Missing General Synod? The General Synod of the Church of Ireland was to have been held in Croke Park in Dublin from 7th to 9th May. It has been cancelled due to the CoronaVirus.
Here are some Cork, Cloyne and Ross memories of General Synod in recent decades:
Dear Friends,
Last month’s letter which I published online was written the day after An Taoiseach announced that gatherings were to be limited to 100 people indoors and to 500 people outdoors. Since then we have had a whirlwind of change. Many have faced disappointments and great challenges. Still others find that the normality of their lives has been upended. For too many, illness they have already been living with has been complicated, and great numbers have struggled with or are suffering from COVID-19. We have not been able to give loved ones who have died in these times the funerals we would like to have arranged for them.
Those working in what have been classed as ‘essential services’, especially those in all branches of healthcare, are working in a new normality that is at the limit of human endurance. Most of us are being asked to make our contribution by heeding the message: ‘Stay at home’
These are traumatic times for everyone. They are unknown territory for all of us in our Diocese too as parishes and faith communities. We have not been able, in the same way, to do what the Church is all about doing – gathering around God’s word and the Lord’s Table to worship together, and going out to encounter face to face those who we need to care for and serve in God’s name. That is our normality as a Church and it too has been dislocated: abruptly.
As Bishop I ask that, as of first importance, we continue to do in whatever ways we can, what the Church is meant to do: to worship God; to pray steadfastly; to reflect on God’s word; to reach out in any way we may to those who depend on our pastoral care; to offer our practical help and solidarity with anyone who needs it; and to play our parts as responsible members of society.
All of our clergy and lay workers, with their own unique gifts and different approaches have been doing this. On your behalf, I want to thank each and every one of them. Everyone has been working harder than ever in the most stressful of situations. We are not trying to replicate our regional parish system online. This is a time for sharing gifts and helping one another. We are truly discovering the value of pooling our energies and talents. Not everyone has to do everything the same way. This recognition of each others’ gifts and dependence on one another is what Saint Paul calls ‘a still more excellent way’ (1 Cor. 12.31) and which he describes at length in the following chapter, the famous one about love.
I pray for God’s blessing on each and every one of you,
✞ Paul Cork:
The full Diocesan Magazine for May is here: Diocesan Magazine – May 2020
If you missed the April Magazine it is also available: Diocesan Magazine April 2020
On Wednesday 22nd April, nursing homes in Ireland, including Saint Luke’s Home, Cork – a 148 year old charity in the Diocese of Cork – received new guidance from the HSE advising that masks be worn by all healthcare workers be worn in caring for residents, regardless of the COVID-19 status of a resident. The charity CEO, Tony O’Brien, contacted the HSE who were unable to assist with the supply of masks, so Bishop Colton who chairs the Board of Directors made an appeal on social media and local radio.
In order to fulfil the new guidance St Luke’s requires 10,000 masks every week. Bishop Colton said:
Sourcing PPE, as every one knows, is a huge issue at the moment. We have been overwhelmed by the contacts we have received. The unforeseen cost is a challenge, of course, at a time when routine fund-raising is also scuppered, so we are especially grateful to those who have donated two supplies amounting to 10,000 masks to tide us over the first week until we can get sorted with sourcing a regular supply. Our residents are also fund-raising and asking people to sponsor their lap of the garden.
The first week’s supply of 10,000 masks was secured by two generous donations: from the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Dr John Sheehan, a GP in Cork, and Mark Whitaker, CEO of Johnson and Perrott Motor Group.
The residents of Saint Luke’s Home are also fund-raising for this and are asking people to sponsor them for their laps of the garden of the Home. You can donate HERE
On Wednesday evening 22nd April the Lord Mayor, Cllr Dr John Sheehan himself delivered a gift of 5,000 masks and he was received by Eileen O’Keeffe, one of the Clinical Nurse Managers at St Luke’s Home.
Eileen O’Keeffe, CNM at St Luke’s, receives a gift of 5000 masks from the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Dr John Sheehan.
On Thursday, 23rd April, Tony O’Brien took delivery of a gift of 5,000 masks donated by Johnson and Perrott Motor Group, sourced with the help of MG Cars in the United Kingdom.
St Luke’s Home, CEO, Tony O’Brien takes delivery of 5000 masks donated by Johnson and Perrott Motor Group in Cork.
Each day in Easter Week we will publish a photograph without words to illustrate Easter and Holy Week 2020 – without words – starting in reverse from Easter Day to Palm Sunday. Today ~ Palm Sunday
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