Saint Mary’s National School in Carrigaline Union of Parishes are hosting the Carrigaline Drama Group for two nights in a row at the end of January. Keep an eye on their Facebook Page for more information.
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The Bishop of Cork, Dr Paul Colton, took the opportunity during his Christmas Day sermon in Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork to express his thanks to everyone – in both the Diocese and in society in general – for their generous, charitable support in response to the needs of our time in 2022.
Bishop Colton was preaching on the words in the Christmas story ‘there was no room for them in the inn’ and he thanked people who, today, are generously and wholeheartedly making room.
Referring to the complexity of many of the seemingly intractable issues facing society, he said:
Complexity, of course, doesn’t let us off the hook. The Christmas Gospel prompts us, each of us, to do what is in our own power and capacity to do, and to engage practically, reflectively and thoughtfully about these challenges. That is why I am so thankful for the track record in this tiny Diocese of ours of the engagement of our charities, for many centuries now, in healthcare, older person and dementia care, addressing the needs of orphans and widows, addressing poverty and economic necessity, our own housing charities – Kingston Charity, the Clergy Widows and Orphans and LappsCharity , by parishes engaging with asylum seekers seeking international protection, and now this year, in response also to the war in Ukraine. Today gives me the opportunity to thank everyone who has helped.
In addition to these practical ways of ‘making room’, Bishop Colton said there are other ways also of ‘making room’:
Those are all practical things. But there are other ways in which these words from the Christmas story also challenge our minds, our hearts and souls: conceptually and in terms of our outlook – our worldview – how we think about others – the exclusion that comes from marginalising by speech, stereotyping and caricature, fear, suspicion, othering, misinformation, hatred, demonising others simply because we ourselves do not understand or have got the wrong end of the stick. … And there’s an uncomfortable challenge for churches too. Who, sometimes, even purportedly in God’s name, do we leave outside and exclude still?
Carrigaline Union of Parishes has been recognised as a Place of Sanctuary on 11th December 2022.
The Sanctuary Award has been presented to four churches representing different denominations right and across the island. The presentations have fallen within the Christian observance of the season of Advent under the theme ’No Room at the Inn’, highlighting the significant pressures on the system to provide basic housing and safety to those seeking sanctuary in Ireland.
The Revd Canon Elaine Murray, Rector of the Carrigaline Union of Parishes said:
We are delighted that we received Church of Sanctuary status on 11th December. We really hope that our parish journey will continue under the guidance of the Places of Sanctuary movement and that our efforts will make even a small difference in the lives of people seeking sanctuary in Ireland.
From left to right: Places of Sanctuary Ireland board member Kevin Macarenas, SaraJane Cromwell, the Rev. Canon Elaine Murray, Hilary Dring, the Rev. Richard Dring, and Rowland Newenham.
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Friday 9th and Saturday 10th December were big days for the choir of St Fin Barre’s Cathedral as they undertook performances of Handel’s Messiah. Both evenings were sold out and there was still demand for tickets right up until the day itself. It was noted in the introduction to the evening that of the forty-six singers in the choir, only six were over the age of eighteen, and for those remaining forty youngsters it was their first time singing the work.
The four soloists for the evening were all in fine voice and they included former chorister Eoghan Desmond singing the bass arias and Douglas native Emma Nash singing her first Messiah soprano solos. Dublin based Raphaela Mangan and Andrew Gavin completed the team, and they all joined in singing the Hallelujah Chorus and ensuring the roof was raised.
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