St Anne’s Church, Shandon held its Civic Harvest Service as part of the Cork Jazz Festival on Sunday 29th October. This was the 14th year of the annual event and the church was delighted to welcome back Carrigtwohill Gospel Choir and Hyde Park Brass band.
The guest speaker this year was Mrs. Geraldine McCarthy of the Shandon Area Renewal Association (SARA) who spoke on the importance of the bonds of community. Reflecting on the service, the Rev. Meghan Farr said:
It was wonderful to have the Lord Mayor, Cllr. Kieran McCarthy, Fiona Collins, Chair of the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival Committee and other guests as well as over 250 people in attendance at the service. I’m grateful to all the parishioners who helped with decorating and on the day of the service.
The Dean of Cloyne, the Very Rev. Susan Green, and the Archdeacon of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, the Ven. Andrew Orr, recently made the journey to Finland for the 100th anniversary celebrations of the diocese of Borgå. The Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross has had a long standing link with Borgå under the Porvoo agreement. The Porvoo agreement was a ground breaking ecumenical document under which the Anglican Churches of Britain and Ireland committed to full sharing of ministry and resources with the Nordic and Baltic Lutheran churches.
Bishop Bo Gorån Åstrand with the ecumenical guests that took part in the Sunday service.
About 8% of the population of Finland have Swedish as their first language, and the diocese of Borgå was created in 1923 to bring together the Swedish speaking congregations from across the country. Their cathedral is in the small city of Porvoo (Borgå in Swedish) and the Dean and Archdeacon stayed there as guests of the diocese, representing Bishop Paul Colton.
During their stay, they attended an Experimental Liturgy called “Mass for Diversity” with a setting composed for 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017. They had supper as guests of Bishop Bo Gorån Åstrand, along with Most Rev. Martin Modéus, the Archbishop of Sweden, and other clergy and their spouses. They attended a Gala Concert, and as part of this, the Archdeacon gave a short speech in Swedish, Irish and English, bringing the warm greetings of Bishop Colton and highlighting the importance of international co-operation at a time when many nations were turning inwards. He referenced the important work of the recently deceased former Finnish President Maarti Ahtisaari in the Northern Ireland peace process.
On Sunday morning, the 100th anniversary celebrations came to a climax with a Eucharist broadcast live on Finnish TV. The Dean of Cloyne took part, praying for the Porvoo churches and peace and justice across the world.
Dean Green said:
This was a wonderful opportunity to get to know our Finnish friends and to share greetings from Cork with them. It was so lovely to get to know colleagues who are working in very different places.
Archdeacon Orr said:
This was a wonderful visit to our friends in Borgå diocese, and they could not have been more welcoming. We look forward to Bishop Bo Gorån Åstrand leading a visit to Cork, Cloyne and Ross in the very near future.
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At a recent meeting of the Cork Three Faiths Forum the Rev. Tony Murphy stepped down as their chair, having completed two years in the role. Clair Lalor and Fahmeda Naheed were elected as new co-Chairs.
The Cork Three Faiths Forum Group was established in 2016 with the objective to bring together representatives of the three Abrahamic faiths – Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Forum seeks to create a space where people of faith can dialogue openly and respectfully, come to a better understanding of each other’s faith and work together to enhance tolerance, cooperation and friendship in society.
In 2023 the events organised by the Cork Three Faiths Forum included a Spiritual Reasoning Seminar on Interfaith Perspectives on Creativity, a celebration of Earth Day involving Cork’s Social and Health Education Project (SHEP), and an Interfaith Art Exhibition Connecting Through Art as part of Cork Culture Night.
Back l.-r.: Amanullah de Sondy, Stephen Gregory, Sr. Kathleen McGarvey, Charles Payne, Sr. Jo McCarthy, Fr. Seán O Sullivan, and Amna Walayat. Front l.-r.: Clair Lalor, Rev. Tony Murhy, and Fahmeda Naheed.
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Seven National Schools from West Cork gathered in St Fachtna’s Cathedral, Rosscarbery on Tuesday 17th October to celebrate the start of the school year and to give thanks for the harvest. Also present at the service were children from Ross Union of Parishes that attend other schools.
The service opened with a procession of school banners around the cathedral. The Dean of Ross, the Very Rev’d Cliff Jeffers led the service and drew a comparison with harvest from the parable of the ten lepers giving thanks for being healed in the Gospel of St Luke. It also provided an opportunity to wrap bandages around ten volunteer lepers drawn from the schools.
The Gospel was read by pupils from Kilgarriffe NS, Clonakilty, a thanksgiving was led by pupils from Abbeystrewry NS, Skibbereen, and the prayers were read by pupils from The Model School in Dunmanway. The schools had been practising the hymns, including Bless the lord, O my soul and We plough the fields and scatter. At the end of the service everyone was given a conker by the Dean of Ross to take home and plant in a pot or garden.
Dean Jeffers said:
We were delighted to welcome pupils from the Church of Ireland National Schools in West Cork to Ross Cathedral for a children’s harvest service. As we reflected on the healing of the ten lepers, we took the opportunity to thank God for all that he has given us.
From Wednesday, 11th October until Friday 13th October, the Archbishop of York, the Most Rev. Stephen Cottrell visited Cork, principally, to speak at the Cork, Cloyne and Ross Clergy Away Days at the Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery.
Every year, the Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, the Right Rev. Dr Paul Colton invites all the clergy of the Diocese to spend time together to reflect on ministry and to engage with a guest speaker. Archbishop Cottrell’s talks throughout the two-day event centred around the theme of ‘How to lead in a world without maps: four images that may help.’
The clergy of Cork, Cloyne and Ross together with their Bishop, the Right Rev. Dr Paul Colton, and the Archbishop of York, the Most Rev. Stephen Cottrell
Before heading to West Cork on Wednesday, Archbishop Cottrell visited St Anne’s Church, Shandon and climbed up the tower, one of Cork’s most significant and well known landmarks, to ring the famous Shandon Bells. He opted to play the tune of ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’ on the bells.
On Friday, before returning to the UK, the Archbishop attended a lunch for lay ministers in the Diocese, which was hosted by the Bishop and Mrs Susan Colton at their home.
The Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, the Right Rev. Dr Paul Colton, and the Archbishop of York, the Most Rev. and Right Honourable Stephen Cottrell.
Children from two schools involved in the Diocesan Church Music Scheme – Saint Luke’s National School, Mahony’s Avenue, and St Michael’s National School, Blackrock under the direction of Peter Stobart – came in especially to sing for the Archbishop before he spoke to the group of lay ministers that had gathered at the cathedral. Afterwards, Archbishop Cottrell, Bishop Colton, and Dean Dunne lit candles at the newly commissioned Holy Icon of Saint Fin Barre.
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