Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from 'The Irish Times'
PRESIDENT TO ATTEND ST ANN'S TERCENTENARY SERVICE
This weekend will be memorable for parishioners of St Ann's parish, Dublin. Yesterday evening there was be a Parish Dinner in the Tara Towers Hotel, while tomorrow (Sunday) President Mary McAleese will be among a large congregation for a Reunion Thanksgiving Service and Harvest Festival to commemorate the parish's tercentenary. Other distinguished guests will include the Lord Mayor and the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr John Neill. The address will be given by former vicar Bishop Samuel Poyntz.
The parish of St Ann was formed in 1707. But it was some time before the building of the church began. The site for the church was given by Sir Joshua Dawson after whom the street is named and whose residence, three doors from the church, is now Dublin's Mansion House. Many famous people have been associated with the parish including Thomas Barnardo, founder of Barnardos, art connoisseur Hugh Lane, Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, Wolfe Tone, Douglas Hyde and President Erskine Childers.
St Ann's parish has shown a wonderful capacity to adapt its ministry to meet the needs of the times. While today it includes the pastoral care of three hospitals and Dublin Port Chaplaincy its main focus now is on services to those who pass its doors. These include a senior citizen cyber café, lunchtime and evening concerts and recitals, healing services, daily Holy Communion, Friendly Room and bereavement counselling. The parish also hosts a wide range of AA meetings and the offices of 3 Rock, Dublin & Glendalough Diocesan Youth Department.
Today (Saturday) the Meath and Kildare Diocesan Synod will meet in Trim while in the evening, at 8 pm, the Cullenswood Singers will give a concert in Sandford Parish Church as part of the Ranelagh Arts Festival.
In Dublin tomorrow (Sunday) morning the bishop of Limerick will be the celebrant at the Sung Eucharist in St Patrick's Cathedral, while at Evensong in Christ Church Cathedral the Revd Katherine Poulton and the Revd Patrick Comerford will be installed as canons. In Waterford Cathedral the tercentenary of Bishop Foy's School will be marked by a special service at 10.am when the Dean of Cashel, Dr Philip Knowles, will preach before the Mayor of Waterford.
On Monday morning at 10.15 am the annual New Law Term Service will be held in St Michan's Church, Dublin, where the Archbishop of Dublin will officiate and the Bishop of Cashel and Ossory will preach. In the evening the Revd Susan Watterson will be introduced as part time stipendiary priest in charge of Killarney while the Bishop of Connor will institute the Revd Derek Kerr to the grouped parishes of Drummaul, Duneane and Ballyscullion.
On Thursday the Archbishop of Dublin will bless the new building extension to Whitechurch parish national school, where the rector is Canon Horace McKinley, and the Minister for Education and Science will officially open the building.
The Cork Diocesan Clergy Conference will be held at Ballylickey on Friday when the speaker will be the former Bishop of Oxford, Lord Harries while in Down Cathedral the first in a series of monthly lunchtime services of prayer and laying on of hands will be held in association with the Church's Ministry of Healing. In Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, the Diocesan Service for Primary and Junior Schools will take place at 7.30 pm while at 8 pm in Kilternan parish church, Niall Holohan, formerly the Irish government's representative in Israel/Palestine, will speak at an ecumenical harvest thanksgiving service.