Latest News from the Church of Ireland Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross

On Sunday 27th October, a Songs of Praise service was held in the Cathedral Church of St Fachtna in Rosscarbery. The Dean of Ross, the Very Rev’d Cliff Jeffers had invited Peter Stobart to choose the hymns and to speak about them. Peter is the Director of Music at St Fin Barre’s Cathedral in Cork and he drew on his past experiences and varying musical interests in his talk. His first choices discussed early hymns as ways of singing psalms, west gallery choirs and the Wesley family. He then moved onto the composers Herbert Howells and Hubert Parry, and finally the process of selecting hymns and appropriate tunes. The service ended with ‘Abide with me’, noting that, if evening services disappear completely, then so will the opportunities to sing many of the great evening hymns. 

Reflecting on the recent Songs of Praise service, Dean Cliff Jeffers said:

It was wonderful to have Peter Stobart with us last Sunday evening, bringing his musical skills and perspective to our monthly Songs of Praise Service. Over twenty people from seven different parishes enjoyed hearing how our hymn singing tradition has evolved during the centuries from before the reformation up to more recent times.

The next Songs of Praise will be held on Sunday 24th November at 7pm in St Fachtna’s Cathedral, Rosscarbery when the Rev’d Eugene Griffin from Kinsale Union will be the guest speaker. 

There was a Diocesan Come and Sing Choral Evensong on Saturday 19th October in St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork. Around forty people took part, travelling from across the Diocese as well as from Limerick, and even Leicester in the UK! The event was led by Cathedral  Director of Music, Peter Stobart with Matthew Breen, Assistant Director of Music, at the organ. 

The music included Wood’s anthem Never weather-beaten sail and the canticles were Stanford in C, remembering him 100 years after his death. Peter Stobart said:

Once again we had a very enthusiastic group of singers this year. People enjoy the opportunity to sing with the cathedral organ in a larger building than they might normally be used to. For this reason I try to make sure that the hymns are popular, and we sang ‘Love divine’ and ‘Praise to the Lord, the almighty’, which both did the job magnificently. I think part of the attraction is also that the singers make new friends on the day and a cup of tea between the rehearsal and service helps this along! 

On Tuesday, 15th October, Cobh and Glanmire Union of Parishes hosted its first Table Quiz Fundraiser at the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa in Little Island. Over 110 people attended, filling 27 tables, competing over 8 rounds of 10 questions each on subjects such as geography, music, a picture round, and general knowledge. Parishioner and Select Vestry Member Tony Stockley helped devise the questions, and also served as Quiz Master. In the end, the top 4 teams earned prizes. There was also a raffle, with prizes consisting of wine and spirits, gift vouchers, a chocolate bouquet, and other gift items.

The rector, Rev. Elise Hanley says:

The energy in the room was incredible, and it was great to see that so many people would still come out in bad weather for fellowship and a good cause! Folks seemed to have great fun.  It was also so lovely that Dean Susan Green and members of Cloyne Union bought a table, and I know that members from Mallow Union and possibly other parishes took part. It is great that we can all support each other’s efforts.

The event raised over €2,500 and the parish is grateful for everyone’s support at both the Table Quiz, and the recently successful Autumn Fayre and Sale. They would also like to thank all of their generous sponsors, including The Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa (who donated both the space and raffle prizes), Ryan’s Supervalu, Monkey Maze Glanmire, The Barn Gastropub, Fitzpatrick’s Glounthaune, Hillside Nurseries, Care Plus Little Island, Centra Little Island , Pinocchio’s Toys & Gifts and Shirley’s Beauty Clinic, Glanmire.

Over the past three months, the Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross has reached over 1.2 million new people on social media.

The Diocesan Media Officer, Denise Stobart, says:

I am really delighted with the reach of our content on social media. Since August, we have reached 565k people on TikTok, 545k people on Facebook, and just over 100k on Instagram. Of course, Bishop Paul has really laid the foundation stone with his presence on social media and I am absolutely delighted to be working together with such a visionary. The Diocesan NewsBlog which he set up has now also had over 1.2 million visits, not to mentioned his various other social accounts.

Looking at Bishop Paul’s recent Episcopal Visitation, our current parish records show that we have just over 3000 households in this Diocese, which is just over 7000 individuals. It is really a rather small Diocese. If you put that into context, having 1.2 million people online that are engaging with our content is absolutely mind blowing! And that is just the past three months.

Doing the communications in our Diocese has really shown me the importance of a social media presence. I’ve been engaging with a lot of people online that for a variety of personal or logistical reasons are not part of a parish or church community outside of social media. I think it is very important to remember that online engagement has become a huge aspect of people’s lives. The positive impact you can have is not limited to churches or parish fetes, and the feedback we get from our online community is very encouraging. That being said, there have been a number of people that have come to my local church saying “I saw you on TikTok and I thought I’d call in”.

I want to express my enormous gratitude to everyone in our Diocese who so faithfully engages with us in person and online. Also, a huge shoutout to all the clergy and parishioners who so patiently let me film them for content! It is a message of inclusion, community, faith and love that we’re trying to spread, and without you that would not be possible. It is the people who make the place!

The Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross can be found on social media via the handle @coficork. Their content is Christian-themed, specifically from the Church of Ireland, with a quirky and informative angle. They focus on faith based education and community engagement, and their content often includes clergy and parishioners. Coficork adds a unique blend of faith and humour to social media, engaging with both believers and those curious about Christian traditions.