Rev Michael Cavanagh +353 (0)858 533 173
Christmas 2023 Services and Events

Christmas 2023 Services and Events

Christmas 2023

Service times and events around our diocese

All events

Easter Market

Easter Market

Easter MarketCaherdaniel, near the Blind Piper SATURDAY 30th March 2024 10:00Proceeds to go to Relief Funds (Gaza) and for essential repairs in our church.   All welcome, as are gifts of bric-a-brac...

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Praying Together 24th September 2023

Praying Together 24th September 2023

a man opening a door

Collect for Trinity 16

O Lord, Hear the prayers of your people who call upon you; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil them; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Philippians 1: 21-30

Matthew 20: 1-16

Doesn’t seem fair, does it? We’re taught that hard work brings its rewards – and it does. The ones who worked all day go the reward they had agreed that morning – and no doubt they were delighted to be offered work for the whole day. Then at the day’s end, they saw the last workers being paid and thought they would get more. But they didn’t, and felt they were victims of injustice.

There are people who as young people confessed Jesus as Christ and Lord and gave their whole lives to His mission, often at great personal sacrifice. They will certainly receive their promised reward of a welcome into the Kingdom of Heaven. There are those who spent their lives without Him, and who only came to faith at the end of their lives. They too will share in that Kingdom.

Is God unjust to receive them? Should the latter group endure some form of purgatory – a sort of halfway house between earth and heaven – with a duration commensurate to the length of their secular lives? It would seem to be only fair.

Unfortunately for those who think so – and thankfully for sinners, that’s not what the Gospel says.

One of the criminals crucified next to Him asked Jesus to remember him when He comes into His Kingdom. Jesus replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’
Luke 23:42,43

Heavenly Father, help us to work to accomplish your will for us according to our individual gifts without comparing ourselves to others. Help us to acknowledge our own failures and avoid condemning others for theirs. And to know that the only reward we must seek is the knowledge that we do your will.

Teach us, good Lord,
To serve thee as thou deservest;
To give and not to count the cost;
To fight and not to heed the wounds;
To toil and not for seek for rest;
To labour and not to ask for any reward
Save that of knowing that we do thy will.
St Ignatius Loyola

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Praying Together 3rd September 2023

Praying Together 3rd September 2023

A tree growing on a rock

Collect for Trinity 13

Almighty God, who called your Church to bear witness that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself: Help us to proclaim the good news of your love, that all who hear it may be drawn to you; through him who was lifted up on the cross, and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

George VI, 3 September 1939, speaking after the Declaration of war

“In this grave hour, perhaps the most fateful in our history, for the second time in the lives of most of us we are at war. Over and over again we have tried to find a peaceful way out of the differences between ourselves and those who are now our enemies. But it has been in vain. The task will be hard. There may be dark days ahead and war is no longer confined to the battlefield.”

… but War has never been confined to the battlefield. It’s never the armed forces alone who will suffer the consequences. Families, communities, civilians, children and generations yet unborn – all of these will feel the long-term effects of conflict. Allegiances will be made and broken, loyalties tested and betrayed.

And the Satan feeds and grows fat on the human pain.

Essentially, I believe that the root cause of all conflict is personal greed; the desire to want more than a neighbour and to exercise power over them. And as a result of the struggle, revenge will feed revenge in an endless cycle through generations. Even though we know that in the end, there can never be a victory through violence. ‘Those who want to save their life will lose it’, said Jesus, but though people hear Him, they don’t actually listen. ‘If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink’ ??? You’ve got to be joking!!!!

Let there be peace on Earth? We know the answer. I know it begins with me. But I’ll wait until someone else takes the first step. And so the wars will go on.

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Christmas 2022 Services and Events

Christmas 2022 Services and Events

Christmas 2022

Service times and events around our diocese

All events

Easter Market

Easter Market

Easter MarketCaherdaniel, near the Blind Piper SATURDAY 30th March 2024 10:00Proceeds to go to Relief Funds (Gaza) and for essential repairs in our church.   All welcome, as are gifts of bric-a-brac...

read more
An Ordination at St Michael and All Angels, Waterville

An Ordination at St Michael and All Angels, Waterville

hands forming a circle of support

On Thursday last, 29th September – the feast of Michaelmas – members of all four churches of our Union joined together to witness The Reverend Barbara Irrgang-Buckley being ordained Priest by the Bishop of Tuam Limerick and Killaloe, the Right Reverend Michael Burrows. This was made even more special, since it was the first ordination held in the history of the church of St Michael and All Angels Waterville, consecrated in 1866. The following is an extract of the service, and please, when you read it, pray for Barbara and her future ministry.

Revelation 12:7-12 – Michael Defeats the Dragon

And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him…

…woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you with great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!’

****

ordination picture collage

 

The war in heaven is won – the war on earth is still raging. And now, welcome to the front line, Barbara. You’re now the bullseye at the centre, the target of the slings and flaming arrows of outrageous fortune as you lead people in their worship and service in the name of Christ.

The biggest mistake you can make will be to try to do everything in your own strength. That’s not why you have been ordained. We are all part of God’s army, each playing our part. The leadership to which you are called is servant leadership – using your gifts to enable those you lead to deploy their own.

Fortunately, you have all the resource you need. You have truth and faith; you have a gospel of forgiveness, salvation and peace to proclaim; you have the Word of God in scripture; you have been given the gift of prayerful understanding of your mission.

But for me, there is one gift above all. When I was a boy, playing soldiers, I would wear a pretend tin helmet, as a defence.  All sorts of things will attack you over the course of your ministry – some irritating, some difficult, some hurtful. But the helmet of salvation through Jesus Christ that we wear will sustain you and encourage you through the strength of the Holy Spirit, and through your Ministry, you will build His Kingdom.

A short postscript. It’s not all hard going – the joy of ministry, seeing people come to Christ, helping His people to live the Gospel in their lives, obeying the commandment to love as He loves, all of these things, will be a continual blessing that far outreaches any difficulty. And, God willing, one day you will have the special blessing of preaching a sermon at the Ordination of a new colleague.

Just open your eyes, live your ministry life with confidence – but don’t ever let go of His hand.

St Patrick’s Church Project 2070

St Patrick’s Church Project 2070

Since 1858, St Patrick’s Church Kenmare has been a place of workshop, ministry and welcome to all, whoever they may be, from wherever they come.  This has become increasingly important over the last few years, as the town has become a major international tourist attraction, situatuated not only on the Wild Atlantic Way but also forming the ‘jewel’ in the ring of Kerry and a gateway to the ring of Beara. The regular congregation itself is equally multinational, with current membership including no less than eight different birth nations – and in the tourist season, we share worship and fellowship with tours from countries all over the world.

We now wish to further develop the use of our beautiful historic building as an asset for the wider community, to host concerts and presentations; and we have received planning permission to extend the church in order to provide suitably accessible toilet and entrance facilities.

This plan requires a major funding programme to achieve the target cost of nearly €300,000 – and to put it bluntly, in the current economic climate, despite a number of funding initiatives, we will struggle to raise that kind of sum on our own.

We therefore are asking you to prayerfully consider helping us financially, either in person by coming a ‘Friend of St. Patrick’ or, as a Church, perhaps creating a twinning arrangement.  In either case, in turn we shall provide regular updates on the building programme and reports on the various events – and most of all, invite you to visit and share worship and fellowship in this most beautiful part of the world.

 

inside-st-patricks-kenmare

Can you help us?

   

CHURCH OF IRELAND “PROJECT 2070”


IBAN: IE64 AIBK 9363 2417 5658 90

BIC: AIBKIE2D

   

Charity Registered in Ireland 20015688