The S.H.A.R.E. Cork collection was inaugurated for the 55th year on Friday 13th December 2024 by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Dan Boyle, and the S.H.A.R.E. Crib on St Patrick’s Street, Cork was blessed by the two bishops: Dr Paul Colton and Dr Fintan Gavin.
The Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, the Right Reverend Paul Colton, the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Dan Boyle, and the Bishop of Cork and Ross, the Most Reverend Dr Fintan Gavin with students at the launch of Cork’s Iconic S.H.A.R.E. Crib on St. Patrick Street. Photo: Gerard McCarthy
Almost 2,000 Students will take part at some stage in this year’s S.H.A.R.E. collection in aid of older people. The collection continues throughout the streets of the city until Christmas Eve, with many of the 5th year students fasting during that time also.
S.HA.R.E. stands for Students Harness Aid for the Relief of the Elderly, and it has 140 housing units for older people throughout Cork City and also a wide range of support services for older people.
Once again, as Christmas approaches, it gives us joy as bishops of Cork to send you our greetings and to wish you and your loved ones a blessed, peaceful and happy Christmas.
We live in times when so much around us and in the world at large is overwhelming, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. As well as the enduring challenges that face us in our own society and communities, there are wars in many parts of the world, especially on our own continent and in the Middle East, but also conflicts in many places that seem to have been forgotten by most, with the humanitarian catastrophe that strife invariably causes. What can we do? Often we feel helpless and powerless to make a difference.
In this part of the world, Christmas comes at the darkest time of the year. Each flickering candle and each Christmas light, speaks powerfully, therefore, to us of the message in the Christmas Gospel written by Saint John about Jesus Christ the light of the world: ‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.’
Christmas invites us every year to be attracted again and again to that light; in the same way that the shepherds in the fields that first Christmas were drawn to the light and song of the angels; as the wise ones were drawn to follow the light of the star until they came to Jesus, the newborn baby in Bethlehem. Like those shepherds and those wise leaders we too are invited to bring ourselves as gifts and to offer what we can in prayer and in service, to God, to each other and to those most in need around us and further afield.
So, what can we do in the face of so many challenges? Most of us are not in a position to make decisions that change things on a national or international stage. However, in small ways, where we each are, we can all do something to make life better for others around us. As small gestures or practical acts by many individuals mount up and gather momentum, they can make a real difference to others. As Christians too we believe in the power of prayer, and so we can pray for those who do have authority and roles of decision-making on a scale greater than most of us do.
Our prayer for you is that this Christmas you will once more draw strength from the birth of Jesus who is Emmanuel; God with us.
+Fintan Gavin Bishop of Cork and Ross
+Paul Colton Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross
The Bishops of Cork, the Most Rev. Dr Fintan Gavin and the Right Rev. Dr Paul Colton at the launch of Cork’s Iconic SHARE Crib to on St. Patrick Street in 2023. Photo: Gerard McCarthy
Further information from: Denise Stobart, Diocesan Media Officer Email: media@corkchurchofireland.com
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Colin Nicholls, organist of St Fin Barre’s Cathedral from 1981-2007, has been announced as Cork Person of the Month for December in recognition of over forty years of service to Cork’s musical landscape and his significant philanthropic involvement with the Rotary Club of Cork across two decades.
December Cork Person of the Month Colin Nicholls pictured seated with his wife Angela. Also included L/R: Manus O’Callaghan, Awards Organiser; George Duggan, Cork Crystal; Alzbeta Belkova, The Metropole Hotel; Ian O’Driscoll, Masterkabin. Picture by Vitaliy Makhnanov.
The Cork Person of the Year awards scheme writes:
Colin moved to Cork from London in 1981 and is most well known for serving as organist and master of the choristers at St Fin Barre’s Cathedral for over 26 years. In this role he was widely regarded for his immense knowledge and understanding of the Anglican tradition. His role included composing musical pieces, maintaining a high standard of choral music, repairing organs, recruiting choir members and organising special ceremonies such as the legendary Christmas service of Nine Lessons and Carols, which has become a mainstay of Cork’s festive calendar.
Colin currently serves as conductor of the 60-singer strong East Cork Choral Society, a choir for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass that performs in venues right across the country. He recently conducted the choral society as it performed Handel’s Messiah in St Peter and Paul’s Church on November 30th, and is currently preparing the choir for a rendition of Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius which is set to be performed at the opening concert of the 2025 Cork International Choral Festival.
He also acts as director of the College of Clerks Choral in Youghal, an ancient institution originally established in 1464.
Acutely aware of the importance of fostering the next generation of musical talent in Cork, he has in the past served as official accompanist for the annual Feis Maitiú competition in string and woodwind, a music and drama Festival held at Father Mathew Hall in the centre of Cork City.
His musical contributions also extend to academia. A graduate of Trinity College of Music in London, he went on to lecture in organ studies at the Cork School of Music and in harmony at UCC. In acknowledgement of his immense services to music he received an honorary MA from the National University of Ireland.
Outside of music, Colin has been an active member of the Rotary Club of Cork for over 20 years and served as its President in both 2010 and 2012. He is most proud of the ten years he spent running the club’s Friendship Night for Seniors and organising its Youth Leadership Development Competition, an initiative that rewards young people with clear leadership potential based on their extra-curricular activities.
On awarding Colin with December’s Cork Person of the Month Award, Awards Organiser Manus O’Callaghan expressed his admiration for Colin’s decades of commitment to Cork culture and community across the decades.
“Colin has left an indelible mark on Cork’s musical landscape across the last four decades. His commitment to his craft is second to none, and through this he has built a significant cultural legacy. Furthermore, his involvement with the Rotary Club of Cork is a credit to his selfless and altruistic character. I’m delighted to honour him with this Cork Person of the Month Award to recognise the exemplary service he has provided to our city and county.”
Colin’s name will now go forward alongside the other monthly winners for possible selection as Cork Person of the Year at the annual Gala Awards Lunch in January, 2025.
Both, Colin and his wife Angela, are still heavily involved in church music in Cork, Cloyne and Ross, acting as organists in Bandon Union of Parishes and Moviddy Union of Parishes.
The West Cork Pioneer Hub has been working on our understanding of Pioneer Ministry, ‘Reaching those with little or no connection with church’ since last spring. This week six parishes from Kinsale to Schull are taking part in a week of prayer.
The Dean of Ross, the Very Rev. Cliff Jeffers, said:
The parishes involved in the West Cork Pioneer Ministry Hub are seeking God’s guidance over eight days of prayer in our churches from the 30th November to the 8th of December. We welcome people to come along to pray using the prayer stations in the churches and to find out a little more about Pioneer Ministry in West Cork.
Last month, Dean Jeffers wrote for our Diocesan Magazine:
At General Synod in May 2023, a new initiative called Pioneer Ministry was launched which seeks to reach out to people who have little or no connection with church. In June 2023, Bishop Paul invited clergy and lay people in our diocese who would be interested in Pioneer Ministry to an information and training session in Northridge House with Rev. Rob Jones, the Pioneer Ministry Co-Ordinator for the Church of Ireland.
A proposal was drafted for a West Cork Pioneer Ministry Hub, and following approval by Diocesan Council and Bishop Paul, we began to meet under the direction of Dean Cliff Jeffers. A Pioneer Ministry Hub is a group of people who wish to learn about Pioneer Ministry and seek an opportunity to establish a Pioneer Ministry Project in their area. First, we needed to learn what Pioneer Ministry was!
For the first half of 2024 we read and reflected on a book called ‘Pioneering a new future’ by Phil Potter and sought to discover how it might be applied in a rural West Cork context. In August 2024 we visited the Carrig Centre to see an example of Pioneer Ministry in practice. We met with Pioneer Evangelists Matt Gould and Sarah-Louise Hockey and were inspired by their vision for reaching out to people in Ballincollig.
We then started to discuss what type of project might connect with the needs of people in West Cork, and although we have some ideas, we are less certain of where God is guiding us in this work. To seek God’s guidance, the parishes involved are going to host 8 days of prayer in their churches from the 30 th of November to the 7 th of December, to which all are welcome.
There will be prayer stations to guide your reflections and someone there to answer any questions that may have.
The choir of St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork will give two Christmas Concerts in the cathedral on Saturday 7th and 14th December. The concerts will feature all of your favourite Christmas Carols as well as Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols accompanied by harp. There will be opportunities for audience participation during this ever popular highlight of the year. Mulled wine and other refreshments will be available.
It is advised to book tickets in advance to avoid disappointment.
The Cathedral Choir in concert. Photo: Eoin Murphy
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