Parish Newsletter September 2017 Congratulations to Ben Furney and Mary Cullen Who Were Married in St
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Hollyfort Gorey Leskinfere Ballycanew Parish Newsletter September 2017 Congratulations to Ben Furney and Mary Cullen who were married in St. Peter’s College Church on August 3rd; to Denise Tully and Raymond Hayes who were married in Castletownsend Church on August 4th; to Clinton and Amy Furney on the birth of their son Harry; to Dwayne and Liz Blake whose daughter Emilia was baptised in Leskinfere Church on August 6th and to David and Shirley Steacy on the birth of their son David Parish contact details: Rector: Canon Mark Hayden 0539421383 mob: 0861602228 Email [email protected] Assistant Priest: The Rev’d Caroline Casserly-Farrar 0876448579 Diocesan Reader: Mrs Margaret Stephens 0539383152. Diocesan Reader: Mrs Lesley Bayley 0858890029. Parish Reader: Mrs Rosemary Lacey 0539428966. Diocesan Reader: Mr Jason Smith 0871416389. Parish Forward Planner: Friday September 8th Golf Classic in aid of Christ Church Gorey Courtown Golf Club. Saturday September 23rd Gorey Churches Together Annual Ladies Breakfast will take place in The Ashdown Park Hotel 8.30 for 9am. As this is the 10th such breakfast we will have some special guests so it will run until 11.30am. The guest speaker is Ms. Wendy Johnston who is a biblical story teller from Belfast. There will also be music and a book stall. The cost to cover the event per head is €12.50. Tickets will be available shortly from Mrs. Valerie Copeland and Mrs. Dorothy Stedmond. Please come and enjoy the fellowship on this special occasion. Sunday September 24th Harvest Thanksgiving St. Luke’s Church, Leskinfere 7.30pm. Monday September 25th Bishops Route 66 stop at Gorey Central School 9.20am. Saturday September 30th Awareness Head to Toe Moneylawn Farm 11am-4pm. Monday September 25th Bishops Route 66 stop at Christ Church, Gorey at 6.15pm. Sunday October 1st Harvest Thanksgiving St. Mogue’s Church, Ballycanew 7.30pm. Sunday October 15th Harvest Thanksgiving Christ Church, Gorey 7.30pm. Sunday October 29th Harvest Thanksgiving St. John’s Church, Hollyfort 7.30pm. A letter from Bishop Michael Burrows. Golf Classic in aid of Christ Church, Gorey: this important fund raiser is taking place in Courtown Golf Club on Friday September 8th. Anyone interested in sponsoring a team or a tee box should contact Mr Harry Poole on 0879718513. The prize giving will take place in the clubhouse at the end of the day from 9.30pm. Many thanks to everyone who has put so much work in for the event. Awareness Head to Toe: this event is taking place at Moneylawn Farm in Gorey courtesy of Mr Leslie Dixon. It will showcase farm safety and mental health so please do come along 11am till 4pm. Harvest thanksgivings: the round of harvest thanksgivings have already started in a number of places throughout the Diocese. Our round starts as usual in St. Luke’s Church, Leskinfere on Sunday September 24th at 7.30pm. The guest preacher this year is the Very Reverend Dean Tom Gordon. On Sunday October 1st the harvest thanksgiving will take place in St. Mogue’s Church, Ballycanew at 7.30pm and the guest preacher is The Reverend Máirt Hanley. On Sunday October 15th the harvest thanksgiving will take place in Christ Church, Gorey at 7.30pm and the guest preacher is The Reverend Kevin Conroy. The Gorey Central School harvest service date is to be confirmed. Our final harvest thanksgiving service will take place in St. John’s Church, Hollyfort on Sunday October 29th at 7.30pm. I am still awaiting confirmation from the guest preacher. Remembrance service: our annual remembrance service will take place on Sunday November 12th at 10.30am in Christ Church, Gorey. The guest preacher this year is Fr. Richard Lawless, parish priest of Craanford Parish. All are welcome to attend this important ecumenical service. Parish sales have come and gone again for another year and sincerest thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make the four parish sales so successful. The weather was kind-just in time in Hollyfort’s case!-and a great number of people came along and supported these important fund raisers. All age choir: a new all age choir is being set up within the group of parishes and the first rehearsal will take place on Thursday September 7th in Christ Church from 7.30-8.30pm. Youth club: a lot of work is going on behind the scenes at the moment to organise and set up a youth club for the parishes. More information will be in next month’s newsletter but those involved are very hopeful that this will be successful and of great benefit to our young people. People living alone: many people live alone and are very happy to do so. However as we get older the simple things can become more challenging. Older neighbours might welcome a visit or just some contact from their neighbours and yes I know, some may well not welcome such a visit at all! Our society today is a busy one and people can be forgotten. If you are older and do live alone please make sure you have people to contact in an emergency, that your mobile phone is charged/your house phone is working and if you have a personal alarm that it is functioning and that your personal alarm button is working too. As the colder weather approaches do make sure your chimney is clean and unblocked. This may all seem like obvious advice but it is no harm to repeat it. Fund raising: it seems someone has decided to go around Gorey recently and claim that they are collecting money for a sponsored slim in aid of Christ Church. Such an event did take place last year and was a great success thanks to the hard work and dedication of Mr Albert Willoughby. However there is no such event being run by anyone in the parish this year as no such proposal was put to the select vestry as all fund raising initiatives have to be. If anyone asks you for funding for any of the parishes and it seems a little odd to you please do the following: decline their request, try if you can to get an idea of who the person is-but do so carefully-and then immediately contact the Rector. The parishes value all support but it would be awful for people’s kindness to be abused by someone with dishonest intentions. This matter has been passed on to the Gorey Gardaí. Parish halls: We are very lucky in our group of parishes to have four excellent parish halls. However the demand for hall space in our community is growing all the time so if any group wishes to book one of the halls they must make sure to have group insurance in place and an up to date child protection policy if involved in a youth based activity. Groups must also agree to the fact that the hall may be needed unexpectedly for a parish event such as a funeral which will involve short notice. The clergy of the parish do not deal with hall bookings. The contact people in each parish are: Gorey Mrs. Patricia Masterson 0868683525; Ballycanew Mr. Clinton Furney 0879010211; Hollyfort Mrs. Noeleen Grannell 0863230561 and Leskinfere Mrs. Valerie Copeland 0870573656 Weddings: Anyone planning to marry in the parishes must contact the Rector prior to booking a hotel to save any difficulty with dates and must give the State 3 months’ notice in order to obtain a Marriage Registration Form. Garda Vetting: In order for anyone to assist in parish events where young people are involved they must complete a Garda Vetting form. Please contact the Rector for a form and advice on how to complete it. Only those who have completed Garda vetting and Safe Guarding Trust training can be permitted to assist in youth events in the parishes. Prayers: Your prayers are asked for all those who are unwell at this time. A good number of people are unwell and would appreciate our prayers. Please also remember those who are undergoing hospital treatment at the moment. Please do let the clergy know if a loved one is in hospital as it is no longer permitted by HSE regulations for hospital chaplains to inform parish clergy as to who is in hospital so if the parish clergy are not told by family then they cannot visit parishioners in hospital. As the school year has only just commenced there is not much news just yet to bring you. However a very warm welcome to all our new students especially all our new Junior Infants and those who have joined other classes up the school. We also welcome our new members of staff to the school. We will be bidding a fond farewell to our outgoing principal Mrs Sandra Horan on September 7th as this will be her last day in Gorey Central School. Sandra has given a huge amount to the school over the past 22 years and will leave a lasting legacy amongst us. On behalf of the staff, students, parents, the PTA and Board of Management we wish her every joy and success in the next new exciting chapter of her life and look forward to welcoming her back at the school harvest thanksgiving service. Mr. Matthew Bater is our new principal and we wish him every success as he takes on this important role within the life of the school and assure him of all our support and good wishes. Mr Bater takes on his new role on September 8th. Our new astro turf pitch is nearing completion as these notes are being written.