24.10.2014
Exciting Developments in Dublin and Glendalough Highlighted at Synods
Throughout this year’s Diocesan Synods members heard of interesting and innovative new projects that were being undertaken in churches and communities in different parts of Dublin and Glendalough. Initiatives included Powerscourt Daily Prayer, The Dining Room in Dun Laoghaire, the new Dublin Institute of Technology Chaplaincy and Temple Carrig School in Greystones.
Regular structured prayer is at the heart of Anglicanism and Archdeacon Ricky Rountree (pictured) said there was a need to discover anew the ritual of daily prayer. Coupled with this, he said, were the closed doors of most Church of Ireland Churches outside a couple of hours on a Sunday.
During a visit to Australia last year he discovered a great many open churches. He came home determined that St Patrick’s Church in Powerscourt should be open and set about establishing daily Morning, Midday and Evening Prayer. He said the Revd Ken Rue helped produce a series of booklets and volunteers ensured that the church could be open.
The Archdeacon said that often person saying the daily prayer was alone but often there was a hugely appreciative audience which included people of a variety of nationalities who had come to visit the adjoining graveyard.
The daily opening will cease on All Saints’ Day and will resume on Ash Wednesday but a single prayer will continue each day. He encouraged people to maintain daily office and could find resources by logging on to http://ireland.anglican.org/worship/dailyprayer.
If your church closed tomorrow would it be missed in the wider community? This was the question put to delegates at the Irish Council of Churches AGM in April and it struck a chord with the Revd Ása Bjork Ólafsdöttir, Vicar of Christ Church, Dun Laoghaire (pictured).
She said she could say that her church genuinely would be missed because they now served the wider community in an ecumenical way by serving dinners three lunchtimes each week for two hours a day feeding over 100 people. These people were not just homeless or suffering from food poverty, they were lonely people of all ages. Some gave a small donation although they didn’t ask for money.
But she pointed out that it was not just “one mad Vicar in Christ Church, Dun Laoghaire” but a whole community that had got behind the project. She thanked all who had donated to them from their harvest services resulting in a food mountain.
Ása said she started with €700 and a huge faith that God would lead them. At an early meeting 50 volunteers came forward. The Select Vestry agreed to the use of the parish hall. Now the hall is not enough and they are looking for premises with showers. She is also looking for money so she can employ a manager to manage the volunteers.
Putting chaplaincy back in the centre of student life is the desire of the Chaplaincy Team at Dublin Institute of Technology. The team has two new Church of Ireland members, the Revd Rob Jones, Vicar of Holy Trinity, Rathmines, and Susie Keegan (pictured).
Addressing Synod, the Revd Rob Jones explained that he had been asked to take on the role during the summer. Following consultation, he ascertained that the team wanted diversity, openness, change and a strong Church of Ireland presence. They also wanted a lay person there so he and Susie are taking on the role between them (he will continue as Vicar in Holy Trinity). The chaplaincy is in its early stages and they are continuing the ministry of presence that was already there serving staff and students.
The chaplaincy is housed in a portacabin and early on he was told that people used to visit the cabin but more recently numbers had declined. There was a sense that chaplaincy had been removed from the central part of the life of the student. “Our desire is to move chaplaincy back to the centre of student life,” Rob explained.
Huge change is coming in DIT with 20,000 students to be located at the new campus at Grange Gorman. A recent pole of the student body threw up the themes: lost generation, increased suicide, increased individualisation, anti faith, anti church and stress. The DIT Chaplaincy has decided to create a place where new communities can be formed where they can pull against the tide of individualisation and support the students. Rob and Susie will continue to link to the parish to serve that ministry for the people who come to their church.
Temple Carrig School in Greystones opened its doors on September 1 with 132 eager and bright eyed students and 12 teachers, chairman of the board of management, Garrett Fennell (pictured with the Revd David Mungavin), said. The school is led by founding principal, Alan Cox, and is currently in temporary accommodation but the new building is well underway.
The school is new from a number of perspectives. It is the first voluntary school in a generation under the patronage of the Archbishop. The admission policy is different in that it is based on an area of residence rather than denomination. Patronage of the school was awarded on the basis of parental preference. Three perspective patrons were canvassed and the Church of Ireland bid was chosen by parents.
“This says something interesting about a lot of the discussion in the media about whether faith based schools are still relevant,” Mr Fennell said. “Parents wanted a faith based school. We are faith based school. It’s built into our daily structure.” The school has adopted a spirituality development policy and also has a full time chaplain.
He paid tribute to the Archbishop for his commitment, counsel and direction and to the local clergy who were involved in bid for patronage. He also thanked Dr Ken Fennelly, secretary to the Board of Education (RI) for his assistance.