CHURCH OF IRELAND NOTES
For Saturday 3rd March 2001
From: The RCB Library
Email: RCB Library
Visit of John Stott
The Revd Dr John Stott, described by the evangelist Billy Graham as
"the most respected evangelical clergyman in the world" is
fulfilling a number of engagements in the Belfast area this weekend. This
evening (Saturday) he will give a public lecture in Knock Presbyterian
Church on the theme "Jesus is Lord: a call to radical
discipleship" and tomorrow (Sunday) he will preach in Windsor Baptist
Church in the morning and in St Mark's parish church, Portadown in the
evening.
Dr Stott, who is for ever associated in many minds with All Souls Church,
Langham Place, London, of which he was rector from 1950 until 1975, and with
which he retains an association as rector emeritus, has been a most
influential figure in the Anglican Communion especially as a preacher and
author. Books such as The Cross of Christ, The Contemporary Christian
and Basic Christianity have been religious best sellers while his I
Believe in Preaching has been an influential text for over twenty-five
years.
More recently, he, rather than his works, has become an object of
attention with the publication of a biographical study. John Stott. The
Making of a leader. A Biography of the Early Years by Timothy
Dudley-Smith, former Bishop of Thetford, was published by Inter-Varsity
Press in 1999 and provides an accessible introduction to a remarkable man.
Today (Saturday) a conference entitled "A Heart for Children"
will be held in Carrigrohane, Co. Cork, under the auspices of the Church
Pastoral Aid Society. The aim of the conference is to increase the priority
and resources for ministry to children. Meanwhile in the west of Ireland the
Bishop of Tuam will preside at a Diocesan Exploration Day in the Pontoon
Bridge Hotel.
Tomorrow (Sunday) the Bishop of Cork will preside at the Sung Eucharist
in St Fin Barre's Cathedral where the preacher will be Dr Samuel Poyntz who
was enthroned there as Bishop of Cork in 1978. In the Chapel of Trinity
College, Dublin, the preacher at the final Sung Eucharist of Hilary term
will be the distinguished theologian, the Revd Dr Gabriel Daly, who will
speak "On Freedom". A series of Lenten Addresses begins at
Evensong in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, where the first speaker will be
the former Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Donald Caird.
Tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon brings the penultimate recital in the current
Bach Festival 2001 in St Ann's Church, Dublin, where, at 3.30 pm, Maya
Homburger will perform works for unaccompanied violin.
The city of Dublin and the city of San José, California, are twinned as
are their two cathedrals. On Tuesday the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral,
Dublin, the Very Revd John Paterson, together with the Lord Mayor of Dublin
will begin a trip to San José which will include a visit to Trinity
Cathedral.
On Thursday in Trinity College, Dublin's Ussher Theatre the final lecture
in the current series on "East Meets West: Civilizations in
Dialogue" will be given. The speaker will be Professor John Collins,
Yale University, whose topic will be "Jewish Belief in the Afterlife in
the Hellenistic Context". In St Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork, the Centre
for Christian Studies' Spring programme on "Discipleship" opens
with a lecture on "Discipleship and the Word of God" by Canon
Peter Rhys-Thomas.
Following a successful two year programme to restore the fabric of St
Flannan's Cathedral, Killaloe, attention is now being turned to the
restoration of the century old pipe organ. In recent years the cathedral has
become a venue for musical performances and this, together with the obvious
liturgical needs, commends this initiative. A fund raising venture has been
launched by the Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe, the Rt Revd Michael Mayes,
and contributions may be sent to the Dean of Killaloe, the Very Revd
Nicholas Cummins, The Deanery, Killaloe, Co. Clare.
Church of Ireland Notes appear in the Irish
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