Pew Sheet – 19th July 2020

The Rector writes  ‘ I think that we are beginning to get the hang of things. Again, I would like to especially thank all the Church Wardens and the Health & Safety Officer for the extra work involved in keeping us safe while we are gathered together. They’re fantastic!

I’m afraid I’ve been told off for causing bottlenecks in St Mary’s Church after the 11am Service when I am putting away my robes so I will have to just ’disappear’ after Services end so none of you will be tempted to stay and chat to me thereby blocking exits. I really miss all our chats at the door but remember I am always just on the other end of a phone any time you need to talk to me. We are all just about coping with the changes we have had to apply to the way we do things, but it is the only way for now.  The priority has to be your health and safety.

So when you see me rushing off after the 11am Service, know that it is for your sake and not because I’m rushing home for Brunch (although that is also true as I’m starving these days after the three Services!). This coming Wednesday we will be back to having our mid-week Service at 10:30am in St Mary’s and I am looking forward to that.  We had been having Zoom Morning Prayer from the Rectory.  I was just saying to the Zoom group on Wednesday how useful Zoom is. I will definitely be organising a Bible Study by Zoom in the Autumn so that we won’t have to leave our fireside to be learning more about God’s word!. The Diocese has finally been given permission to go ahead with the ‘Easter’ Vestry. I think we will use the actual name of ‘Annual Vestry Meeting’ now as we are so long after Easter! This meeting , to which everyone is invited, takes place at 7:30pm on Thursday 1st October in St Mary’s.  Do put the date in your diary now and I’ll remind you nearer the time’

.

Music notes 19/07/2020

Hymns in St. Mary’s for today are:

336     Jesus, where’er thy people meet

657     O God of Bethel, by whose hand

665 The seed is Christ’s (Ag Críost an síol)

Final voluntary:

 J.S. Bach – Toccata in D minor

Our hymn at the prayers today is ‘The seed is Christ’s’, better known nowadays in the Irish language version set by Seán Ó Riada for his ‘Ceol an Aifrinn’. The version we find in the hymn book was translated by George Otto Simms. Otto Simms is well known to us in Cork as he served as bishop here from 1952 to 1956. He went on to become Archbishop of Dublin and subsequently Armagh. He was a respected scholar publishing books on the history of the Church of Ireland and the Book of Kells. He was also a key figure in promoting good relations between Christian churches in Ireland, a difficult task during the turbulent years of the conflict in Northern Ireland.

The final voluntary today is Bach’s well-known ‘Toccata in D minor’. This is now one of the best-known pieces in the organ repertoire. It had fallen into obscurity after Bach’s death and was discovered by Felix Mendelssohn who performed it at a concert in 1840 to universal acclaim. It has since been used in many contexts, notably in the Walt Disney film ‘Fantasia’.

Enjoy!

Bébhinn

bebhinnmuire@gmail.com

087 228 5965

.

 Random Notes CCCXLIX

Until the 1980s, a little Jewellery shop still existed in London. It had traded continually in the same premises since the 1690s, which is unusual, the name of the shop ’The Silver Mousetrap’ is also noteworthy.

The name’s origin dated back to a time when rich fashionable women would spend a day or two having their hair turned into an extraordinary sculpture. First the hair would be piled as high as possible, perhaps with the addition of artificial hair, and then plaster birds might be added to make it look as if birds were nesting in the hair, and perhaps a small carved ship or a tree or just a mass of artificial flowers.

Occasionally , a mixture of all these things would be built into the structure of the hair, which was stiffened with flour, chalk dust, or arsenic powder.

The trouble with these styles was that they took so long to make that they had to be slept in for weeks at a time. Until the style was changed, the hair could not be washed and this led to a problem with mice.  While a fashionable woman slept with her enormous head of firmly fixed hair, mice would inevitably find their way into it, and even to people who were used to living with rodents in their houses, this was too much.

For a woman faced with the prospect of a mouse popping out of her hair during lunch or dinner, there was only one solution.

A trip to ‘The Silver Mousetrap’ , where elegant ladylike mousetraps made in silver were available. Having bought two or three traps, the fashionable woman, on retiring for the night, would place them strategically around her head. If the mice came out while she slept they would with any luck be caught in one or other of the traps.   Users were warned not to roll about too much in their sleep lest an unwary nose or ear set off one of the traps!                                                                          MMPC 

Reflection from the Sacred Space website  (www.sacredspace.ie) set up by the Irish Jesuits in 1999 to enable people to pray as a virtual prayer community.

The Coronavirus has come as a huge shock to us, and within a very short time, it has challenged our attitudes and behaviours radically.  Here in Sacred Space, during these uncertain times, we want to reassure you of our continued prayers for all our worldwide community.   In one sense, life continues as normal – and yet it’s not normal at all.  Should I take the bus? Can I go safely go out for a walk? Should I visit my neighbour or my friend? That cough I notice, could it be the virus? What of the children’s education? What if I lose my job? Are we going to have a recession? How long will this last? Will we ever get back to real normality again?   Sometimes, the anxiety surrounding the publicity is as contagious as the virus itself, spreading fear and nervousness among the community. In the developed world, in particular, we are in a state of shock. In many ways, we have come to believe that we are in control of our lives, that we have a cure for every disease, that we can fend off all the dangers that threaten our securities. We have built up solid walls to protect us against every unwanted guest, but now our walls have been breached, and the unwanted guest is here. Our securities no longer seem so secure, something in our world is out of our control, and many don’t know where to turn.

We hope and pray, that we will soon find a vaccine for this disease, and that it will be made widely available for everyone who needs it, rich or poor. But in the meantime, we can reflect on our shock. It’s a reminder to us that we are never in total control of our lives, that we can never eliminate every misfortune or heal every illness. 

Ultimately, our trust has to be in something more solid than we can ever find here on earth. Ultimately, God alone is our security. ‘God is our refuge and our strength, a helper close at hand in times of distress’ (Ps.46:1).    Trust Him.