Parish Notices 2nd September 2012
The rector writes… ‘September…. our ‘Summer’ is over and we are all now back in harness. Our children are back to School …. most people’s vacations are over and I heard on the radio that Brown Thomas’ stores have opened their Christmas Shops! They say it is because people ‘like buying their Christmas decorations early’ … I don’t know these people, do you? The writer of Ecclesiastes got it right I think ‘For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:’ (Eccles 3:1) Autumn shouldn’t be passed over quickly to get to Christmas. Autumn is a wonderful season to be enjoyed and savoured, full of colour and bountiful produce. We look forward to lots of things happening in our parish……. Christenings, Sunday School, planting trees , Junior Choir, joining with the Cathedral’s Flower Festival, Toddlers plus One, Animal Blessing Service, our Harvest celebrations, Healing Service, Monday Club, and particularly our young people being confirmed – perhaps then we can start thinking of Christmas!”
TEA & COFFEE this morning in the church hall after service in St Mary’s.
PRAYER REQUEST SHEETS are at the back of both churches.
INTERCESSIONS If anyone is interested in leading these, please contact the rector.
CONGRATULATIONS to the Revd Tony Murphy and the Revd Sarah Marry who will be ordained priest at 11am next Saturday 8th September in St Luke’s Church, Douglas
THEOLOGICAL BOOK CIRCLE met last Wednesday to discuss ‘The Year of Living Biblically’ by A.J. Jacobs. Opinion was divided on a book that managed to be both stimulating and irritating! Philip Yancey’s book ’’What’s so amazing about Grace?’ was chosen for our next gathering which will be in the Rectory on November 14th at 8pm. If you are buying this book, please think about shopping locally… The Carrigaline Bookstore offers 5% discount to the Book Circle.
JUNIOR CHOIR will begin on 20th September. We will meet in the Church from 6.30 to 7.30pm each Thursday night. All school going children welcome. Contact the rector or Hilary Dring for more details.
CHILDREN’S MINISTRY COURSE will begin on Saturday 20th October in St Luke’s Home Education Centre. The application forms are now available from the rector.
MOTHERS’ UNION Congratulations to Hilary Dring who takes over from Clare Poole as the President of our Mothers’ Union Branch. Thank you to Clare for her many years of dedicated service. The Opening Service in St John’s Church, Monkstown is at 8pm on Wednesday 12th September. All are welcome.
MIDWEEK COMMUNION SERVICE 10.30am every Wednesday in St Mary’s Church . The first Wednesday of each month will have special prayers for the work of the Mothers’ Union followed by refreshments after the Service. All Welcome.
RECTOR’S HOLIDAYS
SEPTEMBER: Thursday 13th until Tuesday 18th
(The Revd Isobel Jackson 4831236)
FLOWER FESTIVAL IN ST FIN BARRE’S CATHEDRAL this fundraising event will take place from Saturday 8th September until the closing ‘Songs of Praise’ Service at 4pm on Sunday 9th. Carrigaline Union of Parishes, along with 19 other parish groups will have a Flower Display within the Cathedral itself. Thank you to all who helped put this floral illustration of our Parish Mission together.. Please do go and view the fantastic flower displays from all over the diocese and support the Cathedral’s fundraising initiative.
TODDLERS PLUS ONE GROUP Beginning on Monday, September 10th, this group of Toddlers plus ‘one’ (Mum/Dad/Minder) hope to meet each other in St Mary’s Church Hall from 10am ‘till 12 for playtime and chats with perhaps a cup of tea thrown in. Contact the rector for details or just turn up!
MONDAY CLUB GROUP will commence on Monday, September 10th. Adults who are free from 3pm to 5pm on Mondays are invited to St Mary’s Church hall for a cup of tea/coffee. While these meetings won’t be structured as such, we hope to gain a little knowledge from each other as we chat. To begin with, the rector will be showing how to “surf the web”, how to use email, Twitter & Facebook and most importantly how to shop and book flights online! But in the future, who knows what skills we will be sharing? Contact the rector for details.
ST MARY’S INDOOR BOWLING CLUB play short mat bowls in the Canon McCrae Hall at St Mary’s School beside the Community School, Carrigaline. The season runs from September to May and at present are looking for new members. No experience necessary and coaching will be given. Tuesday nights from 7.45 to 10pm. Contact Henry Forbes 4887144 or Denis McLoughlin 087 6100717.
MONKSTOWN CHAMBER CHOIR return to practice on Thursday 6th September in St John’s Church at 8pm. New members are welcome and no audition required! Contact Roger Ellis on 087 9607750.
FORWARD PLANNER
Sept 6th Monkstown Chamber Choir return to practice in St John’s Church 8pm.
Sept 8th Flower Festival in St Fin Barre’s Cathedral
Ordination to the Priesthood 11am Douglas
Sept 9th Planting and Dedication of trees at St Mary’s Church
Sept 10th Toddlers Plus One 10am in St Mary’s Church hall Monday Club 3pm in Church Hall . Find out how to “surf the web”!
Sept 12th Mothers’ Union Opening Service 8pm in St John’s
Sept 20th Junior Choir begins at 6.30pm in St Mary’s Church.
Sept 30th United Service Blessing of Animals 11am in St Mary’s.
Healing Service 7pm in St John’s.
Oct 7th Parish Harvest Thanksgivings:
United Eucharist Service 11am in St Mary’s
United Evensong Service 7pm in St John’s
Oct 14th Parish Confirmation Service 11am in St Mary’s
Oct 20th Children’s Ministry Course begins in St Luke’s
Education Centre.
Nov 10th Saturday Evening Service 7pm in St Mary’s followed with refreshments.
Nov 11th Remembrance Sunday Services & Remembrance Choral Evensong
Nov 25th Gift Day in the Rectory.
Dec 15th Saturday Evening Service 7pm in St Mary’s followed with refreshments.
2013 dates for your diary
May 17th –19th Pentecost Flower Festival in St Mary’s Church
with the theme ‘Fruits of the Spirit’
Random Notes XXVII
Kept at Mount Rivers, amongst a collection of miscellaneous notes, relating to Carrigaline Church, is an intriguing entry relating to a most interesting offertory box, the present whereabouts of which, to the compiler of this note at least, is unknown. The origin of the article, here transcribed, is as unfortunately not recorded, although it appears to be suggested that it was published in the pages of The Church of Ireland Gazette, but this does seem to be unlikely, although of course possible, and given the nature of the article, the Diocesan Magazine is thought to be a more likely source for it.
‘On Sunday, 22nd August [1965], a beautiful oak offertory box, made by messrs. R. E. and F. W. Johnson, and presented by them in memory of the Johnson family of Coolmore, was dedicated for use in Carrigaline Church. The timber in the box is part of the original oak , removed during renovations, from the roof of St. John’s Chapel and Tudor Room, White Tower, Tower of London. It is approx. 1,000 years old. We are very grateful for this most interesting gift.’
The Romanesque Chapel of St. John, dating from 1080, complete to this day, is on the second floor of the White Tower, built between 1077 and 1097. It is said to be the oldest Church in London, and was built, concurrently with the Tower, on the orders of King William I, ‘the conqueror’, with the stone for its construction coming not inappropriately from his native France. How precisely the timber from which the Carrigaline offertory box was made came to be here is unknown, although an Andy Johnson of Coolmore, presumably a relative, perhaps even a brother, of the makers of the box, did spend much of his life in London, working there, as far as is known, as a carpenter, and he may well be the connection.
If any parishioners have any recollections of this box being in the Church, or better still, know perhaps where it now is, it would be greatly appreciated if they might make the same known, as it would be so nice, and more importantly the proper thing to do, to restore this box, so generously made, and given nearly fifty years ago, to where it was made for, and to where it belongs. KLR
K.L.R.
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