The Rector 
writes……
This year Lent begins on Wednesday 14th February, so those celebrating St Valentine’s Day will have to do so a day early and finish the box of chocolates the day they receive them!
It is a busy time for many people so this year we want to make it easy for you to observe Lent by using the #LiveLent – Let your light shine programme. While it has been devised by the Church of England, but it is applicable to any church context. The daily readings will take you on a journey through the Gospel of John, offering a pause for reflection, a prayer and a challenge to act. The promotional publicity states… “God offers us life for the sake of others. The light he gives us in Jesus Christ is not to be hidden but to shine – it’s a gift to be lived and shared. Indeed, the more we share it and let it shine, the brighter it burns.” I have ordered 100 copies of the little booklet in the hope that at least that many parishioners will take up the challenge this Lent! They cost about €3 each. They are free to all but if you want to pay the parish back, why not put a few euro extra on the collection plate one Sunday in Lent.
In addition, each week there will be an opportunity for people to come together to do the #LiveLent course. This is simple and engaging in style and should appeal to all and will encourage those who are following the daily readings. However, each session is stand alone so you can come along anyway even if you are not following the booklet. For those working during the day, we will meet on Tuesday evenings for about an hour for a cup of tea and discussion. The clergy will be hosting these meetings each week in their homes and we will advertise the venues well in advance. For others who may not like to go out at night, we will be meeting in the Canon Packham Hall on Friday mornings at 11 for no more than an hour, and all are welcome. For those with smart phones, the daily reading and reflection is available by downloading the App for Android and iOS. E-mail and text signups are also available. Our prayer is that these resources will help you individually and our parish community to walk the Lent journey and bring us all closer to Jesus, who offers abundant life to all who journey with him.
I also take this opportunity to give you advance notice about our Holy Week preacher this year. He is the Rt Revd David Chillingworth, former Primus (or Archbishop) of the Scottish Episcopal Church. He is a very gifted speaker and communicator and is a highly respected figure internationally within the Anglican Church and will be with us between 25th and 30th April. He has an interesting personal reason to visit St Luke’s Church, but I will tell you more about that later. Please note the date in your diaries.
Yours in Christ, Adrian.
St Luke’s School News – St Luke’s School had a really busy December. We had our annual Carol Services, our Christmas Fair when we raised over €5,500 for our school funds, Bag Packing in Dunnes Stores which raised €1284, a visit to the cinema, made up shoe boxes for Penny Dinners and our choir visited St Luke’s Home to sing carols for the residents there. We also organised a very informative Internet Safety talk for parents. We welcome Ms Jennifer Carroll as our new SNA and Ms Laura Welch on teaching practice and hope that they will be very happy in St Luke’s. All the classes enjoyed taking part in Lego Robotics Workshops when pupils made programmed cars, hockey players and experimented with gears and axels. Our pupils are actively involved in a five-week session of Creative Dance and are enjoying the expertise of the CADA leaders.
Service and Sausages Our February service takes place on Sunday, 4th February at 6pm in St. Luke’s Church, Douglas.
Parish Bible Studies. Our parish Bible groups continue to be led by Florence Binions and we are grateful to her for all the preparation she puts into each session. These groups meet on a fortnightly basis in Blackrock and Moneygourney. We thank those who host these meetings in their homes.
Venue: Joan Miller’s home, Ballintemple on Wednesday 7th & 21st February and 7th & 21st March @ 2.30pm and Carol Boylan’s home, Moneygourney on Thursday, 8th February & 22nd February and 8th & 22nd March @ 7.30pm. For further information contact Florence Binions 0861604544 or any of the clergy.
Recent fundraising: We thank Olive Burns and Susan Colton who ran a very successful whist drive in aid of Frankfield Church just before Christmas. It raised €1200. The Christmas Coffee Morning held in the Rectory on 15 December raised €800 for Christian Aid. It was good that Andrew Coleman from Christian Aid was able to join us for part of the morning.
CPR Training takes place on the second Tuesday of each month at Canon Packham Hall, Douglas at 7.00pm. This class teaches basic techniques of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and how to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) for adults, children and infants. An AED is a computerised defibrillator which analyses the heart rhythm of a person in cardiac arrest and uses voice prompts to advise you if a shock is needed. Please contact John Clifford on 087-246-2629 or you are very welcome to simply turn up on the night.
Thanks to the great generosity of Tom and Gwen Chambers, an AED has been provided to both St Luke’s National School and to the parish. It is mounted on the wall of the school near the main door. This AED has a special switch which means that it can be used on both children and adults. It is important that we have a pool of parishioners who are trained and confident in its use. We will be encouraging representative members of parish organisations and all interested parishioners to attend training as soon as possible. Details will be circulated in the weekly Pew News sheet.
St Mary’s Hall in Marmullane: Over the last couple of months, extensive repair and restoration work has been carried out on the parish hall in Marmullane. Last year it was hoped that the adjoining corrugated iron annex would be replaced by a new extension and better kitchen facilities installed. However, a survey of the building prior to this work highlighted a very significant dry rot problem in the main hall. This has now been attended to and new insulation, heating and toilet facilities have been installed. This work would not have been possible without the great generosity of Jill Hingston. We thank her for her very generous donation which has covered the full cost and Mervyn Hosford who carried out the work in such a timely fashion. While the kitchen annex will have to wait for the time being, the main hall itself is now a bright and warm facility and has already hosted a vestry meeting and other community meetings. Badminton has resumed there on a regular basis too.
Free Training Programme for those wishing to commence a career as a Carer Northridge House at St Luke’s Home, Mahon are running a free training programme commencing on 20th March for those on Job Seekers allowance who would wish to work as Professional Carers for the Older Adult. The courses include QQI Modules and other mandatory Courses. Places are limited and further details from Claire at 021.4536551
Confirmation Classes: The confirmation group is meeting each Wednesday evening. We hope that they are enjoying learning together and exploring what it means to be a Christian today. We are happy to provide the venue again this year for the annual Bishop’s Confirmation Morning which will be on Saturday 3 March.
Boys’ Brigade: The annual brigade service for the 1st Cork Company of the Boys’ Brigade takes place
on Sunday 4 February at 11.15 in St. Luke’s Church, Douglas. We look forward to the involvement of the boys and girls in this service. We thank the Boys’ Brigade Captain, Tanya Meikle, and the Officers and other leaders for all they do to put together an attractive programme of activities each Thursday evening when the 1st Cork Company meets in the Canon Packham Hall. New members are always welcome.
Bequest for Blackrock: At the end of 2017, St Michael’s benefited by an extremely generous bequest from Sheila Griffin, former Matron of the Erinville Maternity Hospital and long-time resident of Castle Road. In her early years on Castle Road, Sheila was a St Michael’s parishioner and her ashes repose in the graveyard; in later years she attached herself to St Finbarre’s where she served as churchwarden. The Select Vestry plans to commemorate Sheila’s bequest through the provision of a necessary amenity at St Michael’s (e.g. external lighting) and the erection of a brass plaque. Sheila’s generosity reminds us all of the importance of bequests. These acts of generosity enable us to undertake projects that would otherwise be beyond our financial reach. If you are making a will, or altering an existing one, please consider making a bequest to the parish after you have looked after the needs of your loved ones. You can talk to John Kershaw, our central parish treasurer, for further information.
ECO-CONGREGATION IRELAND
Eco Tip for February 2018
Remember to thoroughly wash out your food and drink cans before putting them in the recycling bins. Dirty cans and plastic bottles will contaminate all the clean ones and render the whole load useless.
Cork Co. Council are closing the Rafeen Recycling Centre from closing time on Sat Feb 3rd for an upgrade. The site will reopen on 1st March 2018.
Parish Contacts:
Ven. Adrian Wilkinson, Tel: 4891539. E-mail: adrianwilkinson3@gmail.com (Day off Monday)
Rev. David Bowles Tel: 4358226. Email: dgd_bowles@yahoo.co.uk (Day off Saturday)
Rev. Hazel Minion, Tel:4361924.E-mail:hminion22@hotmail.com(Works Tuesday/Wednesday)
Parish Office Tel: 4369578. E-mail: douglasofficecork@gmail.com(Friday mornings only)
Parish Website: www.douglas.cork.anglican.org Follow us on twitter @DouglasUnion or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/douglasunionfrankfield
CHURCH SERVICES – February, 2018
Sun. 4th February
2nd Sun before Lent – Green
8.30 Holy Communion Blackrock
9.45 Service of the Word Passage
10.00 Service of the Word Frankfield
11.15 BB Enrolment Service Douglas
11.30 Service of the Word Blackrock
6.00pm ‘Service and Sausages’ Douglas
Wed. 7th February
11.00 Holy Communion Douglas
Sun. 11th February
Sunday before Lent
White
8.30 Holy Communion Blackrock
9.45 Holy Communion Passage
10.00 Holy Communion Frankfield
11.15 Holy Communion Douglas
11.30 Holy Communion Blackrock
Wed. 14th February
Ash Wednesday
Violet
11.00 Holy Communion Blackrock
11.00 Holy Communion Douglas
8.00pm Penitential Service Frankfield
Sun. 18th February
1st Sun in Lent
Violet
8.30 Holy Communion Blackrock
9.45 Holy Communion Passage
10.00 Morning Prayer Frankfield
11.15 Holy Communion Douglas
11.30 Morning Prayer Blackrock
Mon. 19th February
11.00 Morning Prayer Blackrock
Wed. 21st February
11.00 Holy Communion Douglas
Sun. 25th February
2nd Sun in Lent
Green
8.30 Holy Communion Blackrock
9.45 Morning Prayer Passage
10.00 Holy Communion Frankfield
11.15 Morning Prayer Douglas
11.30 Holy Communion Blackrock
Mon. 26th February
11.00 Morning Prayer Blackrock
Wed. 28th February
11.00 Holy Communion Douglas
