I hope you had a
break during the last months. Schoolchildren are back/about to go back to
school.
We welcome the Rev
Vicky Lynch who is the new Priest-in-Charge in Fiddown Union of Parishes. She
comes to us from the Methodist Church with whom we have a Covenant that
includes the exchange of clergy.
Congratulations to
those who sat their Junior Cert/Leaving Cert. No matter what you achieved; it
is an enormous achievement! Sometimes it seems that in order to do well in the
world we need to excel at school and college. That is not always the case!
There are opportunities today to find alternative ways of getting where we
would like to be! The secret in life is to do our best and to be proud of all
we achieve.
Harvest time is
special. We should make the effort to say “Thank-you” at our special harvestime services. We may have little or no input into it;
but without it we would be in dire straits. Pray for our farmers and those who,
day by day, work so that we do not go hungry.
Barbara
Harvest Thanksgivings -
Sunday, 8th September 2019 – Tullaghmeelan @3.30pm
Sunday, 15th September 2019 – Fethard @ 7.30pm
20th September 2019 – Clonmel @ 7.30pm
Bereavement - Domhnall O’Keeffe, widower of the late Pearl
died peacefully on 28th August 2019. His funeral Service took place
in St Paul’s Church, Cahir on the afternoon of 1st September in the
presence of family, former colleagues and friends. His burial took place in
Kilcommon Burial ground He was laid to rest beside his beloved wife, Pearl, who passed away ten months ago. Our sincere
sympathy goes to Gavin who has lost both parents in such a short time and to
the O’Keeffe and Deacon families. . May he rest in Peace and rise in glory!
On 2nd September, Stuart Smith died
peacefully in the presence of his family in South Tipperary General Hospital.
Our sincere sympathy goes to his family. Funeral arrangements later.
Harvest Thanksgiving
- The 1st of
our Harvest Thanksgiving took place
in St Paul’s Church, Cahir on the evening of the 1st of September
2019. There was a large congregation to shared in worship and sang their hearts
out. Maureen Ahearne’s choir treated us to lovely music and David Butler led us
all on the organ. Thank-you to Churchwardens and others who prepared the church
and provided us with lovely refreshments at the end of a busy day!
Singing Group:
Will meet in Old St
Mary’s on Thursday, 12th September 2019 @ 8.00pm. All are
welcome to join us in choosing hymns for Sunday worship and other occasions.
Fees – Fees for special occasions have always been
in place for the use of churches, organists, graves and certificates. We do not
charge for Baptisms in this parish. There are fees for new graves, re-opening
of graves and weddings. In the case of Baptism it is traditional to give a
“gift-offering”. These fees go towards the upkeep of our historic buildings.
Fees are set by the Select Vestry.
Confirmation – This is the time of year when the Bishop
begins to set the dates for Confirmations in our Diocese. The usual age for
candidates is over 12yrs. If you have not been Baptised you may ask for Baptism
and Confirmation at the same time if you are over the above age. You can be
baptised at any age! Classes/Conversations begin in Autumn in this Parish with
the Baptisms/Confirmations taking place when the Bishop chooses; always on a
Sunday. So, if you can speak to me before the beginning of October a date can
be set at the Clergy Conference. I prefer that the candidates ask me rather
than parents!
Fees – Fees for special occasions have always been
in place for the use of churches, organists, graves and certificates. We do not
charge for Baptisms in this parish. There are fees for new graves, re-opening
of graves and weddings. In the case of Baptism it is traditional to give a
“gift-offering”. These fees go towards the upkeep of our historic buildings.
Fees are set by the Select Vestry.
Fundraising – There will be a meeting to plan for
fundraising at 8.00pm on Wednesday, 18th September 2019 in Old St
Marys. We cannot continue to rely on the off - chance that subscriptions to
Assessment and collections can keep us afloat. It’s not working!! We have
already proved that we can be more active; so, let’s get on with it! What we
need is to keep up the momentum of the coffee morning earlier in the year
Safeguarding Trust – The Diocesan Team/Panel have almost
completed their training; which has been quite detailed! The 1st training days for members of parish panels and
all who take part in child orientated activities have taken place in three
venues; Leighlin, Enniscorthy and Waterford. Parish policies are being written
and it can be taken for granted that Safeguarding Trust is now an integral part
of parish life. This is not to be taken as yet another onerous duty but needs
to be accepted, seen and implemented as our collective effort to ensure that
all minors and vulnerable adults are “safeguarded” from abuse of any kind. To
begin with, everybody needs to know who the panel members are! To do that you
need to view the parish panel notice on your church notice board. In near
future, a designated notice board will appear in each church in the diocese and
it will display the necessary notices required for compliance.
Select Vestry – Will meet in Old St Mary’s on Friday, 6th September 2019 in Old St Marys, Clonmel @
8.00pm
The Ploughing Match – It’s our turn again to be part of this
annual event. The venue is in the parish of Fenagh and our diocese will provide
a prayer space, hospitality and an opportunity to tell people about our Church.
People come in and ask questions, share in prayer and receive hospitality. If
your there, do come in for a chat or just time out from the crowd outside! It’s
an opportunity for those of us present to proclaim Christ crucified.
The Mothers Union have their own tent. They offer a space
where mothers of babies and small children can have a place for nappy changing,
feeding and a short time of respite.
CHURCH SERVICES
Sunday
|
Cahir
9.30am
|
Fethard
9.30am
|
Clonmel
8.30am
11.00am
|
Tullaghmeelan
11.00am
|
8th Sept
|
H.C.
|
M.P
|
H.C.
M.P.
|
Harvest
|
15th Sept
|
Harvest @
|
H.C.
H..C
|
Worship in other
church
|
|
20th Sept
|
Harvest in Old St
Marys @ 7.30pm
|
|||
22nd Sept
|
H.C.
|
M.P.
|
H.C.
Service of the Word
|
Worship in other
church
|
29th Sept
|
Central Service in
Clonmel @ 11.00am
|
|||
Wednesdays – Holy
Communion @10.30am in Old St Marys; except on 18th & 25thSept & 2nd October
2019 Refreshments afterwards.
The Parochial School – This is our parish school and is
situated in the old Model School on Western Road. We have two fulltime
classroom teachers, and a fulltime teacher whose duties are to help pupils in
those subjects they find a little difficult and a secretary. The Board of
Management is made up of the Chairperson who is the Rector, parishioners and
parents. The school welcomes all children. It under Church of Ireland management
and the ethos of the school is Anglican/Church of Ireland.
EIO Surveys – Tullameelan and Inislounaght have now been
surveyed. At some point we will receive a report.
.
Cleaning & Decorating our churches - Part of being a
parishioner is looking after our churches, churchyards and other properties. It
is customary to decorate our churches for special occasions such as Harvest
Thanksgivings, Christmas and Easter. It is also parishioners responsibility to
clean our churches. These times of coming together enable us to get to know
each other and to be integrated into parish life.
The days when those
long established in the parish, who “knew” how to do things, has passed. Now we
welcome everybody to be part of the family of faith, to make their contribution
in their own way. It can be a pot/bunch of flowers, a short time preparing for
a special occasion or bringing a contribution towards the refreshments we
provide at the end of special Services. We have a cleaning rota which needs
updating! So volunteers, please!!
Ordination – On Friday, 13th September Ms Janet Findlay will be ordained Deacon
for the Ordained Local Ministry (OLM) by Bishop Michael in Leighlin Cathedral.
Please pray for her and all ordained clergy.
Sunday Life – This hour long programme is broadcast on
TippFm on Sunday mornings from 7 – 8am. It is presented by local clergy
and, usually,
consists of music, readings and chat.
Vocation Sunday – All who believe in God, Father, Son
& Holy Spirit have a vocation! We have been put on this earth do work for
the Lord. Everything we do should be, to the best of our ability. It is about each of contributing to the type
of live we live.
But, as with every other part of life, there is a
“special” vocation given to us. And within that is the ordained ministry and
that of “Lay Reader Ministers”. We all need to make our contribution to the
whole.
We have, at least one person in each part of our parish
who have some training/ experience in conducting worship. We need some more!
On Vocation Sunday there will be the usual 8.30am Holy
Communion Service in Old St Mary’s , a united Service in Old St Marys and a
Harvest Thanksgiving in Fethard in the evening. It is hoped that as many as
possible will attend in Old St Mary’s on the 15th and this includes
families. Most of our people have never heard about how somebody becomes an
ordained person, how one goes about entering that way of life, what is required
of candidates, what the training programme is, how long it takes and what a
life in ministry is really like; it’s has its challenges and its rewards. It is
nothing like most people think!