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Vol 10 No 7 Page 2 December 2004
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The Parish Church
Two important improvements
have been effected in the church: A new amplification system,
including a loop system, has been installed. This has significantly
improved the level of audibility in the church especially under and
on the gallery.
The vestry has also been refurbished and a new security safe and
furniture provided. This will make the vestry much more user
friendly to clergy, and to the hard working church wardens in their
Sunday duties.
Our thanks to Nigel Russell who crafted the furniture and to John
Keeley who did the preparatory work, plumbing and painting.
Perhaps a parishioner might like to contribute to one of the above
in memory of loved ones.
Church and Church Grounds
Clean-Up
Regular routine maintenance is a good recipe for trouble-free
property management. Accordingly, now that the autumn leaves have
fallen, the Select Vestry asks for your help as we come together on
Saturday 27th November 2004 to do a "cleanup" of the Church, Halls
and grounds.
Please come along and bring brush and rake, shovel and barrow, mop
and duster, and ladders. Many hands will spread the workload and
make the task that much easier.
Please lend your support. Rector
Use of Church Grounds
In order to maintain a safe environment and respectable use of the
Church grounds and graveyard, the Select Vestry is anxious that all
car users drive at moderate speed in the driveways and park with
caution.
This is particularly important due to the number of pedestrians,
children and adults, using the grounds. Furthermore the Select
Vestry, in noting that the Church grounds are consecrated ground
and are primarily a resting place for the faithful departed, asks
parents/minders/guardians to ensure that children are supervised at
all times in any part of the Church grounds. No part of the
graveyard sections should be used for informal "playground"
purposes, out of respect for the purpose for which they have been
consecrated.
Parking in the Church Grounds
An area to the right of the Church Cottage has been designated as
car parking spaces for people with disability. We hope this will
allow for people to dismount near the wheelchair ramp and for cars
to be parked nearby. Please leave these two spaces free for those
with disability. When one considers the difficulty of wheelchair
movement on the gravel forecourt of the church it suggests that at
some future stage the whole forecourt and driveways will need to
have tarmac laid. We would also appreciate your co-operation in
keeping the area in front of the church cottage, which is let as a
residence, free of cars so that Rachel can enjoy freedom to come
and go in her car.
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No Time for God?
Time was when I didn't. I was to busy, my job didn’t allow
me, I was too tired to go to church on Sundays. Anyway I got
nothing from going and life was OK - I didn’t even need God
in my life. Up to my early 20’s I had gone regularly, albeit
on the insistence of my parents (haven’t times changed!), but
as soon as I was out from under the parental influence, religion
took something of a back seat in my life. There were occasional
visits, but often these had more of an “entertainment”
value than a theological one.
Those early experiences of church life had also led me to believe
that if ever I showed the smallest interest in attending services,
I would be immediately called upon to involve myself in some
organisation or other – Sunday school, men’s discussion
group, Bible study group, and I sure wasn’t interested in any
of that. I might even be asked to read one of the lessons!
Looking back I feel a little embarrassed at having taken this
line. As a youngster, I had found myself in trouble of one kind or
another on several occasions and I remember making all sorts of
promises to God if he just got me out of this particular mess. He
always did, but I soon forgot my promises (plus ça change).
Not only had I those experiences, but life wasn’t bad, and I
had much to be thankful for. Although I usually, but not always
took time to thank people for gifts or invites or support for some
project, I didn’t find it necessary to take even an hour a
week to give thanks to God.
A diverse series of encounters had a profound effect on my life,
and now I attend church pretty regularly. The more I go the more I
get out of going and often the week is better as a result. Today
more than ever in our secular society, God has been displaced in
our lives. The closest connection many people will have with church
is when it appears in a scene in a television soap opera. Then it
is usually the setting for some anger making scene, or some
unlikely dramatic incident such as the appearance at a wedding of a
previously thought dead spouse. Rarely it is an occasion of joy or
happiness. The BBC programme, “Songs of Praise”, is
very popular in Britain, but I wonder how many people in this
country watch it or any other similar programme?
In contemporary society, it has become unfashionable to discuss
faith or God, or go to church. The scandals of recent years have
done great harm to the name of Jesus Christ and to the credibility
of the church. God and the church are easy targets and easy to
dismiss and its enemies and the apathetic have now been further
empowered.
“If God really cared, why is there so much death and
destruction in the world today?“ “I went to church once
and it was boring and we got a lecture”. There are answers
and church doesn’t have to be boring.
Recently two sermons in Kilternan have given me pause for thought.
One was on the occasion of the Bishop’s Appeal, given by
Terry Lilburn, the parish reader and the other by the rector.
Preached from the altar steps and without notes, the latter was a
real wake-up call to all of us as to how we view our church and the
community in which it is set. If it is some time since you came to
church or if you don’t come very often, how about giving God
just a little of YOUR time? There are 8,736 hours in a year:
attending a service or for example, helping with the Sunday Club
just once a month would represent 0.14% of that time! Take an hour
out from the frenetic pace of life; to give thanks, to meet with
friends or make new ones, maybe to re-connect with something you
once experienced. You can always video the omnibus edition of C_ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ n S_ _ _ _ t, and to borrow a recent advertising slogan
“ Before you make up your mind – open it!
if your name is Simon Cowell -
don't read on!!!
Talent Wanted It is hoped that
the parish will hold a Variety Show in February, with the exact
date soon to be determined.
With this in mind, there is a need to glean from the parish and
its surrounds, a team of theatrically minded individuals to oversee
this project.
It is hoped to appeal to each of the parish organisations to 'do a
turn' along with some of the talented individuals amongst us. In
this way all will be involved in what will be an extravaganza of
epic proportions.
It is also hoped that this will be a night out for all the family,
in a good wholesome tradition.
So we are seeking two things:
Experienced and / or willing agents to manage the show and
Potential acts to amaze, delight and entertain.
For the moment the Rectory Talent Agency will accept your calls on
this one.
(It always brightens Isabel's day to have a little song sung to her
over the 'phone!)
Wanted Bottles Etc.
As you may know the church in Kilternan has a very special
relationship with the Glenindare Nursing Home.
On the 4th of December, there will be a sale in Glenindare, 202
Merrion Rd. The proceeds of this will be used to provide the
residents of the home with little gifts for Christmas. With this in
mind, I would ask if anyone has anything they could donate to the
bottle stall, I would be grateful. Aside from the usual wine,
minerals etc, I would gladly accept talc, body lotions or anything
that could be placed on top of a card.
Donations may be brought to the church on Sundays, dropped in at
the Rectory, or 'phone for collection.
Thank you for your assistance.
Ruth Elmes 086 8406602
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MAY IS COMING
As you will be well aware, Christmas is approaching and all that
goes with it. Could you just for a moment, cast your mind towards
the early days of Summer and the Parish Fete!
As usual this will be in early May and it is hoped that there can
be a committee established that will deal the essential but mundane
aspects of the early organisation.
There are a number of different positions to be filled. These
include:
Event Manager
Publicity
Desk Top Publishing - posters, fliers etc.
Security
Site Management
Finance
If you don't feel up to volunteering for any of these
specifically, perhaps you could let your name go forward to assist
with the planning of this important fund raiser. Please bear in
mind that there will be lots of stalls in May that would be glad of
your unwanted Christmas presents or will gladly take the proceeds
of your January clear out. Do consider getting involved, as it will
be easier to run and manage, the earlier it gets started
(Further details may be had from the Rectory 295 2643)
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