Parish Matters January 2019

The Rector writes……

Happy New Year to all parishioners and readers of this monthly newsletter. In recent days on twitter a campaign called #100daysofwalking appeared. The aim of it is to encourage people to take just half an hour of exercise each day for 100 days. People have been putting up posts of photos they have taken on their walks and commenting on how they are doing. I have been trying to keep to it. I know it is early days yet but so far I have managed it!

I know it is a cliché to say that life is a journey, but it is true. Faith is a pilgrimage that lasts a life time and we need challenges to keep going and staging posts along the way that give us encouragement. Like those taking physical exercise, when it comes to spiritual discipline, we also need others, who are sharing in the same journey to travel with us. That is why attending church on a regular basis is to important.

January is a busy month and one of rich liturgical variety and colour in terms of our worship. This issue comes out on 6^th January which is the Feast of the Epiphany. This year it falls on a Sunday and so at our services, children will place the figures of the wise men or Magi in the crib, to mark their arrival to worship the Christ Child.

The following Sunday we continue to reflect on our own journey with God as we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord. This important day in the church calendar is always observed on the Sunday after the Epiphany. While we focus on the Baptism of Jesus, it is also a reminder of the significance of our own baptism. This year we are bringing an additional element into our service in St Luke’s in Douglas. Picking up on a tradition I encountered last year while on a visit to the Diocese of Porvoo in Finland, every time a baptism occurs in the parish, the candidate’s name and date of baptism is written on a wooden maple leaf and added to a branch of the ‘Baptism Tree’ in Douglas. On 13 January all those baptised and their families have been personally invited back for a special service in St Luke’s which will be followed by refreshments in the Canon Packham Hall. At the end of the service, each family will remove their leaf from the tree and take it home leaving the tree bare so that it can be filled up again this year.

The octave of Prayer for Christian Unity also is observed in January. This reminds us that we journey with other Christians and can learn from and share with them. The clergy who are part of the ‘Douglas Churches Together’ group, have organised pulpit swaps. On Saturday 19 January, I will be preaching at the evening Mass in St Columba’s Church in Douglas and will host Revd Canon Teddy O’Sullivan PP as preacher at the morning service in St Luke’s the following day. Earlier at the 9.30 Mass, the Revd David Bowles will preach. The Revd Hazel Minion will preach at the 11.30 service in Cork Methodist Church at Ardfallen the same day.

This month there will also be a CMS visit to parish. The church of God is active throughout the world and not just limited to our parish or this diocese or event the Church of Ireland! Dramatic and exciting things are happening in Africa and other places where the church is vibrant and growing. On Sunday 27 January we look forward to having a visiting preacher from the Church Missionary Society (CMS) at some of our services. Currently we are supporting Revd Dr Keith and Lynn Scott who are working the Theological Education at St John’s Seminary, Kitwe in Zambia. No doubt the preacher will inform us as to how we can pray for Keith and Lynn and take a continued interest in their work in that part of Africa.

January will be a busy month indeed, but one which I hope you will find meaningful and encouraging in terms of your faith, as we journey together into 2019.

Yours in Christ,                    Adrian

Old School Lunch will be held in the Old Schoolhouse, Blackrock at 12.30pm on Wednesday, 30^th January, 2019. All are welcome to come and enjoy some good food and lively conversation all at a very competitive price!

This month Veronica Tadman begins as our new organist in St Luke’s Church, Douglas. In this issue she introduces herself.

I am a full-time musician and piano teacher based in Rochestown, Cork. I hold a BMus and MA from University College Cork and growing up in England completed my ABRSM exams in Singing and Piano.

In 2006, whilst studying music at UCC I was granted a scholarship for three years making me a founding Clerk of the ‘Collegiate Church of St. Mary’s Youghal,’ under the direction of Ian Sexton. I retained my position with the ‘College of Clerks’ until 2012 and enjoyed my education and emersion into the Anglican liturgical music, including tours to my home City, Rochester, Kent, and the quaint St. David’s in Pembrokeshire. Whilst based as a Clerk in Youghal I was asked to become a part-time Organist for the church and did so until 2014 when I took up the same position in the ‘Cloyne Union of Parishes’. I have enjoyed my time performing for the different churches and even did a spot of playing for the Lutheran services.

Growing up I played piano for my local parish church and grew up singing in the church choir and the Kent Youth Choirs and this gave me a great introduction to choral music. I am now a member of Corks premier vocal ensemble Madrigal ‘75 under musical direction of James Taylor.

Alongside being a Piano teacher both privately and with Music4Children, I perform for Weddings near and far both as a soloist and with WeddingDuo.ie. I am also festival manager for Corks Children’s singing festival: summer SING!

Confirmation 2019: The Rector is looking for expressions of interest from young people in the parish who are considering taking this step in their Christian faith. Already he has been approached by several candidates. Please contact him as soon as possible if you would like your name to be added to this list. A meeting for the parents of the candidates will be held on Tuesday 8 January at 8pm in the Canon Packham Hall when the arrangements for classes will be outlined.

I recently came across this quotation. It might give you something to think about. A. Wilkinson.

‘There is no universal recipe for living…Living is like dancing. As you dance you move your body according to a rhythm and a harmony which fill the space. The complexity of our human predicament is due to the fact that a number of conflicting rhythms and harmonies are being played at the same time. You cannot dance them all…You may dance the tune played by the present reality. Your style of life will be realistic and pragmatic. Or you may choose to move your body under the spell of a mysterious tune and rhythm which come from a world we do not see, the world of hopes and aspirations. Hope is hearing the melody of the future. Faith is to dance it.’

From Rubem A. Alves, Tomorrow’s Child: Imagination, Creativity and the Rebirth of Culture, pages 194-196.

CHURCH SERVICES – January, 2019