Irish Times Notes16 Sep 23

Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’

Deans meet in Dublin

At the start of last week some fourteen deans from Church of Ireland cathedrals met in Dublin for their annual conference which last year was held in Limerick. They met in Christ Church cathedral where their first speaker was Mr David Ritchie, Chief Officer of the Representative Church Body. Following discussion of matters of mutual interest they made their way down the hill to St Patrick’s cathedral for Choral Evensong. The day concluded with a talk from Mr Clark Brydon, the Education Officer in St Patrick’s.

The following morning began with Choral Matins in St Patrick’s follows by a talk by Mr Scott Hayes, Head of Relationship Management at Ecclesiastical Insurance. A final plenary session rounded off the 24–hour conference which was coordinated by the Dean of Clogher, the Very Revd Kenny Hall, and the Dean of St Patrick’s, Dr William Morton.

The Church of Ireland cathedrals are various. Some, like St Patrick’s and Christ Church are ancient foundations in a big city. Others, equally ancient, are now part of the scattered Church of Ireland community in rural Ireland. Some like Belfast and Enniskillen were created in the 19th century to reflect shifts in population while others function largely as parish churches. But they all have in common a distinctive place in their dioceses where their bishops, especially on the great feast days of the Chrich, preside over festive gatherings of clergy and people.

The deans of the cathedrals in Great Britian have a similar, although of necessity, a somewhat larger conference where they discuss matters of mutual concern. A recent outcome of British decanal cooperation has been the publication Deans’ Choice: Cathedral Treasures of England and Wales in which each dean selected a treasure to represent his or her cathedral. For each entry there is a full–page colour illustration and a page of text explaining the significance of the chosen treasure. Complied by Janet Gough, a former Secretary of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England and Director of the Cathedral and Church Buildings Division of the Church of England and published by Scala, this is a bright, attractive and accessible publication. An Irish version could be a wonderful advertisement for the cathedrals of the Church of Ireland.

Tomorrow (Sunday) at 11.10am on RTÉ One (11.00am on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra), Canon John Godfrey will lead members of the Aughrim group of parishes in worship and talk about the community’s commitment to ecological stewardship expressed through their Climate Action Park.

Connor Wilcox, on piano, will perform a lunchtime concert at St Mary’s cathedral, Limerick, on Tuesday at 1.15pm.  

In Co. Dublin, Holy Trinity church, Killiney, located on Killiney Hill Road, will be open to visitors throughout the month of September, each Thursday from 2pm until 4pm. 

Church Music Dublin have announced that Kilternan parish are having a Come & Play the Organ Day run by Parish Organist, Kevin O’Sullivan today in Kilternan parish Church of Ireland, between 10am and 2pm. It is open to everyone no matter their keyboard experience. Complimentary hot drink from the Gathering Grounds Café for all who have a go.

Next month ‘Living Worship’ with John Dexter, a choral workshop will take place in Sandford parish church on Saturday 21 October.

Also, in early 2023 new guidelines for the payment of Church musicians were agreed, following consultation with the Church Music Advisory committee in the Roman Catholic Church. Details may be found here: Church Music Dublin – Remuneration