16.12.2024
Advent Hope in D&G – Activities at Christ Church, A Snapshot
Join us throughout Advent 2024 as we explore signs of hope of the Spirit at work in Dublin and Glendalough. During this time of watching and waiting, we are celebrating the life of parishes in the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough – urban and rural, large and small. We are sharing stories of people in parishes who are working with dedication to reach out to people who are new to their communities, to those who have moved to the many new housing developments springing up or those who come to the country seeking sanctuary from war. There are stories of people exploring how to share the Good News of the Gospel with people who haven’t heard it, or who have forgotten about it. There is news of people carefully preserving their parish churches and buildings so they can continue to provide facilities to parishioners and the whole community and there are rural ministries which provide a focal point for their communities. You are encouraged to reflect on these good news stories but also invited to share stories from your parishes so that we can continue to communicate the joy of parish life and fellowship with others.
By Dean Dermot Dunne
Confirmations
It is delightful that it has now become a tradition for confirmation to be celebrated in the cathedral twice a year, one on Pentecost Sunday and one on the last Sunday in September. The celebration of confirmations in the cathedral anchors the cathedral at the heart of the United diocese. Every year about eight parishes in the dioceses opt for having their children confirmed in the cathedral either in the spring or autumn. The benefit is twofold. The main benefit for the cathedral is that it is able to live its mission in being the mother church of the dioceses and secondly it enables people, both young and old from the parishes of the dioceses to engage with the cathedral. For some it may be their first time in the cathedral.
The celebration itself is very special. The cathedral is normally full for the service. The atmosphere is both welcoming and friendly and people feel ‘at home’ in the warmth of the cathedral nave. Confirmation in the cathedral enables the archbishop to celebrate in his cathedral and to teach from his cathedra. This is Church working at its best. The staff of the cathedral are always welcoming, and the organization of the ceremony is seamless and efficient. Such a celebration gives witness not only to those who are of the dioceses but also to those who are visiting from abroad and who may be in a church for the first time in their lives. Confirmations for 2025 will be on Pentecost Sunday, 8th June at 15.30 and Sunday 28th September.
The Community of St Laurence
Every Sunday we have a wide ranging congregation mix of both regular attendees and visitors. Whilst the regulars might number as few as twenty the rest of the congregation comprises of people from across the globe and can number up to two hundred and fifty people on any given Sunday depending on the time of the year, the summer months being the busiest. Each Sunday the celebrant officially welcomes the congregation before the service. He/she refers to the gathered congregation as the community in the moment where each person is not a stranger but a friend connected by our common humanity drawn together to experience the voice of God in a sacred space. So many people have come to settle in Dublin making it their own and permanent home.
Over the past three to four years many have come to make Christ Church their spiritual home and place where they want to connect to God through engaging in the liturgy of the cathedral, particularly the celebration of the Sunday Eucharist at 11am. The dean engaged in the opportunity to encourage these newcomers to form a group. This is how a WhatsApp group of newcomers was set up and is now thriving. At the moment there are about twenty–five in the group and the dean agreed to call the group ‘Friends Plus.’
The object of forming the group was and is to connect people with each other and to enable those who have arrived in Dublin for the first time to settle and make friends. The group is a lively bunch of people whose ages range from mid–twenties to mid–forties who hail from different parts of the world. At the end of September the group organised a social evening for all people registered on the register of Vestrymen. About one hundred and twenty people gathered for a meal in the cathedral crypt. The archbishop and dean were also present on the night. It was a tremendous success when so many had fun and connected with new faces to the cathedral.
The Friends Plus group is the new face of the cathedral and is a life line for its future as we contemplate the handing on of the cathedral to the next generation. It is such a great beacon of hope that so many young people want to engage with the cathedral and with each other to form a spiritual nucleus that carries on the life of faith in the cathedral.
Friends Plus want to evolve as an outreach from the cathedral based on prayer and service to the community. To that end it is changing its name from ‘Friends Plus’ to ‘The Community of St Laurence.’ The reason for this name change is twofold. Firstly it relieves confusion with the life and mission of the cathedral ‘Friends’ and secondly it identifies those who belong as people engaged with their own spirituality and want to share that in community in the footsteps of St Laurence. Many cathedrals in the United Kingdom have initiated similar groups like the community of St Anselm in Lambeth Palace. The community of St Laurence is now structuring itself into a proper organized community which will engage in outreach to the city and the dioceses. This is an exciting development in the cathedral which will have far reaching effects both in its governance and spiritual life.
You can read Archbishop Michael Jackson’s reflection on the Church of Ireland census figures and his appeal to people to rekindle their connection to their parish here: https://dublin.anglican.org/news/2024/11/22/why-go-to-church-a
If you have a story to tell from your parish please email the diocesan communications officer – dcodublin@gmail.com