CARRIGROHANE UNION OF PARISHES

St Peter’s, Carrigrohane St Senan’s, Inniscarra

The Church of the Resurrection, Blarney

www.cupcork.ie 021-4877260

- January 2014

‘Lift up your head O ye gates and be lifted up O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in.’

Sunday afternoon, 3rd Nov, saw St Senan’s, Inniscarra packed for the d e d i c a t i o n s e r v i c e o f The Glade…those attending being folk from the parish, from the surround-ing community and visitors with links

to the parish going back over generations. It was a wonderfully uplifting, happy service (Matthew Watson & Heather Lane having just announced their engagement!), with rousing singing and music, together with an excellent sermon from Bishop Paul. Many of those present had contributed to the pro-ject in various practical ways – and Inniscarra folk would like to express their gratitude to all in the Union and neighbourhood who helped in any way, not least the Select Vestry who were unanimously behind the project since its inception. Already the build is making a difference on Sundays. As well as the relief provided by having a loo (!), people tend to stay on over coffee and chat long after the service is over. The bishop reminded us that the

meaning of Glade is a clearing in a wood, a peaceful, tranquil space – and it is our prayer that those in the parish

and further afield who will use our new facility will find it to be exactly that. Congratulations

Matthew &

Heather !

CUP VISION AND DEVELOPMENT “centred on the Life and Teaching of Jesus”. Vision and Development Group ( VDG): Ian, Robert, Matt. Katie, Richard, Lucia, April, Rosemary, Matthew, Bill and Ivan

“SHAPING THE FUTURE” “The Church is…God’s experimental garden on earth, a fragment of the reign of God, having the first fruits of the Spirit….” David Bosch “Transforming Mission” A gardener’s work is never done. The same is true in God’s “experimental garden” as David Bosch describes the church, and Carrigrohane Union is no exception as we have been blessed in the areas of: “UP” the variety of worship; IN the generosity of heart that pervades our relationships, and OUT our desire to share the Good News with others. From year to year God has been at work amongst us, and we have much to be grateful for. So it would be tempting to simply carry on tending “the garden” in all of its familiarity and look for more of His blessing. But the feedback from the surveys many completed in the Vision and Development process in 2013 makes it apparent that our garden needs attention. The vision that has brought us thus far so well (and the VDG has been very aware of this) needs to be renewed in the light of a very different world and new emerging patterns of church life. So for the VDG 2013 was a time of preparing the soil, and we now invite everyone to be part of the next stage as we share together and listen to God for a vision for our future. Our desire is to grow those “first fruits” of the Kingdom of God, in ways which capture the natural rhythms and seasons that God uses in the natural world, which is always changing. And as nature co-operates in that process of change, we are too - in a way that requires imagination and careful preparation. To help us, Philip Potter in his book “The Challenge of Change”, gives us six things for each of us to consider, if we as Carrigrohane Union are to embrace a new Vision of what God wants.

Open to everyone who is working with

young people. Main speaker: Amy

McCrea—the Southern Regional Youth

Officer with the Church of Ireland Youth

Department—helping us explore how we

can grow in our own faith, how we help

young people to grow in their faith—and

share their faith. With training and time

to catch up with other youth leaders—

great meals, spa & plenty of craic! 120

euro (wages) or 60 euro (unwages) - includes 2 dinners, 2 nights accommoda-

tion with breakfasts, 1 lunch and access to pool & leisure centre.

Booking forms on www.cdyc.ie.

New Wine Summer Conference —from 6-11 July 2014 in Sligo

Featuring David Parker, Mark Bailey, David McClay

& more…www.newwineireland.org

Booking forms in the churches. Quite early rates end on 30 May

Prayer Matters Please pray for…

• For Matthew & Heather as they begin to plan

their wedding

• The families with new babies!

• Those who are ill, especially Jim Walsh

—for his continued improvement

• Those who face challenges in 2014

• The peoples of the Philippines & Syria

Thank you to everyone who came &

supported the Tearfund Christmas

Market on 30 November. The team realized their

goal of 4000 euro! Congratulations to them

on another wonderful event!

CONGRATULATIONS! ...to Eleanor & Alex Hosford on the birth of a new grandson, Andrew (his dad is Mark!)

...and to Matt & Katie, Charlie & Noah on the safe arrival of Leila Grace on 9 December.

Thank you To everyone for such

generous giving during 2013.

Stewardship envelopes for

2014 are available in the

churches. Please put your

name by the number of enve-

lope so tax can be reclaimed. (Pink 18 for 2013 is still un-known to the office ?????)

Parish Contacts:

Rector: Canon Ian Jonas – 4871106 email: revianjonas@yahoo.co.uk Associate Minister: Rev Robert Ferris—4516620 email: robert@cupcork.ie

Parish Office: 4877260 (Mon-Fri mornings) email: office@cupcork.ie Youth Workers: Matt Gould: 085 1080067 & Katie Gould: 085 1080030) email: matt@cupcork.ie, katie@cupcork.ie

Parish website: www.cupcork.ie

We change the answer machine message at the beginning of each week— and include the times of the services for the following Sunday.

JANUARY 2014

Office opening hours:

Mon & Fri 9.30am-3.30pm, with Tues & Thurs remaining at

9.30am-12.30pm and the office is closed on Wednesdays.

EVENTS

Fri 3 Jan—Parish Office open again!

Sat 4 Jan—10am-12 noon, Men’s Techshed, Parish Cen-tre

Tues 7 Jan—10am-12 noon Toddlers resume in Blarney

Fri 10 Jan—10.15-11.45am Toddlers resume in Parish Centre

Mon 13 Jan—Select Vestry, 8pm in the Parish Centre

Fri 17 Jan—Glow, 7-9pm, Parish Centre

Sat 25 Jan—Annual Ladies’ Luncheon in the Parish Centre at 1pm—a fundraising event in aid of the Teso Development Trust

Fri 31 Jan—Glow Max, 7.30-9.30pm in the Parish Centre

SERVICES

Sun 5 Jan—9am, St Peter’s, Carrigrohane & 11am, United Celebration, Parish Centre followed by a bring & share lunch

(Carrigrohane bringing mains/savouries; Inniscarra bringing veg/salads;

Blarney bringing desserts) Sun 12 Jan—9am & 10am, St Peter’s, Carrigrohane 11am, The Church of the Resurrection, Blarney 11.30am, St Senan’s, Inniscarra 3.30-5pm, The Lighthouse, Blarney Sun 19 Jan—9am & 10am, St Peter’s, Carrigrohane 11am, The Church of the Resurrection, Blarney Sun 26 Jan—9am & 10am, St Peter’s, Carrigrohane 11am, The Church of the Resurrection, Blarney 11.30am, St Senan’s, Inniscarra Xperimental from 5-7pm in the Parish Centre

PART- TIME WORK

Job description:

Grass Cutting St Peter’s

Cemetery 2014 - machinery and fuel provided. When: Spring,

Summer, Autumn. Hours: Variable

according to weather but

approx. 16 hours every two weeks in

peak growth season. Pay: €2400 per annum.

Enquiries to Ian the

Rector….

MORE THAN A LICK OF PAINT Cork Friends of Luweero (The Healthy Vine Trust) Mission Visit July 2014

Paint a school in Luweero, one of the poorest areas in Uganda, and you may find that your life, until now, has only been scratching the

surface. Once again the Cork Friends of Luweero are putting together a team of people

clothed with Christ’s compassion, to roll up their sleeves, and armed with a brush, paint a school

and reach beyond walls to hearts and minds, including your own.

Mission is more than a lick of paint. Over 20 individuals have travelled to Luweero in

the last few years and seen startling changes that have lifted many out of poverty. If you are

interested, please get in touch with Frankie - her details are below.

For information about the work of the Healthy Vine Trust see: www.healthy-vine.org

To find out more and receive an application form:

Please contact: Frankie Stanley Email: fstan@eircom.net Tel: 023 8838666

A New Honesty about where we really are at the moment. A New Humility before God. A New Hunger as God can only fill those who are hungry. A New Kind of Hurt as we honour God with our sacrifices. A New Harmony where relationships are a priority. A New Kind of Hope by rising higher and seeing the world through God’s eyes. As 2014 dawns let’s use these themes to pray. May for all of us this New Year be a time of growth and knowing God’s presence, and the riches of His love and mercy. Ian

NEWS ABOUT THE GOULDS — Ian

It is not only a new arrival that is bringing changes to Matt and Katie Gould our Youth Workers. As we all know, Matt has passion for the church and how it can reach the unchurched, and many of us are aware his sense that God is calling him to pursue this. So having prayed and chatted with myself, the Diocesan Director of Ordinands Rev Alan Marley, and others; Matt has been accepted for the Foundation Course held at the Institute of Theology* in Dublin which consist of several weekend visits over the next 18 months. This is a time of discernment as to whether candidates are called to be ordained into the Church. However, there is for Matt the discernment as to whether he is to be ordained for a Pioneer Ministry working with new expressions of Church. It is also a time of discernment for the Church of Ireland for this would be a ground-breaking change in the understanding of ministry.**

Now all this is going to take time. Discernment cannot be rushed and if that discernment says this is right, Matt hopes the training will be on a part-time basis and allow him to continue his ministry leading the youth work. In the meantime please pray for Matt and Katie – it is more than sleepless nights they are facing in 2014!

*Church of Ireland Theological Institute Foundation Course The Foundation Course is designed to meet a number of key needs within those who are either sensing or testing God’s call upon their life and who are enthusiastic to develop their own capacity for furthering God’ mission through his church in today’s world. For everyone it provides an extended opportunity to think through the implications of what a particular vocation may look like. Is it a call to ordination or to a particular expression of lay ministry? In either case, will this be to full–time or part–time ministry, and even is this is already subjectively clear, will the wider Church be ready to recognise it? For some, therefore, the Foundation Course will be a means towards the end of selection and training for ordination; for others it will be the opportunity to acquire new learning skills for a continuing and enhanced role in lay ministry.

See: http://www.theologicalinstitute.ie/courseinformation/foundation_course.php ** (For information about Pioneer ministry see http://www.freshexpressions.org.uk/pioneerministry) Please do ask Matt questions—he will be happy to chat about all this! He’ll be writing more in the newsletter soon.

A few points from the sermon series… 3 Nov—Values—Generosity of time & resources because we worship a generous

God—and whole life spirituality (Ephesians 5.21-6.9)

Whole life spirituality. That phrase is explosive in scope. It says we understand

that our relationship with God, as individuals and as a church, is not limited to

Sundays or ‘services’, but that in some way everything we do is part of our expres-

sion of God in us—our submission to Jesus our Lord, and a recognition that this

will be messy.

Relationships are in full view in this passage, wives and husbands, children and

parents, slaves and masters (or employees and bosses!). In short how we love

each other matters and is part of our spirituality.

Whole life spirituality takes in our leisure time and hobbies (golf as worship??), as

well as prayer, Bible study and living out our faith.

10 Nov—Values—(due to a technical hitch the notes for Robert’s sermon are not available as we go to press) Relevance—making sure that what we do connects

with everyday life in Cork. Developing an intergenerational church where people

from all ages learn, grow and serve together.

17 Nov—Values—Encouragement and support within the community, enabling

people of all ages and backgrounds to find their God-given place as we create and

celebrate our changing community.

The importance of values: we do what we value and value what we do.

‘God-given’ is key. We’re called by God. Anyone coming amongst us must be

helped to find their place, and be embraced.

We are a changing community. We should be changing inwardly as well. We

must respond more and more to what God wants to do in our lives. If our journey

isn’t changing we should ask why not?

When we’re singing in church, we’re singing to each other as well as to God. It’s

the Spirit’s domain. Take your worship and allow it to inspire you. That is when

God does his healing work, and we are transformed.

24 Nov—Values—Risk taking—which allows us to try new things because we

worship a creative God (Ephesians 6.10-19)

On this Sunday we are thinking about Christ the King—there is no bigger vision,

and our values should flow from Him. Values are important—we do what we value

and value what we do. Our values also inform our dreams.

A few key points on risk: Risk is Healthy: part of our worship of a creative God,

who’s nature is freedom. Risk is part of life, but we often try and shelter from it.

Risk is Church: by nature traditional, none the less churches are called to take

risks. Faith is spelt R-I-S-K. Kodak company couldn’t adapt to the digital age and

effectively died. Likewise the church must continually be adapting to be relevant

in the 21st century. Risk is Sacrifice: Built into the Christian story, with our

prime example of Jesus. Relationship involve sacrifice. Have we simply bought

into consumer culture, or are we willing to live out sacrifices in risks we take?

Risk is Mission: Paul wrote this great letter in prison, still able to preach on mis-

sion. But we can take risks as we know this mission is always with God (it’s his

mission), and we are never alone.

Irelands twenty to forty somethings: A recent snapshot—from Matt

Over a few days in November, The Independent and Today FM reported on a major survey into the attitudes and outlook of Irelands current young adult population. The survey was national, with 1000 participants and was conducted in mid October - giving us a useful current snapshot into Irish life for this age bracket.

Some of the key points included: One in five responded that their current financial situation led them to ques-tion whether they could afford to start a family.

One in three is worried about negative equity, but the vast bulk of people – 84pc – still dream of owning their own home.

Money worries are impacting people’s mental or physical well being, with a significant 38% of men saying the strain has left them ‘depressed’ in the last year. In addition 37% of women confess to getting into rows over financial strain, although men are less inclined to admit quarreling over the issue.

The average 30-something has had 8 sexual partners; with 3% saying they were virgins, another 28% said they had between one and three partners, 17% had between four and six, and 24% reporting between 7 and 20.

Despite this; Ninety per cent of Irish somethings still want a long-lasting monogamous married relationship.

Question time: What percentage of respondents said Jesus Christ or Pope Francis were good role models? Take a moment to think of an answer and check the bottom of the page for the answer.

Taken altogether this snapshot points to a significant cohort of people working hard to hold what they have (running to stand still), with some de-gree of openness to changing society, held alongside traditional expecta-tions of raising a family with a husband or wife in their own home.

I think this research poses some interesting questions for us in the church; How do we reach and serve this stressed and busy age group? How do we earn their trust, having seen trust in the church largely eroded? How do we share imaginatively and creatively the Love of Christ with folk we are not likely to see in our church buildings on Sundays?

Answer: Slightly frighteningly, its 1%!