An interfaith Prayer gathering to pray for peace in our world and in particular for a ceasefire in Gaza was held in St Vincent’s GAA Knocknaheeny on Sunday, 12th November.
At the request of Bishop Paul Colton, who was unable to attend, the Rev. Tony Murphy and the Rev. Canon Elaine Murray were present. Prayers for peace and hope were offered including some heart felt prayers written by local children who expressed their horror at what they are seeing daily on their TV screens since October 7th. Organisers Caitriona Twomey (Cork Penny Dinners) and Fahmeda Naheed (Cork Three Faiths Forum) and all those gathered feel strongly that these interfaith events were very much needed at this time in order to build a bridge of peace and love so that wars may cease.
Organiser Fahmeda Naheed, Imam Muhammad Zeeshan, the Rev. Tony Murphy, the Rev. Canon Elaine Murray and Cllr. Mick Nugent.
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.
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