Parish Notices Sunday 3rd April 2016

The Rector writes ‘Thank you to the many people who have made this Holy Week and Easter so special. To those who brought Billy the Donkey along for Palm Sunday, to those who cooked for the Seder Passover Meal, the teens who served at the meal itself, those who allowed me to wash their feet, to all those who had worked SO hard for months to put on the fantastic play on Good Friday night, a play which was so moving and memorable, to those who ran the Easter Children’s Club, who made the fantastic Easter Garden, the confirmation candidates who read at the Easter Vigil, to those who organised the fire outside the church, the many people who decorated the churches so beautifully with flowers and butterflies and colourful crosses, to those who turned up at Dawn to carry the Pascal Candle, those who brought along the 4 day old chicks, those who shook their Alleluia Eggs vigorously, those who donated Easter Eggs for the Woman’s Refuge.. to each and every one of you I am so grateful for again helping us all to truly and poignantly celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord. He is Risen indeed Alleluia!’

TABLE QUIZ for Parish Funds. Friday 22 April at 8pm in Canon McCrea Hall. €10pp or €40 per table of 4. Children €5.
MOTHERS’ UNION Events for all!

Special Lady Day Service, Wednesday, 6th April as part of the midweek Eucharist 10.30 am at St. Mary’s Church, Carrigaline. Lady Day is a important day for Mothers’ Union; this year we celebrate 140 years of Christian Care for Families and would love you to join us if you can. There will be tea and coffee afterwards.

Saturday, 16th April, Mothers’ Union Annual Festival Service takes place at 11am in St. Luke’s Church in Douglas. This will be followed by lunch and our Diocesan Council, when lots of information about what is going on will be shared. It is also a great opportunity to meet up with others from around the dioceses. It is very nearby so hopefully many of us will make it. All are welcome, members and nonmembers.

‘On being a Chaplain’. All are invited to join us as we very much look forward to welcoming the Revd Canon Dr Daniel Nuzum to speak to us on Monday, 18th April at 8pm in the Parish Hall in Carrigaline (next to the church).
CARRIGALINE FAMILY SUPPORT CENTRE need Volunteer Drivers for their Community Bus. If you have a D or D1 licence and some free time please ring 4919299 or email cfsicc@gmail.com. www.carrigalinefamilysupportcentre.com
GRIEF AND LOSS SUPPORT PROGRAMME. Starting tomorrow Monday 4th April and running until Monday 23rd May from 8-10pm. Meeting in Our Lady and St John Parish Centre Carrigaline. Further information and registration contact Ber on 4371109.

FORWARD PLANNER

4th Apr Toddlers Plus One 10 to 12pm Parish Hall

Monday Club 3 to 5pm Parish Hall

6th Apr Theological Book Circle 8pm Rectory

7th Apr Sunday School Training 7.30pm St Luke’s Mahon

8th-10th Holiday Club Youth Leaders Weekend Carhue

14th Apr Annual Easter Vestry 7pm Parish Hall

18th Apr Mother’s Union. 8pm St Mary’s Church Hall

19th Apr Youth Club 7pm – 9pm Parish Hall

22nd Apr Table Quiz. 8pm Canon McCrea Hall

1st May Confirmation Service 11am St Mary’s Church

15th May Dawn Chorus 5am Currabinny Woods Carpark

20th May Family Beetle Drive 7.30pm Canon McCrea Hall

28th May Parish Féte 10am till 2pm St Mary’s School

29th May United Service St Mary’s 11am- Sunday School Prize-giving and Parish Picnic in the Rectory Grounds

 

Random Notes CLXXXVII

The role of women in the history of computing is of enormous interest to the author but is not obviously a relevant topic for a parish newsletter. The following is, however, an exception, and is quoted from Gurer, Denise. “Pioneering Women in Computer Science.” ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, Volume 34, Issue 2. ACM Press, 2002.

“Sister Mary Kenneth Keller, from Cleveland, Ohio, was one of the first women, and very likely the first woman, to receive a Ph.D. degree in computer science in the United States. Keller entered the Sisters of Charity, a Catholic religious order, in 1932 and professed her vows in 1940. Later, she studied at DePaul University, where she received a B.S. degree in mathematics and an M.S. degree in mathematics and physics.

In 1965, she received a Ph.D. degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin. Her dissertation work involved constructing algorithms that performed analytic differentiation on algebraic expression, written in CDC FORTRAN 63.

As a graduate student, Keller also studied at Dartmouth, Purdue, and the University of Michigan. At Dartmouth, the university broke the ‘men only’ rule and allowed her to work in the computer center, where she participated in the development of BASIC.

After receiving her Ph.D. degree, Keller accepted an offer of a faculty position at Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa. Keller founded the Computer Science Department there and chaired it for 20 years. She also established a master’s degree program for computer applications in education.

Keller felt that women should be involved in computer science and especially in the field of information specialist. In her words, ‘We’re having an information explosion, among others, and it’s certainly obvious that information is of no use unless it’s available.’ Keller’s vision extended beyond education and reached toward artificial intelligence. ‘For the first time, we can now mechanically simulate the cognitive process. We can make studies in artificial intelligence. Beyond that, this mechanism [the computer] can be used to assist humans in learning. As we are going to have more mature students in greater numbers as time goes on, this type of teaching will probably be increasingly important.’

Sister Mary Keller died at the age of 71 but has left a legacy of computers and education at Clarke College.

FORTRAN and BASIC, both computer programming languages, were and remain hugely influential. In particular, BASIC, which Sister Keller helped to develop, was the programming language of choice for every home and educational computer sold in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Sister Keller died in 1985, right in the middle of this revolution, but her influence extends to the present day with modern variants of BASIC still in use.

SJFW