Major Donation from The One Foundation boosts Cork Church of Ireland Charity’s efforts to restore Houses of Ukrainian Refugees

Posted on May 31, 2022 by Latest News and Photos from the Church of Ireland Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross

On behalf of the Kingston Charity Trust, which owns charity housing at Kingston College in Mitchelstown, County Cork, and has been providing residences for people in need since 1761, the Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, Dr Paul Colton, has announced today that the appeal has recently received a significant boost to the fund-raising efforts to restore and renovate some of the houses to accommodate Ukrainian refugees. 

The trust has received a donation of €200,000 from The One Foundation.   

Kingston College, Mitchelstown, County Cork – a charity which has been providing housing, under the auspices of the Church of Ireland, for people in need in the region since 1761.

Commenting on the magnificent support received from The One Foundation, the Bishop of Cork, Dr Paul Colton, who is chairman of the trustees, said:

We are immensely grateful for this hugely generous donation from  The One Foundation which arrived in response to newspaper reports about our hope to restore these houses at Kingston College in Mitchelstown, County Cork.  Although 23 of the houses are happily occupied, our charity did not have the funds to restore eight vacant houses in recent years and now, thanks to this generosity, as well as the generosity and voluntary efforts of countless others, we will be in a position to press on with the work. 

Every Euro of this will be needed, and more, as, when we began to examine the condition of the vacant houses, the work necessary was much more extensive than we ever anticipated.  This donation is one of those lifeblood moments that has given our project practical hope, and on behalf of the trustees, as well as those who will ultimately benefit, I thank The One Foundation very sincerely.

In coming days we hope also to be able to make announcements about even more very encouraging practical support for this work which we have taken on.

Posted in Announcements, Bishop, Charities in the Diocese, Charity Work, Church in Society, Church of Ireland, Community Involvement, Cork, Diocese, Emergency Response, Five Marks of Mission, Fund-Raising, Kingston College, ukraine | Comments Off on Major Donation from The One Foundation boosts Cork Church of Ireland Charity’s efforts to restore Houses of Ukrainian Refugees

Appointment to Saint Anne’s Church, Shandon, and to the Chaplaincy of Saint Luke’s Home Cork

Posted on May 30, 2022 by Latest News and Photos from the Church of Ireland Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross

The Bishop of Cork, the Right Reverend Dr Paul Colton is delighted to announce that he has appointed the Reverend Meghan Farr, an Episcopal priest currently serving in the Episcopal Diocese of Eau Claire in Wisconsin, USA, as priest-in-charge of Saint Anne’s, Shandon, Cork and also as Chaplain to Saint Luke’s Home, Cork. Meghan will be arriving in time to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Church of Saint Anne, Shandon and to join in the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of Saint Luke’s Home, Cork.

The Reverend Meghan Farr

Bishop Colton said:

It has been both exciting and frustrating knowing for some months now that the Reverend Meghan Farr had accepted my offer of appointment to these posts in Cork while we waited for visa permission for Meghan and her family from the Irish Immigration Service. I have been looking forward to making this announcement and now that everything is in place I am delighted to publish this news. Meghan has exactly the gifts needed for these ministries and, together with you all, I look forward to welcoming her, Daniel, Aidan, Declan and Cavan to Cork in the not too distant future.

The Reverend Meghan Farr said:

I am so pleased to accept the call to serve as Priest-in-Charge of St. Anne’s Shandon and Chaplain at St. Luke’s Home. My family and I look forward to making Cork our home and getting to know the parish and community. Please keep us in prayer as we prepare for the transition and know that we are praying for you all as well. God bless you—Reverend Meghan.

The Reverend Meghan Farr grew up in the Episcopal Church in Rhode Island and later Florida. She was active as a child and teenager in Sunday school, youth ministry and as an acolyte. While at the University of Florida studying history, Meghan worked as an assistant youth minister at a local Episcopal Church. It was during this time she met her husband, Daniel, who was also studying history. They were married in 2003. After graduation, they moved to Meghan’s hometown of Melbourne, Florida where she worked for several years in substance abuse prevention and treatment. Meghan and Daniel were active in their Episcopal church serving in various ministries.

Meghan began the discernment process for the priesthood in 2009 and in 2010 she entered seminary at Asbury Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. In 2013 she and her family moved to Wisconsin where she finished her Master of Divinity at Nashtoah House Theological Seminary. Meghan was called to a curacy at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Jersey. She served there for two years before accepting a call in 2015 as Assistant Rector for Pastoral Care at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Central Florida. After five years, the family returned to Wisconsin where Meghan became Priest-in-Charge of the Northern Highlands Benefice—a group of four Episcopal churches.

Meghan and Daniel have three boys, Aidan (16), Declan (11), and Cavan (7) as well as two dogs (Magnus and Siggy) and two cats (Nessie and Hamish). Aside from staying busy as mom, Meghan is an avid reader. She and Daniel love getting out for hikes with the dogs, trying new restaurants and all things history. The whole family enjoys traveling and is always up for adventure.

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Bishop Paul visits Bandon Grammar School for End of Year Service

Posted on May 30, 2022 by mediaccr

On Tuesday 24th May, Bishop Paul Colton paid a visit to Bandon Grammar School to attend their End of Year Service and to give the address. Local clergy, including Canon Denis MacCarthy, the Rev. Denis Maguire and Fr. John O’ Donovan were also in attendance. The service was led by the school chaplain, the Rev. Anne Skuse, and the prayers and reading were said by students and staff. The school choir, under the direction of Ms. Power, led the singing of the hymns.

In her introduction the Rev. Skuse expressed her delight that after three years the school community was once again able to gather altogether for worship and went on to say:

This service gives us the opportunity to give thanks to God for all we have shared together over the past year and to ask God’s blessing on and say farewell to those who are leaving us. To our sixth form students and this year to Mr. Coombes our headmaster and to Mr. Bradfield the school administrator who are retiring.

In his address the bishop began by thanking Mr Coombes and Mr Bradfield for their dedicated service of care to the school community which cumulatively amounted to almost one hundred years! The bishop presented Mr Coombes with an Annie West print of the United Dioceses of Cork, Cloyne and Ross to remind him of the school’s link with the diocese. Speaking to the students, the bishop challenged them to think about what they would bring with them, if they like so many around the world, had to leave their homeland due to war, violence or hatred. After the service the bishop spent the morning on a pastoral visit, talking with students and staff throughout the school community.

Bishop Paul Colton presenting Mr Ian Coombes with the Annie West Print of Cork, Cloyne and Ross
Bishop Paul Colton and the Rev. Anne Skuse enjoying afternoon tea with students from Bandon Grammar School

Posted in Bandon Grammar School, Bishop, Schools in the Diocese | Comments Off on Bishop Paul visits Bandon Grammar School for End of Year Service

Creative Celebration Day at St Luke’s NS, O’Mahoney’s Avenue

Posted on May 27, 2022 by mediaccr

Jacqueline Collier, Principal of St Luke’s NS, writes:

Creative Schools is a flagship initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme to enable the creative potential of every child. Creative Schools is led by the Arts Council in partnership with the Department of Education and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. The initiative is also informed by the Arts Council’s ten-year strategy (2016–25) Making Great Artwork: Leading the Development of the Arts in Ireland.

St Luke’s, O’Mahoney’s Avenue commenced our two-year partnership in September 2020. There were three phases to the project: Understand, Develop and Celebrate. The Creative Associate, Ms. Fiona Lawton, the school’s Coordinator, and the Principal planned sustainable child-centred arts and creative activities, within a set budget. Our Creative Plan involved as many voices as possible, pupils, staff, parents and artists. A pupil committee was set up comprising of two pupils from each class to facilitate a pupil voice, and a podcast gave the pupils a channel to express what “creativity” meant to them. There were many successful collaborative aspects of this plan, which included the formation of an outdoor classroom, creativity at home projects, a senior photography project, outdoor planting and the creation of an outdoor mosaic. This latter project invited each pupil and member of staff to imprint their own design onto a ceramic tile (20cm by 20cm). A botanical/ nature theme was chosen to integrate learning with the Green Schools Initiative. Artist Treasa O’Malley guided our project through each stage: designing, creating and the firing of all eighty-nine tiles. The outdoor area was prepared and the tiles attached.

On Friday, 20th May we celebrated our creativity and expression and held a “Creative Celebration Day” displaying our finished projects to each other and parents. Pupils wore their personally designed tie-dyed t-shirts (another project), performed a drama, created under a Teacher Artist Project, sang under the direction of Mr. Peter Stobart (Director of music in St Fin barre’s Cathedral, Cork) and played their tin whistles, with gusto. The culmination of the day was the cutting of the ribbon by Fiona Lawton to officially open our outdoor area and mark the end of our two-year projects.

It was a truly rewarding project, funded and supported by the Arts Council, and an incredible creative and learning experience for each pupil.

From left to right: Siobhan Kelleher (Deputy Principal), Treasa O’Malley (Artist), Fiona Lawton (Creative Associate), Jacqueline Collier (Principal)
Posted in Diocese, Education, Schools in the Diocese | Comments Off on Creative Celebration Day at St Luke’s NS, O’Mahoney’s Avenue

Tower renovations completed at the Church of the Ascension, Timoleague

Posted on May 26, 2022 by mediaccr

The Church of the Ascension in Timoleague is undergoing some major renovation works since 2020. Phase 1 was completed in Summer 2020, restoring and renewing the entire roof of the church. Phase 2 of the plan has been completed recently, resulting in the new, white colour of the church tower.

The Rev. Kingsley Sutton, Rector of Kilgariffe Union, has created a short video about the ongoing conservation project and explains why the church tower is now white.

You can find the video here.

The Rev. Kingsley Sutton, Rector of Kilgariffe Union, commented:

West Cork has many hidden gems, but this one is changing colour. Please share the good news of how Ireland’s Heritage is being conserved for future generations.

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