Swanlinbar Group Churches
in the
Kilmore Diocese of the Church of Ireland
Parish Newsletter No 6 February 2005
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C of I Cross         The Church at work!         C of I Cross

The following item appeared in a back issue of the Christian magazine DECISION;

Jesus,
Someone said he saw You on a dark and dirty street.
Said that You were gently washing an alcoholic’s feet.
Someone saw You in a nursing home with those who need Your care,
caressing trembling, wrinkled hand, brushing tangled snow-white hair.
You found the frightened runaway who bristled at Your touch,
You didn’t offer him advice, instead You shared Your lunch.
You crouched inside a doorway next to a homeless man.
You wrapped him in a blanket, spoon-fed him from a can.
Someone said he saw You in a prison with a man who killed his wife.
You bowed Your head with him in prayer, You spoke to him of life.
Someone said he saw You, and I believe it’s true.
What he saw was Your Church at work,
doing just what You would do.

Sharon Cavers, Cavan, Ontario
This would certainly stretch many of us and our understanding of what it really means to be Church. During the month of January, as result of approaches from a member of the community and a parishioner in Tomregan Parish, we had a clothing, tools, bedding and kitchen-ware appeal to support victims of the Tsunami. Our appeal was to “feed into” an existing appeal in Clogher Diocese which sought to send a container of support to the Church in Colombo, Sri Lanka. As a result of our appeal our Church was mobilised in a way which I have never witnessed previously and “the body” certainly went to work in a very practical way. Over 200 black bin bags were sorted, bagged, labelled and delivered within an extremely short period of time. I would like to take this opportunity of thanking all those who brought items for distribution, those who turned up on the night to sort through those items, the Select Vestry of Tomregan Parish for the use of the hall and the staff of AW Ennis Ltd for their generosity and willingness to help. Together, we made a difference, perhaps not a huge difference but at least I believe that we were being faithful to the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. May we continue to seek out other ways in which we can serve, not just as a result of a global catastrophe, but in the “daily round” of the communities within which we live and work.

Tsunmi appeal volenteers in Ballyconnell

The volunteers worked very hard to make the appeal a great success

 

      Geoff                 

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News Items

Day club for children
So often in our Church people complain that there is nothing for the young ones to do. Well, MAD are providing a free day club, for 7 to 10 year olds, in conjunction with Alliance Youth Works at Billis Halls on Saturday 2nd of April between 10 am and 3 pm. Please do make a special effort to bring your child to this event. Permission slips available from schools and the rectory. Transport can be arranged if you let us know before Monday 28th March.

Bereavement
Since our last edition Georgie Gault passed away quietly in College View residential nursing home. Georgie was a great man for story telling and going “around the houses” and will be sadly missed in the community. Our sympathies and sincere condolences are extended to the whole family circle.

Notices from Kinawley Enterprise Park

  • Open evening at Kinawley Enterprise Park on 28th Feb at 8 pm;
    Fundraising dance on Easter Monday 28th March (details to follow);
    Six-week basic food and hygiene class to start in near future if enough interest shown.

Training for young people

MAD (Music, Arts & Drama) are providing training for young people who would like to work with children. The MAD vision is to see young people and children grow in their Christian faith and part of this vision is to provide training for those who have a heart for working with our children. This training will be delivered by Alliance Youth Works, an evangelical organisation based in Coleraine. The initial period of training will take place during a residential at Billis Halls from 31st March to 1st April culminating in the provision of a club for 7 to 10 year olds on 2nd April. The cost of this training is only a token amount of €10 towards food etc. If you would like to take part in this training and you are 14 years old or more then contact the rectory for an application form.

Mothers’ Union Quiet Day

As I typed this heading I wondered if there could be such a thing as a quiet day when the Mothers’ Union was involved!! But more seriously, this is a day for quiet reflection and meditation in Florencecourt Church Halls on Saturday 19th March 2005 from 10.30 am to 3 pm. The day will be facilitated by Patsy Devoy and Mary Good and should be an real opportunity to just relax and listen to God. There is no charge for the day though a freewill offering will be taken.
On reflection, without the ladies around the house, this may also be a quiet day for the men!
Women’s World Day of Prayer
Service to be held in St John’s Florencecourt on Friday 4th March at 8 pm. A practice for this service will take place on the Tuesday before.

Companion to Church Hymnal

The Columba Press are pleased to announce the forthcoming publication of Companion to Church Hymnal (5th Ed) in May 2005. This publication will give information about hymns contained in the revised Church Hymnal. This information will include, amongst other things, the provenance of and the stories behind all the hymns and their tunes, as well biographical details of their authors and composers. The book will be priced at £35 (€53) plus postage & packing £3.50 (€5), though the first 250 subscribers will be able to obtain the book at a price of £25 (€38). Contact the rectory if you would like to place an order.

Care for the Family

Work – Prison or Passion? “Work should be fun and one of life’s passions – although the reality is that many of us don’t enjoy our jobs” says David Oliver, the guest speaker at the next meeting organised by Care For The Family. David will address many of the issues surrounding our work and how we feel about work, including building family and work relationships, something which all of us could learn from. Come to “Working to Live” and gain a fresh outlook on your working life in Enniskillen on Thursday 10th March in the Cathedral Halls from 7.30 pm to 10 pm – ticket price £6.
Care for the family aims to promote strong family life and to help those hurting because of family breakdown.


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Some quotes to ponder

Children sometimes disgrace us in public by behaving just like we do at home;
Children have more need of models than of critics;
To really know a man, observe his behaviour with a woman, a flat tyre and a child;
The trouble with getting to work on time is that it makes the day so long;
Retirement can be a great joy if you can work out how to spend time without spending money;

 

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And some jokes to smile at

Tough Time
“I’ve just had the most awful time”, said a boy to his friends. “First I got angina pectoris, then arteriosclerosis. Just as I was recovering, I got psoriasis. They gave me antibiotics and to top it all, tonsillitis was followed by appendicitis”.
“Wow! How on earth did you pull through?” asked his friend.
“I don’t know”, the boy replied. “Toughest spelling test I ever had”.

Addition
Teacher: If I give you two rabbits and two rabbits and another two rabbits, how many rabbits have you got?
Tommy: Seven.
Teacher: No, listen again. If I give you two apples and two apples and another two apples how many apples have you got?
Tommy: Six.
Teacher: Good. Now if I give you two rabbits and two rabbits and then another two rabbits how many rabbits have you got?
Tommy: Seven.
Teacher: How on earth do you work out that three lots of two rabbits is seven?
Tommy: Please Miss, I’ve already got one rabbit of my own at home.

Eggs For Sale
And this story appeared in a local newspaper. A man was driving through the countryside and as he was passing a farm he noticed a sign saying “New Laid Eggs”. A little further on, not to be out-done, another farmer advertised “Fresh New Laid Eggs”. But the notice outside the Rectory beat both with the following sign, “Eggs Being Laid Now”!!

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C of I Cross

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   Prayer points for February/March

Prayer matters in the life of a Christian. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective (Jam 5:16). Please pray for the following on the day of the week indicated;

Monday We continue to pray for the launch of the Forward campaign in our Diocese and for the part which we can each play in this new initiative;

Tuesday For the safe passage of aid items to South East Asia, especially that those items sent from our own group would be a blessing to those with so little in a material sense;

Wednesday We remain steadfast in our prayer that during this season of Lent we would become more disciplined and diligent in our study of scripture;

Thursday We pray for the elderly and house-bound in our group, that they would continue to know the presence of God through our actions and those of neighbours and friends;

Friday For those within our group who are perhaps struggling with their faith for whatever reason; that we might be an encouragement to them as a Church;

Saturday For those parts of the world which do not know peace; especially Iraq, Israel/Palestine and indeed the peace process within in our land;

Sunday For our children and young people and those who give of their time to work with them; pray that they might all grow stronger in their love of the Lord.

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Regrettably the Service Schedule for the next month is not yet available however next Sunday’s services are as follows:

   
St Augustine's
Swanlinbar
St Paul's
Kinawley
St Peter's
Templeport
TomRegan
Ballyconnell
Date
Event
Time
Service
Leader
Time
Service
Leader
Time
Service
Leader
Time
Service
Leader
Sun 27 Feb 3rd in Lent
10 am
M.P.
G.W.
-
-
-
11.30
M.P.
G.W.
11.30
M.P.
Mrs A Reilly

Service Schedule changes will be posted on: http://www.swanlinbar.kilmore.anglican.org/pages/schedule.htm

Last month's News Letter

 

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