthquake there.  This year, the Church of Ireland Education Officer, Dr Ken Fennelly, and Assistant Secretary Eimear Ryan travelled from Dublin to be at the Service.