Hollyfort Gorey Leskinfere Ballycanew Parish Newsletter November 2017 Congratulations to John and Sandra Rathwell on the birth of their daughter Jessica; to Jamie Milne and Rozie Syme whose daughter Isla was baptised in St. Luke’s Church Leskinfere on October 1st last; to Rachel Furney and Barry Banbrick who were married in St. Mogue’s Church Ballycanew on November 3rd last; to Rachel Byrne and Simon Whelan who were married in Christ Church Gorey on November 4th last. The condolences of the parishes are extended to the Bolger and O’Gorman families on the recent passing of Garda Anne Marie O’Gorman who passed away recently: the condolences of the parishes are extended to Mrs Christian O’Morchoe and her family on the recent passing of her mother Mrs. Alison Forbes in Britain; the condolences of the parishes are extended to the Warren family on the recent passing of Mr. David Warren. David was well known to many in the area and was truly a joy to know. His memorial service took place in Christ Church Gorey on October 21st last; the condolences of the parishes are extended to the Marshall family on the recent passing of Mr Paul ‘Marsh’ Marshall who passed away after a long illness. Marsh celebrated his 60th birthday in the days before his passing and everyone is devastated at his passing. His funeral service took place in Christ Church Gorey on October 25th last. Due to the retirement of Canon Roger Harmsworth during the summer a number of clerical changes in the Cathedral chapter have been announced. The Rev’d Ruth Elmes has been appointed to the chapter and every congratulations to Canon Elmes. The Chancellor of the Cathedral Canon Hayden has been appointed Precentor, the Treasurer Canon Minion becomes Chancellor and Canon Stephenson becomes Treasurer. The installation of canons will take place in St. Edan’s Cathedral on Sunday December 10th at 5pm during the Diocesan Advent Service and all are welcome to come along and wish the new chapter well. The guest preacher is the Very Reverend Tom Gordon, Dean of Leighlin. 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: Sunday November 12th Annual Remembrance Service Christ Church Gorey 10.30am. Wednesday November 29th Gorey District Hospital Remembrance Service Christ Church Gorey 7.30pm. Tuesday December 5th Taizé Service Ballycanew Old School 7pm. Preacher; Bishop Burrows. Wednesday December 6th Gorey Parish Christmas Bazaar from 7pm. Sunday December 10th Gorey/Hollyfort MU and Gorey Parish Christmas Lunch in Eco Restaurant Gorey. 12.30 for 1pm. Booking is essential. 0539421100; Diocesan Advent service and installation of canons in St. Edan’s Cathedral Ferns 5pm. Saturday December 16th Gorey Children’s Party 5pm; Leskinfere Children’s Party 7pm. Sunday December 17th St. Luke’s Leskinfere Carol Service 7pm. Thursday December 21st Gorey Central School Carol Service 7pm. Sunday December 24th St. John’s Hollyfort Carol Service 10.15am; Christ Church Gorey Carol Service 11.30am; Christmas Eve Holy Communion Service St. Mogue’s Ballycanew 8pm. Christmas Day: Christ Church Gorey Holy Communion Service 8.30am; St. Luke’s Leskinfere Holy Communion Service 10am; St. John’s Hollyfort Holy Communion Service 10am; Christ Church Gorey Holy Communion Service 11.30am. First Sunday after Christmas December 31st: Holy Communion Service Gorey 8.30am; Carol Service Ballycanew 7pm. No other services this day. Episcopal visit: it was very nice to welcome Bishop Burrows to the group of parishes on October 29th last. Bishop Burrows celebrated Holy Communion in Christ Church Gorey at 8.30am, St. Luke’s Leskinfere at 10.15am and in St. Mogue’s Ballycanew at 11.30am. As Bishop Burrows preached at the harvest service in St. John’s Hollyfort last October this means he has taken a service in each of our churches within the last 12 months. Given his huge workload it means a great deal to us all that he makes so much time for parochial visits. 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/Monaseed Parish. Sadly this year we will have a number of our own service personnel to remember given the loss of the crew of Rescue 116 in March and the recent passing of Gorey based Garda Anne Marie O’Gorman. All are welcome to attend this important ecumenical service. Mother’s Union: the Gorey and Hollyfort Mothers Union branch first event was a cinema outing to see Victoria and Abdul in Gorey Cinema on September 28th last. Leskinfere/Ballycanew/Monamolin branch sang harvest hymns in the local nursing homes in October and were warmly received. All age choir: the new all age choir progressing well within the group of parishes rehearsals take place in Christ Church Gorey. Future dates (which may change) are as follows: November 2nd, 16th and 30th and December 14th. Rehearsals are from 7.30-8.30pm. All are welcome to come along and see what it is all about. 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. A very successful number of meetings have taken place recently and 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. As the diocese will hopefully be supporting the venture we need to have our proposal fully worked out in order to secure funding. Hurricane/Storm Ophelia: despite the amount of damage in the area, the churches and halls escaped relatively unscathed. A number of tiles were dislodged on Christ Church Gorey and these are in the process of being replaced. 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. 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. Groups must understand that parish events at short notice may take precedence over booked events. 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. Safe Guarding Trust: the training evening scheduled for October 16th last had to be postponed due to the nationwide red weather alert. It is hoped to reschedule this important training as soon as possible as a large number of people in the area need to either undertake training or to refresh their training in our churches child protection policy. A new date will be made known as soon as possible. Catherine Fulvio Cookery Demonstration: Catherine Fulvio will host a cookery demonstration on Thursday 9th November in Seafield Hotel. Artisan food and craft fair from 6:45pm. Cookery demonstration @ 7:45pm. All proceeds in aid of Gorey Hockey Club Pitch Fund. Tickets €20 and are available from Alan Redmond Butchers, John Street, Gorey, any club member or phone 087 2733709 / 087 2628048. Please do support this important fund raiser if you can. Gorey Hockey Club members are working hard to provide a playing area that will be worthy of the hard work and commitment of all the players and supporters. 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.