The Parish of Saint Catherine & Saint James with Saint Audoen
Canon Mark Gardner (Editor) Tel: 01 454 2274 Mobile 087 266 0228
Email: markgardner@eircom.net
Review Distribution: Margery Bell Tel: 01 4542067
Website: cja.dublin.anglican.org
Organist: Derek Moylan
Service times every Sunday
10.00 Eucharist, St Audoen, Cornmarket. (Parking in Francis Street is free on Sundays)
11.30 Eucharist (and Sunday School, in term time) St Catherine & St James, Donore Avenue. (Family Service and Church Coffee, usually Second Sundays)
Sunday School
Family Service in March was based on the theme of St Patrick. As well as two readings from the provisions in the Church of Ireland Directory for St Patrick’s Day, there was an excerpt from the Confessions of St Patrick, and a litany of praise culled from the internet. The readers were Muna and Camilla Anele, pupils at the High School Dublin, and Cletus Ogbata. Only a few of the children of the Sunday School were present as parents had arranged a birthday party that Sunday morning. How Sunday observance has changed! Special thanks to the volunteers who provided tea and coffee and lots of nice things to eat after the Family Service, at which we were delighted to welcome the young parents of triplets; and a couple who live nearby, one from Italy, the other from Brazil. It was the first time for all of them to come to St Catherine & St James Church and we hope they will want to come again. Any people interested in Sunday School are invited to get in touch with the Rector or with Adrienne Lee, Sunday School Superintendent.
Adrienne Lee http://playact.ie/about-me/
St Audoen’s Church
At time of writing, a peal attempt is expected, on St Patrick’s Day, by a visiting band of English ringers. We are glad of every event which puts St Audoen’s ‘on the map’. Work on the renewal of St Audoen’s Park, the former Churchyard, is about to begin. The aim is to make this area inhospitable to drug users and abusers. We do hope that this will succeed. Sadly, this will mean, that they simply move elsewhere. In the meantime, donations to the work of the Merchant’s Quay project and the Night Café there, continue to be collected in the Churches, and conveyed to Merchant’s Quay by Valerie Halford, Churchwarden, at the Church of St Catherine & St James. Particular thanks are due to the ringers at St Audoen’s, who have been so consistently generous in their contributions to the appeal for the Night Café at Merchant’s Quay.
St Catherine’s National School
Any handyperson out there? Dear Parents, We have had the services of an excellent handyman for small jobs in the school over the last few years. However due to family circumstances he is not available at the moment and may not be for some time. Would any of you be interested in this? It’s things like putting up shelves / hooks / wall-mounted appliances etc., changing light-bulbs, fixing wonky furniture, assembling flat-packs (some people love doing this apparently!) and so on. It’s only every now and then. We do pay for the jobs.
If you are not interested yourself, you may know someone who is. Please let us know, especially if you have had personal experience of employing the person and found him/her competent and reliable. Kind Regards, April. St. Catherine’s National School, Donore Avenue, Dublin 8 Tel: 01 4542679
www.stcatherinesns.net
info@stcatherinesns.net
St James’ Hospital
Work has begun on the new children’s hospital at St James’. Large sections of the campus have been screened off and the main staff car park has disappeared. The old red-brick chapel has also vanished. It has been said that it was taken brick by brick to somewhere in America but this may be a myth! In the meantime there is regularly a queue for the public car park, which is expensive to use. The Rector, as one of the Church of Ireland chaplains, is provided with a weekly list by the admissions office. Four members of staff sit there with four computer terminals and more than four telephones. Many names are written of a white board with a marker pen. Their work never ceases, in trying to get the names off the board and into a bed. Although they are so busy they never fail to provide a list of Church of Ireland, Church of England and Protestant patients quickly and with good humour. All those in hospital are included in the prayers at the services in the Parish Churches, although not by name. The names of service users (or patients) in St Patrick’s Hospital are kept completely confidential. The office provides the Rector with a list, which is returned to the office after visiting is complete. The Rector is only called to the Coombe Hospital by the resident Roman Catholic chaplains, both of them women, in the event of a tragedy. The Rector has only once been called to the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital but there are seldom any patients there overnight.
The Conservative Club
The Rector has been appointed chaplain of the Conservative Club, Camden Row. At its recent annual general meeting, several new members were appointed as office bearers. The chaplain was called upon to lead the prayers at the beginning and end of the meeting. The club is largely supported by rental income but may be faced with fundamental changes, such as offering associate membership to people who do not currently qualify for membership, and the introduction of a membership fee. Evidently many people enjoy the facilities of the club but cannot qualify for membership. Their inclusion may well be a source of strength to the club.
The Church Porch
Our new next-door neighbours are building an extension! It’s good to see old houses being used as family homes. Unfortunately a sub-contractor’s vehicle struck the projecting stonework and dislodged a large amount of brick and stone, which has been taken down. Reconstruction will be a skilled as well as an expensive task.
Mark Gardner
