Clontarf Parish, Church of St John the Baptist
Seafield Road West, Clontarf, Dublin 3 – a parish in the Anglican Communion
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Bring your family to enjoy a hearty, cooked breakfast with other members of our parish family next Sunday morning, in between the two services. No charge, but donations accepted for Christian Aid
Booking by email to the Rector would be appreciated, but is not necessary.
Our Annual General Vestry meeting takes place at 8pm on Wednesday 8th May in the Parish Centre.
This is similar in many ways to an AGM, when those present will hear a review of the main happenings of the past twelve months, get a chance to hear and discuss plans for the future, and be presented with the parish accounts for year ended 31st December 2018. The meeting will also elect members to the new Select Vestry (the management committee of the Parish) , People’s Church Warden (assists on Sunday mornings and other events) and Glebe’s Warden ( responsible for upkeep of Rectory & church grounds). The Rector will announce her choice for the appointments of Rector’s Church Warden and Rector’s Glebe’s Warden.
While only those on the official parish general register are entitled to vote (should a vote arise), everyone is welcome to attend and speak.
We hope to see a many families represented as possible, so whether you are new to the parish or a seasoned veteran; whether you are a regular worshipper or an occasional attender; whether you are very involved already or happy on the periphery, your presence is eagerly desired and will be greatly appreciated.
Coming along to the meeting does not mean you will be given a job or commit you to a deeper level of involvement than is comfortable for you! But please show your interest and a sense of ownership of our wonderful parish by coming along. It is anticipated that the meeting will last approximately an hour and there will be refreshments afterwards.
Our annual Lenten Lunch in aid of Tearfund takes place in the Parish Centre after the 10:30am service on Palm Sunday (14th April) – all welcome.
Tearfund boxes will be available at the back of the church for use during Lent. Tearfund will also be the beneficiary of the proceeds of our annual Palm Sunday soup lunch on 14 April this year. You can read all about their work in the developing world here https://www.tearfund.ie/
The annual service for Women’s World Day of Prayer will take place on Friday 1st March @ 3.30pm in our Parish Church on Seafield Road
Refreshments afterwards – all welcome
The judges of the 2019 Clontarf Choral Competition have been announced.
The judging panel will be chaired by the Rev. Dr. Anne-Marie O’Farrell, renowned composer and harpist. Anne-Marie has performed all over the world as a solo artist, accompanist and in ensembles, and is regularly broadcast on radio and television. She completed a PhD in composition with Piers Hellawell at Queen’s University Belfast and lectures in composition at the TU Conservatory of Music and Drama in Dublin.
Her compositional output includes an extensive body of orchestral, choral, vocal, chamber and instrumental works, and her music is used on examination syllabuses around the world. Her choral works have been performed by Chamber Choir Ireland, the BBC Singers, Cantique, Trinity Chapel Choir, and Christ Church Cathedral Choir. She is particularly interested in the role of sacred music in concert settings, and explores theological expression in her composition.
Anne-Marie will be joined on the panel by Bishop Trevor Williams and his wife Joyce. Trevor and Joyce both come from Dublin and moved to Belfast when Trevor became a Chaplain at Queens University Belfast. After Queen’s, Trevor was a Producer with BBC Northern Ireland where one of his responsibilities was to Produce Choral Evensong from Irish Cathedrals for BBC Radio 3. Following that, Trevor was Rector of several Parishes in Northern Ireland, a Canon of St Patrick’s Cathedral Dublin, and Leader for 10 years of Corrymeela- an ecumenical community committed to Reconciliation in Northern Ireland. He became Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe in 2008, and retired in 2014.
Joyce was born in Clontarf where she lived until she married Trevor and moved to UK (Her piano teacher was on Castle Avenue!). She enjoys music of all sorts. Her eldest son sings in the choir at St Martin in the Fields in London. Another son is a jazz guitarist in Newcastle on Tyne. A talented singer in her own right, Joyce is currently Chairperson of Voices Together Community Choir in Belfast.
The competition, which aims to encourage the performance and enjoyment of hymnody and religious songs, takes place in the Church of St. John the Baptist, Seafield Road, Clontarf, on Sunday 3rd March. The junior competition, to which admission is free, is at 3pm, with the senior competition beginning at 7pm – admission €5. Choirs from around Dublin, Meath, Wicklow and Tipperary have entered and will each perform two pieces – one from a set list and the other a choice of their own.
This Sunday, 17th February, 4:30-6pm in the Parish Centre, for all secondary school age young people. There’ll be pizza!
NB Parents/Guardians of first time attendees must fill out a registration form on drop-offN
An exploration of Paul’s letters to the Corinthians resumes on 30th January in
St John’s (RC) Parish Centre on Clontarf Road, and continues on 6th February (Seafield Road), 20th February (Clontarf Road), 27th February (Seafield Road), 13th March (Clontarf Road), and 20th March (Seafield Road),
Join us for our tree-lighting ceremony on Saturday 1st December. There will be lantern making for the children – bring a jam jar! – as well as goodies, face painting, and a movie. We’ll have mulled wine & gur cake for the adults.
There’ll be lots of fun for all the family, with cash donations in aid of the Simon Community being gladly accepted
Another series of our Ecumenical Bible Study, alternating between our Parish Centre on Seafield Road and St John’s (RC) Parish Centre on Clontarf Road, begins on Wednesday 21st November (Clontarf Road), and continues on 28th November (Seafield Road), 5th December (Clontarf Road), and 12th December (Seafield Road),
We will be beginning an exploration of Paul’s letters to the Corinthians.