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Vol 10 No 6 Page 2 Sept. 2004
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Parish Development
A submission recently made to Diocesan Councils and the Representative
Church Body by the Select Vestry of Kilternan Parish opens as follows:
"Sale of existing Rectory and Rectory grounds; Building of new Rectory on
Glebe lands; Building of Parish/Community Hall Complex.
Objective: To facilitate the future mission and ministry of Kilternan Parish the Select
Vestry desires to upgrade the present Parish Hall, built in 1837, by
erecting a Parish/Community Hall. This endeavour is now urgent due to
the development in the area of substantial housing, and commercial and
industrial units. The development will entail renovating the existing hall,
a protected structure, and building a substantial extension to include a
major hall, meeting rooms, creche, office, kitchen and services..........."
Following some forty years of deliberations concerning the provision of
adequate hall facilities we now find ourselves financially able to commit to
the task. Rezoning of the Rectory Site and a Parish field to "residential"
has opened up the way for the sale of the existing Rectory and grounds
at commercial rates. The money received from the sale will, we hope, be
sufficient to undertake the building of a Parish/Community Centre as
above and a new Rectory in the first field behind the proposed Cowper
Care Centre. This parochial development necessitates considerable
ongoing planning and discussions with Diocesan Council, the
Representative Church Body and professional bodies. Strange as it may
seem the delay in providing a new parish hall now works in our favour, as
anything built even 10 to 15 years ago could not have envisaged the
enormous development now taking place in this area and the challenges
and opportunities afforded to us.
A meeting will be held later in the autumn so that all parishioners can be fully informed as to the progress
of our development.
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Snippets
The letters MU bring to one's mind the Mothers' Union, but today, on the
back of an imported Isuzu Trooper I saw the same big blue letters MU,
but underneath in smaller print "mysterious utility"!!
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Safeguarding Trust:
Once again at the start of another year for Church
and organisations all groups are reminded of the essential role of
safeguarding trust, a code of best practice for use with all children and
people with disabilities. This code safeguards both workers and leaders
of organisations as well as the young people in their charge. Failure to
observe the code will nullify Parish insurances. A meeting of all Hall users
and group leaders will be called in early autumn and attendance will be
essential.
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CPAS WEEKEND IN KILTERNAN
Friday and Saturday the 8th and 9th of October 2004. Rev. Paul Hoey of
CPAS, the Church Pastoral Aid Society, will come to the Parish to help us
in our understanding and living out of our Christian faith and witness.
We will be joined by parishioners from St. Matthias and Rathmichael. Do
please include this in your diary of "musts and not to be missed".
Friday 8th at 8 p.m. Sharing our Christian Faith in the Family. Parents,
grandparents and godparents are most welcome.
Saturday 9th - 10 a.m. to 12 noon - Enabling Sunday School Leaders.
Saturday 9th - 2,30 to 3.30 p.m. Holiday Club for 4 to 12 year olds. A special invitation to those who enjoyed the
July Holiday Club in St Matthias, and to others, to come along.
SAMARITAN'S PURSE - SUMMER CAMP ROMANIA
This year a summer camp was held in the Retezat Mountains at the gate
of the National Park in Romania. A team from St. Mark's Church Dublin
and a team of volunteers from all over Ireland spent nearly two weeks at
the camp. Miraculously, the teams survived a 12-hour stunt-bus journey
through scorching heat, thunder and lightning and arrived at camp,
extremely tired but very happy to be there!
The 88 children came from poor families in Bucharest, Cluj, Timisora,
Turda and other towns and had a wonderful time. From dawn until way
after the wonderful starry sky appeared at night the children were kept
busy with sports, games, arts crafts, face-painting, balloon modelling,
swimming in the river, bonfires, talent shows, etc. Each day they learnt
Christian songs in Romanian and we taught many Bible stories with
drama as well. The children responded wonderfully to the message that
Jesus loves them and that He cares for them. So many come from
dysfunctional families and many had heartbreaking stories to tell. It was
so rewarding to show them God's love and to see our prayers for them
being answered.
This holiday was indeed a holiday of a lifetime for these children but
amazingly each volunteer who goes expecting to give so much to these
children finds that in the end they themselves have received so much.
One volunteer wrote afterwards and told me that "neither maize, snakes
or lizards would keep her away from camp next year!".
Carol Hennessey Samaritan's Purse - Ireland
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Making A Difference
"Let your light so shine before men so that they may see your good
works and glorify your Father who is in heaven"
Christian Stewardship is not a new concept but it does offer each one of
us an opportunity to make a difference to others in a real and practical
way and turns faith into a living faith. It takes the three themes of Time,
Talent, and Treasure. All too often we are put off making a contribution
or offering assistance because we feel we have nothing worthwhile to
give or we don't know how to go about it. In our society EVERYONE has
something to give, it is just a matter of matching that gift with a need
and committing to that promise. We would like to build a database of
people willing to commit to giving one or more of the three T's with a view
to matching those commitments with a need. With the huge variety of
talent, interest, and experience available to us today, this presents a
genuine opportunity to make a difference to the community, in which we
work and live, and indeed to the wider world.
"Faith without deeds is useless"
Q.I really am busy. I have a full time job, and two children to raise.
Finances are tight; I give what I can in terms of money to the church,
what more can I do? A. If you have ever attended a funeral, especially
someone close, you will know the feeling that comes with having the
support of others. Try to imagine how you would feel if each of those
people said "I won't be missed, I'm not going to go". Your presence
alone, in church at any of the services will make a difference. Q. I don't go
to church very often because I find I don't get much from it. A. Like any
activity, the more you put in the more you will get out. How about
becoming more involved by reading one of the lessons on a Sunday
morning? There is no financial commitment; practising the reading during
the week will take between half an hour and an hour, depending on
yourself and your experience. We can provide coaching in reading if you
would like it. Q. I'm too shy/nervous to read in church, is there anything
else I could do? A. Sunday Club leader, youth leader, church warden,
support one or more of the parish clubs or organisations, join the Sunday
morning coffee rota, (1 hour, twice a month) support the annual
spring-clean, (2/3 hours, once a year) join the choir, serve tea and
biscuits in Glenandaire nursing home, (2 hours, once a month), launder
the purificators used for communion (ę hour once every two weeks).
Where times are given they are approximate, the frequency is the overall
requirement - you don't have to sign up for every time slot in the year!
"A candle loses nothing of its own light by giving light to others "
Everybody can DO something, and today's world offers hundreds of
opportunities to share your skill or knowledge with others or put that
talent to use. Sharing a skill or using it will usually involve giving of your
time also, but remember it doesn't have to involve more than you are
prepared to give. Half an hour or an hour after service on a Sunday
morning could be profitably filled. You can use your own home or meet in
a neutral venue. Here are just a few suggestions, but please remember
the scope of this is only limited to your imagination. It is also a two-way
process. You may have something to offer but you can also avail of
another's talent. I would like to learn about I would be prepared to
use my talent/time/contacts to organise/teach/help with The sky at
night Basic computer skills and word processing Basic baking/cooking
skills How to use the internet and e-mails Household
budgets/finances on computer Visit a synagogue for a service How to
milk a goat Growing plants from seed How to play chess/
bridge/snooker Food and wine matching Fear- busting Arrange a
soirČe Contemplative prayer Home services for those who find it
difficult to How to use a mobile phone (properly!) get out and about
or have other difficulties (E.g. Hairdressing, manicure/pedicure, letter
writing, minor household repairs)
These are only suggestions, if you don't see your particular need or
talent listed, please contact one of the co-ordinators to have it included.
The idea is to complement existing services rather than compete or
interfere with existing programmes. Giving can encompass a social
dimension and it can be enjoyable, but the idea is that we make a
difference instead of being indifferent. "To those to whom much is given,
much will be expected" Initially community or locally based, such a
programme could be widened and the scale and scope of the projects
enlarged.
"Cast your bread upon the water and it will return unto you an
hundred-fold"
For those people who would like to be less involved in an interactive
social dimension there is still an opportunity to make a difference. In our
modern, and in this country affluent society, it appears that we are
continually being asked to donate money to some organisation or other.
There can be very few charities that cannot lay claim to being "a good
cause". The church, the local community, and the international
community, of which we are a part, need your support. Giving, if it is
planned, structured and committed can be so much more effective than
spontaneous once-off gifts although these are very welcome too. There
are many ways of giving of our treasure. - Donating each Sunday to the
collection - Covenanting through the envelope scheme (Increases the
value of your gift by being tax effective) - Sponsoring a particular
project e.g. The new amplification system - Sponsoring part of a project
e.g. Purchasing one or more prayer books for use in the church
- Planned giving through Lent for a particular project e.g. The Leprosy
Mission - Supporting the Bishop's Appeal
Remember that which may be worthless to you may be treasure to
someone else. Used postage stamps are still sought by buyers and can
be turned into money. Old gardening tools, sewing machines and
computers can all be refurbished and sent to 3rd world countries. 25 two
litre plastic bottles can be recycled into a fleece jacket and every
aluminium drinks can turned into a new one.
"The work that we do is but a drop in the ocean, but if that drop were
not there it would be missed"
Over the next few months it is hoped to launch some new initiatives in
the parish. In the meantime if you would like to know something more
about the "Making a difference" programme, please contact Terry Lilburn
at 01 2600 003.
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