Dear parishioners and friends,   Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and heralds the start of Lent. Please find attached the first four days of our parish Lent Course 'Biblical Byways'. I will send it out in weekly installments from Saturday onwards. I hope you enjoy spending just 5 minutes each day reading the short passage and reflection I have written. As our churches are still closed, we cannot have our usual services for [...]

Dear parishioners and friends,   First of all I want to thank you for your very generous support for the January 5km walking challenge. When I embarked on it, I had hoped to raise about €3000 which would be divided equally three ways between the parish, Cork Penny Dinners and the Church of Ireland Bishops' Appeal. John Kershaw (Treasurer of Douglas Union) informs me that the final result is approximately 4 [...]

Dear parishioners and friends,   I don't know about you, but I must say it gives me a lift to see the snowdrops and crocuses out and the daffodils about to flower. The slight lengthening of the days helps too.   This Sunday is the 2nd Sunday before Lent, and it is a day when we traditionally focus on the theme of creation at our services. I am delighted to [...]

Dear parishioners and friends, We are almost at the end of the month and I am glad to report that I have kept up the challenge I set myself to walk at least 5km every day in January in aid of charity. I am very grateful to those who joined me in this challenge and walked a similar distance each day or set their own target but still got [...]

  Dear parishioners and friends,   The recorded service will be available on the Parish YouTube Channel from 7pm this evening. Again this week we reflect on the call and response of the first disciples, as well as the role others played in supporting them in this calling. I hope you enjoy it and find it encouraging, as you reflect on your own faith and the love and support of [...]

      Dear parishioners and friends,   Apparently 'you're on mute!' was the most often used phrase of 2020. It looks like it will be a prominent one in 2021 too. We use it when we can see the other person on the Zoom call but can't hear what they are saying until they click on the icon to activate their microphone. It takes a conscious decision to communicate fully with another [...]

  Dear Parishioners and friends,   This Sunday is the day set aside in the church calendar when we remember the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan by John. If we were in church tomorrow, we might have a baptism or in St Luke's Church host a special service for all those who were baptised in the parish in the past year, after which the leaves from the baptism tree would be [...]

Dear parishioners and friends,   As our churches remain closed for public worship, our services each week will be available again online. The link to our Parish YouTube Channel is here:   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZDmEQt2VvcJI9ErW29vxPA/videos   The service for tomorrow will be available from later this evening.   I have begun my challenge of walking 5Km every day in January in aid of the parish and other charities. Thanks to those [...]

  Dear parishioners and friends,   Our churches may be closed, and in light of the statement by An Taoiseach yesterday evening, our ability to travel is now restricted and we cannot meet up with friends and family in the usual way. However that does not mean that as a parish we cannot pull together for the benefit of our mental, spiritual and physical health, while at the same time raising [...]

    Dear parishioners and friends,   Our annual Crib Service on the afternoon of Christmas Eve always proves very popular with both children and adults. This year we can't hold it due to the public health restrictions. It would not be safe to have lots of children gather around the crib in St Luke's Church and put all the animals and characters in it, as they usually do. [...]