The Rector writes……
This month we enter the season of Lent. It is a traditional time in the Church when we reflect on our Christian Faith. This year, we in this parish, along with many others throughout the Diocese, will be using a special Lent course prepared by the Very Revd Chris Peters, the Dean of Ross. It is based on the ‘Charting a Future with Confidence’ process in which we have all been engaged over the past few years.
The four topics covered in the course are:
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Planning for Growth
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Worship
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Ministry and Spiritual Formation
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Clustering and Parish Organisation.
I have looked at the material and I know you will find it interesting. It is written specifically from and for our context here in Cork. It is designed to be engaging and accessible, challenging while at the same time being encouraging. It requires no particular level of expertise, just an openness to come along and contribute from your own experience.
This year we will be running our Lent course on Friday mornings and will base ourselves in the Old Schoolhouse in Blackrock. It is a comfortable and warm venue which is not too big. It boasts a lovely kitchen so that light refreshments can be easily served.
The course will run on the following dates starting at 11.00am with tea/coffee and biscuits and will end promptly at noon.
15th March – Planning for Growth
22nd March – Worship
29th March – Ministry and Spiritual Formation
5th April – Clustering and Parish Organisation
This course helps us ask questions about ourselves as Christians and about our parish life as we live out our faith today. I hope it will be well attended. Don’t worry if you can’t make all four sessions, each is a stand alone one. However, if you do attend them, I know you will find yourself on an enjoyable journey of faith which I hope you will find helpful this Lent.
Yours in Christ, Adrian
St. Luke’s Charity Cork
Free Community Dementia Service
The Charity arm of St. Luke’s Home is delighted to announce a Free Community Dementia Service for the people of Cork. It will be led by Clinical Nurse Manager and Dementia Specialist Ms. Eileen O’ Keeffe. It is available to adults of any age. You do not need a medical card to access it and it is a free and confidential service. There will be family training about dementia, a family support group and a memory café. For more details and dates contact Clinical Nurse Manager and Specialist Dementia Advisor Eileen O’Keeffe on 021/4359444/086/1961529 eileen.okeeffe@stlukeshome.ie
ECO NOTES FOR LENT
We are often asked to lead our lives in a sustainable way, but what does that really mean? What does the dictionary say ? To Sustain is to support or bear the weight of something, especially for a long period. It also means to encourage , endure, nourish and to maintain an effort. Today it has evolved into a more important meaning. We are being asked to apply the verb to the use of Earth’s resources and they can be described in two ways. First are elements which are constant like the wind, sun, water, light and darkness. The second are the elements that cannot be renewed like oil, gas, metals, minerals and crystals once they have been used some can be changed into other products and recycled for a limited time and others evaporate into the atmosphere and disappear.
Our food is sustainable because we can grow it, timber is the same as it is used to make many products. Some of our clothes are sustainable because they are made from cotton, linen, silk, wool or cellulose, but nylon, polyester, vinyl and plastic are all derived from oil. The oil or gas we use to heat our houses and our hot water is not renewable, unless we are using wind or solar energy.
Eco-congregation:
We are looking for a volunteer from St Luke’s, St Michael’s and Holy Trinity Frankfield to represent their church on the Eco-congregation committee. There will not be an onerous amount of work to do! If you are interested, please contact Gay Elmes on 021 4843959 or the Curate for further information.
| Christian Aid Ireland – Lent and Easter Appeal As part of our Lent and Easter Appeal we would like to get your church involved, order your coin boxes today and help raise funds for Christian Aid. Small change turns up everywhere in the house and it can make a huge difference to people living in poverty. Order from 01/4967040 or email dublin@christian-aid.org Andrew Coleman, Fundraising Coordinator.
St Luke’s School Notes Our 6th Class have been very successful in recent debating competitions with other schools. This is a very worthwhile activity for our pupils which gives them confidence in public speaking. Participating in the local Credit Union Quiz was also another very worthwhile activity which gave pupils an opportunity to demonstrate their general knowledge. This year we are working towards our 4th Green Flag. The topic is “Travel”. We are exploring different ways pupils can travel to school in an attempt to encourage walking, cycling, scooting, using park n stride, using public transport and car pooling. We were delighted to welcome Frank Hanover from Cork Penny Dinners to a recent Assembly. He was presented with a cheque for 734euro from the proceeds of the Carol services and he spoke about the very important work of Cork Penny Dinners. We were delighted to have Sheyla Whittaker, a past pupil back with us for her TY Work Experience. We also were pleased to welcome Ms Kate Looney, a student teacher who did Teaching Practice with 4th Class. 3rd Class graduated with flying colours from UCC. The class were really absorbed with their tour of the campus and all it had to offer.
St Michael’s School Notes St Michael’s is keeping very fit this term – some classes are taking weekly walks and runs on the old railway line and others are having Gaelic football coaching. Hurling will also start up after midterm break. This week we welcomed teacher visitors from France and Germany as part of our eTwinning Europe projects. Our new classroom is progressing really quickly and the roof is on. Ms Binions has taken over our junior room choir. Ms Chow is now focused on the senior choir. We are looking forward to singing during the Ash Wednesday service in St Fin Barre’s Cathedral. Our quiz teams were superb in the Credit union quiz this month. We also enjoyed trips to the theatre and Blackrock Castle. As always we are thankful for the support of parents making these activities possible.
Ash Wednesday and Lent. Traditional penitential services will be held in three of our four churches on Ash Wednesday. Holy Communion will be celebrated in Blackrock and Douglas at 11am and there will be a special evening service at 8pm in Holy Trinity Church, Frankfield. Throughout Lent, there will be a short service of Morning Prayer in St Michael’s Church in Blackrock every Monday. Every Wednesday the mid-week Eucharist will be in St Luke’s Douglas. On Friday mornings parishioners are invited to attend our Lent Discussion Group. This year we will be using material prepared by the Dean of Ross based on the Diocesan ‘Charting a Future with Confidence’ Report. This course is very relevant to us as a parish and we hope it will generate much interesting discussion and reflection. Each Friday morning, we will meet in the Old Schoolhouse in Blackrock. Full details will be advertised in our monthly newsletter, in the weekly Pew News sheet and on our parish website. All are welcome.
Hymn Singing will take place in the home of Florence Binion, Grange, Douglas on Tuesday, 5th March and Tuesday, 2nd April at 7.30pm.
Bible Study will be held in the home of Joan Miller, Ballintemple on Wednesday, 13th March @ 2.30pm and in the home of Carol Boylan, Moneygourney at 7.30pm.
Cork Scripture Group Spring 2019 Bible Study Module Cork Scripture group are holding a Spring Bible Study module beginning on 4th March and continuing on Mondays 11th and 25th of March and the 1st of April. It will take place in the SCALA centre opposite Blackrock Castle. The theme is ‘John’s Gospel: Reflecting of the Word made flesh.’ It will be presented by Ms. Pauline Byrne and Fr John Newman. The cost is €50 for the complete module including the bible workshop mentioned below.
A one morning Bible Workshop on ‘Ecology and the Bible’ will take place from 10am to 1pm on Saturday 23rd March at Sacred Heart Hall, Western Road. It will be presented by Sr. Celine Mangan OP. This can be attended independently to the Spring Module above for a small price. For information and bookings email corkscripturegroup@gmail.com (No previous bible study required)
Congratulations We note that on the 25th March, the Bishop will mark the twentieth anniversary of his consecration. It is a significant milestone. We thank him for all he does as our bishop and look forward to many more years of his episcopal ministry among us.
The Church Worldwide – Zambia As part of God’s church worldwide, we belong to the Anglican Communion, a family of churches in more than 165 countries. One of the ways that we mark this is by our partnership with the Diocese of Northern Zambia, and in particular the work of Dr Keith and Lynn Scott. After some weeks back home in Ireland they have just returned to teaching in the theological college in Kitwe. Last Tuesday a number of parishioners had a very pleasant evening in the home of Dr Tim Jackson learning more about and praying for their work. The parish also gives them financial support. I have been invited to join a small group to visit Kitwe in July, to further this link, and am very excited by the prospect. I am looking for ways to express your support, the support of our parish as I go to meet Archbishop Chama and many others in Northern Zambia, including Keith and Lynn and their students, the future clergy of that diocese. Already I have had two suggestions from Adrian and Jacqui – thank you both. Have you any ideas? Keith and Lynn’s work, and also my visit are under the auspices of CMS Ireland. “CMSI is a Christian mission organisation that exists to help God’s people engage in God’s mission. They make connections between different parts of God’s global family and equip churches and individuals as they work together to share God’s transforming love.” (Quotation from the magazine ‘In Mission’) Rev Hazel |
Cork’s New Bridge
Parishioners no doubt know that Cork’s newest bridge has been named after Mary Elmes, the Irish woman credited with saving the lives of at least 200 Jewish children during the Holocaust. Mary Elmes was born on 5 May 1908 in Cork. Her father was a pharmacist who ran a shop in Winthrop Street. The family lived in Ballintemple. Mary was baptised in St Michael’s Church on 28 May that year. She joins other famous historical figures who have been associated in one way or another with St Michael’s Church.
Douglas Union of Parishes with Frankfield Golf Outing
A Parish golf outing will take place in Blarney Golf Course on Friday 26th of April at 2pm. It will be a shotgun start for teams of 3, so everyone should start and finish at roughly the same time. This is mainly a social event but it would be nice to make a little money for the parish too! Golf and meal will cost €40, under 18’s at a reduced rate of €20.
If you are interested in playing please contact Tony Morris on 086 1574592 or email tonymorris_4@msn.co.uk . Limited availability, so book early to avoid disappointment. It promises to be an entertaining day out, one not to miss for experienced and social golfers alike. Sponsorship of prizes would be welcomed. Looking forward to a good day out. Rev David
CHURCH SERVICES – March, 2019
Sunday 3rd March Sun before Lent
8.30 Holy Communion Blackrock
9.45 Service of the Word Passage
10.00 Service of the Word Frankfield
11.15 Service of the Word Douglas
11.30 Service of the Word Blackrock
18.00 ‘Service & Sausages’ Douglas
Wed. 6th March Ash Wednesday
11.00 Holy Communion Blackrock
11.00 Holy Communion Douglas
8.00pm Penitential Service Frankfield
Sunday 10th Feb 1st Sun in Lent
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
Monday 11th March
11.00 Morning Prayer Blackrock
Wednesday 13th March
11.00 Holy Communion Douglas
Sunday 17th Feb St. Patrick’s Day
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
Monday 18th March
11.00 Morning Prayer Blackrock
Wednesday 20th March
11.00 Holy Communion Douglas
Sunday 24th Feb 2nd Sun. before Lent
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
Monday 25th March
11.00 Morning Prayer Blackrock
Wednesday 27th March
11.00 Holy Communion Douglas
Sunday 31st March 4th Sun. before Lent
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
