Happy
Christmas
&
A
Prosperous New Year
From
The
Rectory Family
Cleaning
& Flowers in our Churches – Please remember to do what you have volunteered for. And please take your rubbish
away with you . The boiler room has been thoroughly cleaned by some of your
fellow parishioners; keep it that way!
Envelopes & Assessment – The 2018 envelopes are
now availableThis scheme only works if every envelope is filled
whether you are in Church or not! They are not just for “church collection” when you attend, they are
a way to make a committment to supporting the everyday expenses of heat &
light and general maintenance, renovation and repairs, and, for some includes
Sunday collection as well. Some fill their envelopes for ungoing expenses and
make a further donation by way of direct debit or single payment towards the
Assessment. How you do it is your choice, but at the end of the day, all the
bills must be paid. We have cut costs as far as is possible in order to try to
keep going, but we live 6 months in arrears! As a result of the “crash” of the
late 1980s/1990s our investments were reduced to about 1/3 of what they were!
And costs have gone up again! If you need to indicate where the contents of an
envelope needs to go; please write “collect” or “Assess” on the back of the
envelope. Please, do not attach other pieces of paper which can come loose!
Select
Vestry Meeting – Will take place in Old St Mary's Church, Clonmel on Friday 19th
January 2018 @ 8.00pm – You will receive a reminder by text some days before,
please reply to it!
Concerts - In
Old St Mary's
Clonmel
Thursday 14th
December - Christmas Concert organised by the Rugby Club @ 8.00pm
Whist Drives – Friday, 8th December @ 8.00pm sharp
Friday, 12th
January @ 8.00pm sharp
Friday, 9th February @ 8.00pm sharp
Friday, 9th March @ 8.00pm sharp
We rely on donations of prizes in order to keep going
– this is one of a few fundraisers we have during the year and is also an
opportunity to socialise.
Carol
Services -
Friday,
15th December in St Paul's, Cahir @ 7.30pm
Sunday,
17th December in Holy Trinity, Fethard @ 7.30pm
Friday,
22nd December in Old St Mary's, Clonmel @ 7.30pm
Singing
Group – Wednesday, 13th
December 2018 @ 8.00pm in Old St Mary's. All welcome!
Christmas
Fair – BE THERE!! This annual event will take place on Sunday, 10th December 2017 from 1.00pm to
approx 5.00pm in Old St Mary's, Clonmel. We expect that all parishioners will
participate; either by their presence in assisting, supporting, contributing
and facilitating various aspects of the event – you may introduce and present your own particular contribution to making
this a “Christmas” celebration of talent, enterprise and community interaction
. We need contributions to stalls, help in organising & energising the
event through your presence, preparation, providing and furthering
opportunities that will have a good effect on local and wider enterprise in our
wonderful County of Tipperary.
The way forward for all of us is to grasp every
opportunity to further the life and welfare of ourselves, our neighbours,
family and those around us so that we can give hope, assistance &
encouragement to a wider community. If you have a dream, begin with your local
community!
Greeting Cards – Greeting cards
with pictures of all our 5 churches are available in each church at €2 each. The inside is blank to facilitate personal greeting.
Parish Records – At the moment we have a participant
in the rus scheme who is checking our database to ensure all entries in our registers have been recorded.
Rev Arthur Carter – The Rev Arthur
has been a loyal and generous presence in our parish for many years, First of
all, for some of you, he was a teacher and then Principal of Cahir Vocational
School. Following his ordination to the Non -Stipendiary Ministry, he has
served this parish and the wider diocese as a roving priest when
needed;conducting worship with reverence and diligence. St Paul's, Cahir and St
Mary's, Ballintemple (Dundrum) have been places he has served particularly with
love and caring. He has be an enormous support and valued friend to me.
The Rev Arthur has decided to retire from Ministry at
the end of this year. We hope and pray that he will be with us in the years to
come and that he and Hillery will enjoy the freedom of retirement. “Well done thou good and faithful servant”.
CHURCH SERVICES
|
2017
Dec
-
Jan 2018
|
St Pauls, Cahir
9.30am
|
Holy Trinity
Fethard
9.30am
|
Old St Marys
Clonmel
8.30am
11.00am
|
Tullaghmeelan
11.00am
|
|
Dec 10th
Advent 2
|
H.C.
|
M.P.
|
H.C.
M.P.
|
H.C.
|
|
Dec 17th
Advent 3
|
M.P.
|
H.C.
|
H.C.
H.C.
|
Worship
in other church
|
|
Dec 24th
Advent 4
|
8.30am
– H.C. in Old St Mary's, Clonmel
11.00am
– Service of the Word in Holy Trinity, Fethard
11.30pm
– H.C. in St Paul's Church, Cahir
|
|||
|
Dec 25th
Christmas
|
No
Service
|
H.C.
|
H.C.
H.C.
|
Worship
in other church
|
|
Dec 31st
|
Central
Service in Old St Mary's @ 11.00am
|
|||
Wednesday
Weekday Service – Service at 10.30am on Wednesdays in
Old St Marys.
Refreshments afterwards
Your
Prayers –
Please remember those who are unwell, at home & in hospital. At this time we need to pray, especially, for peace.
Route 66 – Our contribution
came from our Harvest Collections and amounted to €900.
Sunday Life -This is an hour-long
programme on TippFm which is broadcast from 7- 8am on Sunday
mornings. It usually comprises music, reading and interviews. We keep it light
as most of our listeners have just woken up!
Confirmation – Eileen Collins was
confirmed by Bishop mich on Sunday, 26th November 2017 in Lismore Cathedral in the company of nine younger
people. It was a lovely occasion and a really good experience for everybody. Of
course, it is never too late to make one's commitment to God in Baptism &
Confimation. We prayer that Eileen may
grow in faith and in the love of her Lord.
Diocesan Magazine – This is a
monthly production of news and information on 10 months of the year.
The cost is €40. The December copies are now in our churches and I have assumed
that those who normally order; are going to do so again. According to my notes,
there are a few payments for 2017 still outstanding; please talk to me.
Mothers Union – Global Moment & Activism against
Gender Violence – First of all “Thank-you” to those who donated sponge bags filled with
items for basic hygiene. They were donated to Cuan Saor here in Clonmel and to
Social Services in Cashel.
Two people joined me for the lighting of the candle to
begin the 16 days of activism against gender violence.
The vigil was conducted by Mrs Margaret Kingston,
Diocesan Reader on 29th November in Old St Mary's. We prayed for an end to such violence and
mis-treatment and for those who have and do still suffer in this way.
Welcome – We welcome the Rev
Brian O'Rouke to Stradbally and wish him and his wife, Agnes, well in this new
sphere of ministry; which includes partime in Stradbally & Waterford.
We also prepare to welcome to Rev Ian Cruickshank back
to our diocese to serve in Killanne, Ferns and we will also be welcoming the
Rev Robert Jones to Kiltegan in the New Year.
Lay
Reading – Those
who conduct worship in our parishes week by week and wear those blue scarves
that distinguish them as Lay Readers, travel around Sunday by Sunday leading
congregation large and small in worship. They undergo a Level 7 academic
course, accredited by St Patrick's, Maynooth. This can be challenging;
especially in the beginning. If you feel that God has called you to this
ministry; your 1st call is the Rector.
Local
Ordained Ministry – The
Church of Ireland has been considering this ministry for some time. It is about
those who feel called to ordained Ministry; but not in the wider Church. This will
involve an academic course that will be accredited to a theological institution
combined with the support of the candidate's Rector who will tutor in practical
theology and practice. It will certainly require time away from home and, from
my own experience, a change in lifestyle at home and outside the home! This
month's diocesan magazine has an article about it. The idea is that this
ministry will be served in one's own parish; which in itself may prove, for
some, to be challenging. It will not be a direct pathway towards fulltime
ordained ministry.
I
served my 1st two years of ministry in my own parish. If you wish to
talk about it or a group wishes to discuss it; I am there to listen, guide and
help in any way I can.
Carol
Services –
With Christmas at a weekend and the Lay Readers' being licenced on the evening
of Advent Sunday, for a further period, and our Christmas Fair on the 2nd
Sunday of Advent we are a bit short on dates for Carol Services. So, there are
some changes from previous years:
St
Paul's, Cahir – Friday, 15th
December @ 7.30pm
Holy
Trinity, Fethard - Sunday 17th
December @ 7.30pm
Old
St Mary's, Clonmel - Friday, 22nd
December @ 7.30pm
Please
support your fellow parishioners and attend their Carol Services!
