Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from 'The Irish Times'
Saturday 7 October 2006
Refugee Symposium in St Patrick?s
One of the new challenges in Irish society is the emergence of considerable racial and ethnic diversity. Increasing prosperity, an expending European Community and a general ?feel-good? factor, have attracted much international attention and given an impression of Ireland as an attractive country in which to live and work. Many who come to the new Ireland fulfill their dreams but for others there are problems of adjustment and integration and a clear need of support.
The Church of Ireland has begun to make a contribution in this field notably in the Diocese of Dublin with the publication of Welcoming Angels, a report of the Archbishop?s Working Group on Combating Racism, and the Discovery programme based in St George & St Thomas?s Church, Cathal Brugha Street.
A further initiative will take place today week, 14 October, when the Dean of St Patrick?s, Dublin, Dr Robert MacCarthy, will host a symposium on immigration in the Deanery in Upper Kevin Street. The address will be given by Peter O?Mahony of the Irish Refugee Council and the panel of speakers will include Eugene Quinn from the Jesuit Refugee Service, Senator Maurice Hayes and Senator David Norris.
At Evensong on the following day, Sunday 15 October, Senator Norris will give an address on ?Refugees in Ireland?.
Admission to the symposium is by invitation and those who are interested in attending should contact the St Patrick?s Cathedral Office at 01-4539472 or e-mail admin - at - stpatrickscathedral.ie.
Today (Saturday) there will be an Autumn Fayre in St Patrick?s Parish Centre, Church Road, Greystones, while in Marlay House, Rathfarnham, an Art Exhibition in aid of the Whitechurch Restoration Fund continues until tomorrow (Sunday). In Whitechurch at 3 pm there will be the first in a series of music recitals devised by Finghin Collins, musician in residence at South Dublin Co. Co. (details and booking information from 01-4149000 ext. 3350) while in Trim at 8 pm there will be a concert by the Lindsay Singers in St Patrick?s Cathedral in aid of floodlighting for the cathedral.
Tomorrow (Sunday) morning the Lindsay Singers will sing at the Eucharist in Trim Cathedral while at 7 pm the Dean of Christ Church, Dublin, the Very Rev Desmond Harman, will preach at the Harvest Thanksgiving Service in the Chapel of the Mageough Home. The Archbishop of Armagh will be in Donaghmore to dedicate a memorial window to Alex Caldwell, a former Diocesan Honorary Secretary, and on Friday he will be in Belfast to speak at the Methodist College Speech Day.
The Down & Dromore Clergy Conference will begin on Monday in Donegal and continue until Thursday. The main speaker will be the Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Michale Scott-Joynt, and a party of bishops and clergy from the Diocese of Albany, with which Down & Dromore are linked, will attend.
On Thursday the Connor Diocesan Synod will be held in Portrush while in Dublin the lunchtime speaker in the ?I Believe? series in St George & St Thomas? Church will be Fr Peter Mc Verry SJ. There will be an Autumn Fayre in aid of St Mary?s Home, Pembroke Park, in St Conleth?s College, Clyde Road, from 10 am to 2 pm while in the evening there will be a concert by Anuna in Belfast cathedral in aid of the Choral Scholarship Fund.
On Friday the Archbishop of Dublin will attend an Emmaus Conference in St George & St Thomas? Church where the key note speaker will be the Bishop of Reading, the Rt Revd Stephen Cotterell.