St Anne’s, Shandon Hosts Cork LGBTI+ Awareness Week 2021

Posted on May 18, 2021 by Latest News and Photos from the Church of Ireland Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Joe Kavanagh, accompanied by the Lady Mayoress, Stephanie Kavanagh, hoisted the progressive rainbow flag at Cork City Hall on Sunday 16th May to mark the start of Cork LGBTI+ Awareness Week 2021. Cork City is part of the Rainbow Cities Network: a global response to homophobia and transphobia.

Also on Sunday 16th May, now an established part of the LGBTI+ Awareness Week calendar in Cork, the Annual Service for International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia took place in St Anne’s Church, Shandon. Due to the current restrictions and the large numbers who usually attend, the Service was pre-recorded by members of the parish and the Cork City LGBTI+ Interagency Group. 

The Reverend Paul Robinson and Stephen Spillane welcome the Cork Inter-Agency Group to Saint Anne’s Church, Shandon, Cork.

The speaker this year was Jayne Ozanne of the Ozanne Foundation a campaigner for LGBTI+ plus people within the Church as well as being an advocate for the banning of conversion therapy. Jayne recently resigned as member of the UK Government’s LGBT Advisory Panel due to the lack of progress on the banning of this therapy.  Jayne spoke of her work and how members of the church can do their part to support inclusion in our churches.

The Rev Paul Robinson, Priest-in-Charge said

We are delighted to be able to play our part in Cork LGBTI+ Awareness week. Inclusion is a very important part of who we are in St Anne’s and we are reminded of this each week when we say ‘whoever you are, and wherever you are in your journey in faith, your are welcome here.

The service can be viewed on youtube here and the parish is looking forward to being back in church in person for Pentecost.

Posted in Church in Society, Church Services, Churches in Cork, Community Involvement, Contemporary Issues, Cork, Corona Virus, COVID-19, Five Marks of Mission, Justice and Reconciliation, LGBTI+ | Comments Off on St Anne’s, Shandon Hosts Cork LGBTI+ Awareness Week 2021

Two New Cork Rectors Worship with Parishioners in Person for the First Time

Posted on May 17, 2021 by Latest News and Photos from the Church of Ireland Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross

Two new rectors in the United Dioceses of Cork, Cloyne and Ross had their first opportunity since their arrival in the Diocese to worship together with their parishioners in person in their local churches in recent days. Both had been instituted by the Bishop, Dr Paul Colton, during the post-Christmas lockdown.

The Reverend Meurig Williams was instituted on the Feast of the Epiphany (6th January) to Mallow Union and the Reverend Ivan Ruiters was instituted to Kinneigh Union on 4th February.

As well as celebrating the Eucharist in Saint James’ Church, Mallow for parishioners on Ascension Day, the Reverend Meurig Williams welcomed the Reverend Tony Murphy who was passing through Mallow on his sponsored walk across the Diocese in aid of the Diocesan Maize Project in Burundi.

The Reverend Meurig Williams (right) with parishioners in Mallow Union of Parishes, and also with the Reverend Tony Murphy (in Christian Aid vest)

In his Sermon, Meurig emphasised ‘…how the risen Christ takes our broken humanity to the heart of God: not just our achievements and triumphs; but our wounds, our flaws, our sickness and grief.’

Afterwards he said:

It was a particular delight for all to be able to gather again, even in a socially distanced way, after such a demanding period of lockdown. At least parishioners could now see that their new Rector was more than a virtual reality! 

Sunday, 16th May was the first occasion on which the Reverend Ivan Ruiters had the opportunity to journey to the churches of his parish in mid-west Cork for Sunday worship.

The Reverend Ivan Ruiters introduces himself to parishioners for the first time in church.

Speaking about is afterwards, Ivan said:

Today was an absolutely wonderful experience for me as I began conducting my first services in church. We had a good turnout at both services and everyone expressed how pleased they were to be able to worship in church again.

After the Service in Saint Bartholomew, Kinneigh, the Reverend Ivan Ruiters is pictured with David Bourne and Marjorie Garland.

Posted in Church Services, Churches in Cork, Clergy, Contemporary Issues, Corona Virus, COVID-19, Diocese | Comments Off on Two New Cork Rectors Worship with Parishioners in Person for the First Time

Diary Update on the Reverend Tony Murphy’s Walk for the Cork, Cloyne and Ross Burundi Project

Posted on May 14, 2021 by Latest News and Photos from the Church of Ireland Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross

Walk4Burundi 

10 Days in May 

May 1 : Féile na Bealtaine (May Festival)  in this year of Covid was marked, not by a weekend of festivals, but a solitary drive to St James’ Church, Durrus in the most westerly Parish in the United Dioceses of Cork, Cloyne and Ross to commence the Walk4Burundi in each union and group of parishes in the Diocese. 

It’s impossible to walk through West Cork without climbing heights to view the beautiful scenery and not surprisingly Canon Paul Willoughby brought us on a gentle? incline to take in the beauty of Dunmanus Bay. 

In the afternoon, and doubling up as Priest in Charge of Kilmoe Union, the Canon brought me through the scenic route over Mount Gabriel to complete our second walk in Schull. 

May 2 : Sunday May 2nd was marked by Christian Aid service on RTÉ and a phone call from a friend who was outside the Church in Durrus having mistaken the date!

May 4 : Back to West Cork, on this occasion to St Matthew’s Church Aghadown (Achad  an Dúin/Field of the Fort) in the Ballydehob Union of Parishes, to be greeted by the Rev Steve McCann. A leisurely walk followed on the banks of the Ilen River famous as the base for  for the Olympic and World Champion O‘Donovan brothers and thena picnic near the ancient graveyard which contains the graves of both a close aide  to William of Orange and a member of the Anti Treaty forces during the Irish Civil War(Cogadh an gCarad /War of Friends).

This  left me late for my next appointment with the Rev John Ardis in Baltimore. There is a famous whitewashed beacon guarding the entrance to Baltimore Harbour and ,not surprisingly, John chose  it as the destination of our walk.

May 5: Zoom interview with the Rev Cliff Jeffers to advertise the walk in Fanlobbus Union on 15th May featured on this day. As well as being a natural interviewer Cliff has a great ability to enliven an interview with pictures and sketches. Perhaps in this age Ephesians 4 needs to get an addition after “teachers “ to cover Cliff’s expertise in  I.T. 

May 6 : Back (again) to West Cork, on this occasion to be greeted by the Dean of Ross , the Very Rev. Chris Peters. Andrew Coleman from Christian Aid (and the master mind behind this project ) accompanied us on a brisk walk. We had a lovely walk to the pier and back. Slight surprise that -when in sight of Rosscarbery on the return trip– we took another gentle(?)  incline to allow us to see the town from a greater height. I appreciated a much needed refreshment in the Deanery Garden.

In the afternoon the Rev Kingsley Sutton had planned a route, thankfully on the flat, as we walked through the historical town of Clonakilty Cloich na Coillte/Stone of the Woods). Kingsley pointed out the original stone in the centre of town so one can learn something new every day. Our more formal picture, however, was taken where there is a commemoration of the massacre in Tiananmen Square .

May 7-9: Having walked 30 Km and travelled over 500 Km this septuagenarian was beginning to feel the pressure and needed the weekend for some R and R .

May 10 : Having just avoided a major catastrophe by putting 0.7 litre of Unleaded petrol into a Diesel car I headed off to Bandon to walk behind three fit people , a Reader,(Andrew Coleman), a  Chaplain (the Rev Anne Skuse) and a Canon (Denis MacCarthy).

On this occasion nature wrought its revenge by opening the heavens  and reminded us that we had no right to expect sunny days. A change of clothes and a cup of tea after the walk was most welcome .

The good news is that amidst all of the above we have raised €2,643 or  53% of our target .

You too can donate online to this 100 km walk for the

Cork, Cloyne and Ross Burundi Maize Project

HERE

Posted in Bishops' Appeal, Burundi, Christian Aid, Contemporary Issues, Diocese, Five Marks of Mission, Fund-Raising | Comments Off on Diary Update on the Reverend Tony Murphy’s Walk for the Cork, Cloyne and Ross Burundi Project

Clergy and Members of the Church fo Ireland are Invited to complete a Mental Health Survey

Posted on May 11, 2021 by Latest News and Photos from the Church of Ireland Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross

MindMattersCoI is the Church of Ireland’s Mental Health Promotion Project.

This three–year project, generously supported by Allchurches Trust, started in Autumn 2020.  The aim of the project is to raise awareness of, and respond to, the mental health needs of communities across the island of Ireland.  It also hopes to transform how we understand attitudes towards, and responses to mental health within the Church of Ireland and the wider community, through gathering evidence and looking at how we can promote good mental health over the longer term.  Bishop Pat Storey, who chairs the project team, has expressed her enthusiasm for the project, emphasising that MindMattersCoI will give the Church the opportunity to find out “what our clergy and members know and understand about mental health, and they will then be offered a range of training and awareness programmes to support improved knowledge around this important topic.”

The appointed research team, Dr Katrina Collins and Kate Wilkinson, have now completed an extensive review of the existing literature on mental health awareness and understanding in faith–based communities.  Building on this, they are now moving on to find out about mental health awareness and understanding within the Church of Ireland community.

This is where the involvement of the wider Church, both clerical and lay, is critical.  Three surveys have been prepared: one for the clergy; one for adult members; and one for our younger members. 

Bishop Pat Storey

The Bishop of Meath, Bishop Pat Storey, who chairs the Project Team and Advisory Group of MindMattersCoI says:

We have been working hard, gathering a lot of information, developing a website and establishing an advisory group of experts to guide the project.  I am pleased to let you know that we’re now starting to collect information on awareness and attitudes towards mental health within the Church, and we need your help.  Gathering your thoughts on mental health awareness and understanding is a key phase of the project as the results will inform and shape everything else we do. 

Therefore, I would really appreciate if you would visit our website – https://mindmatters.ireland.anglican.org – and complete a short survey. It will only take about 15 minutes to complete, and the information you share will be anonymous and confidential.  We will also be running a number of online focus groups, and if you would like to join one of these, please let us know by emailing: mhp@rcbdub.org

If you don’t have internet access but would still like to participate, please call + 353 (0) 1 4125 660 and leave your name and address. We will post you out a copy of the survey with a stamped addressed envelope, to return directly to the project manager, and will also provide details of the focus groups should you wish to participate in them. 

To take the survey click this link:

https://mindmatters.ireland.anglican.org/take-the-survey

To support the surveys, a number of interviews and focus groups will be held with all three groups. The survey is completely confidential and anonymous and will take about 15 minutes to complete. The responses from the survey will be stored electronically in a password–protected file that only the two researchers will have access to. This information is not shared with anyone else and is only used for the purposes of the MindMattersCoI project.

The interviews and focus groups will last about an hour and will give an opportunity to explore understanding and attitudes about mental health and mental health problems in more depth. This information will be treated in the same way as the survey responses. If you are interested in joining a focus group, please leave your contact details at the end of the survey, contact the project at mhp@rcbdub.org or call + 353 (0) 1 4125 660 and leave your name and contact details.

The findings from the research and the surveys will support the development of a Church of Ireland Mental Health Promotion Strategy, which will include a mental health awareness and training plan that will be rolled out across the Church of Ireland.  The strategy will also include a significant programme of seed funding for Diocesan–led mental health promotion initiatives.

The MindMattersCoI Project gives the Church of Ireland the opportunity to take proactive and positive steps to support mental health awareness and understanding for all of our members and clergy and we do hope you will get involved.

Posted in Church of Ireland, Contemporary Issues, Mental Health | Comments Off on Clergy and Members of the Church fo Ireland are Invited to complete a Mental Health Survey

Saving the Unique Mosaics covering the walls of the Church of the Ascension, Timoleague, County Cork

Posted on May 11, 2021 by Latest News and Photos from the Church of Ireland Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross

Thursday, 13th May is Ascension Day, and there will be an open day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the unique Church of the Ascension, Timoleague, County Cork (with all covid-19 precautions and oversight in place). Unique? Yes, it must be the only church building in Ireland where the interior walls are not only covered in colourful mosaics, but where also the story of those mosaics has local connections, as well as links to India.

Church of the Ascension, Timoleague, County Cork

It may look like a non-assuming country church on the outside, but inside it holds the secret of being completely overlaid with intricately designed mosaics, from floor to ceiling – a West-Cork marvel to behold.

There are many stories of historical interest linked to the mosaics.  Perhaps the most unusual concerns the mosaic memorial on the south wall.  This was mainly paid for by the His Highness, the Maharajah of Gwalior, India, in gratitude for a locally born doctor, Aylmer Martin Crofts.  Originally from the townland of Concamore, Crofts had become the Maharajah’s personal physician for twenty years, and on one occasion, he helped to save his son’s life.  

Architect Jeremy Williams who wrote A Companion Guide to Architecture in Ireland 1937-1921 said that this church

… transcended the sectarian divide between Irish Catholic and Protestant, the Indian Muslim and Hindu, personal friendship breaking up hereditary distinctions of caste and colour.

Recently, the rector, the Reverend Kingsley Sutton, has produced a video to tell the story of this Church on the Argideen Estuary, County Cork. It is well worth watching.

To view the video

‘Touching Heritage at the Argideen Estuary’

CLICK HERE

Sadly the mosaics have become threatened with deterioration, mainly because of water ingress, but a Conservation project is working as quickly as possible to save them. To celebrate what has been achieved so far with the Church of the Ascension Conservation Project, the church will be open to the public on Ascension Day, 13th May, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Adhering to COVID19 restrictions, this is an invitation for people to come and see inside and experience first-hand this remarkable building.  

A considerable sum of money has yet to be raised to preserve the building.  Contributions, no matter how big or small, are all greatly appreciated.  

Donations can be made through the GoFundMe page at  www.timoleaguemosaics.ie

Posted in Announcements, Church Art, church buildings, Church History, church repairs, Churches in Cork, Fund-Raising, Local History, Open Day, Voluntary Work, West Cork, Worth a Visit! | Comments Off on Saving the Unique Mosaics covering the walls of the Church of the Ascension, Timoleague, County Cork