Issue 77 CSNL NEWS May/June, 2023.
Parish
Of Celbridge & Straffan with Newcastle-Lyons
Church
of Ireland United Dioceses of Dublin & Glendalough
By the
parishioners - for the parishioners
From
Our Rector - Dear Friends ..
Summer is fast approaching and indeed some say it
starts on 1st May and with it our minds turn perhaps to holidays and
leisure time, to outdoor activities and all those pastimes we associate with
the warmer days and long evenings. This
period of refreshment and renewal is very important and not something we should
neglect no matter how busy we may think we are or need to be. Jesus spent a lot of time alone and often
went away for some quiet time. He had an
important mission to accomplish but part of that was looking after his bodily
and mental health. It might sound
strange but we all have to be a little bit selfish if we are to be any use to
others - we cannot continually give and serve and provide if we do not feed our
own souls and bodies. So please look
after yourselves so that you can better look after one another and may you all
experience rest and refreshment in the months ahead.
Yours. Stephen
Church Services
Sunday Newcastle
9 a.m* Straffan 10.15 a.m. Celbridge 11.30 a.m.
1st Holy
Communion Service of Word Holy Communion
2nd Service
of Word Holy Communion Service of Word
3rd Holy
Communion Morning Prayer Holy Communion
4th Morning
Prayer
Holy Communion Morning Prayer
*Services will continue in Newcastle at 10 a.m., on
the 1st Sunday as a permanent change in the Sunday timetable.
WhatsApp
Groups
WhatsApp group continues to be very active. There are also groups specifically for
Newcastle and another for Straffan notices – together they provide a very
effective means of contact in the parish.
Ash
Wednesday, St. Patrick’s Day, Mothering Sunday, Holy Week
& Easter 
There was a service of Holy Communion in Christ
Church, Celbridge on Ash Wednesday. It
was lovely to have an organist and the pupils and staff of Primrose Hill
National School. Thanks to Geoffrey
McMaster for conducting the Service of the Word on St. Patrick’s Day also in
Christ Church, Celbridge when Aaron Neill was in hospital. Thanks to Geoffrey McMaster, Cynthia
Lang & Dee Huddleston who took the services on Mothering Sunday when Aaron
was in hospital.
Thanks to all who read The Passion of Our Lord Jesus
Christ according to Matthew at the services on Palm Sunday. A Compline service was held in St. Finian’s Church,
Newcastle-Lyons on the Wednesday of Holy
Week. A service of Holy Communion
concluding with the stripping of the Altar took place on Maundy Thursday in
Straffan Church. Good Friday morning
ecumenical walks - The Way of the Cross - took place from or to all three
churches in the parish. Thanks again to
all who took part and read. It was a
lovely sunny morning. Rev. Stephen
& Fr. Patrick (Parish Priest, Newcastle), led the walk in Newcastle, Rev.
Stephen, Fr. Joe, Fr. Jacob & Fr. Peter led the walk in Straffan and Dee
Huddleston & Fr. Joe led the walk in Celbridge.
Thanks to all who decorated the churches and those who
provided the music. On Holy Saturday,
the Eucharist of Easter Eve was held in Straffan Church following the Easter
Candle being lit from the Easter fire and brought into the church. The birds joined in when the fire was lit and
also in the ecumenical dawn celebration of the Resurrection at Castletown
gates, Celbridge at 6 a.m., on Easter Sunday morning. There was a large crowd of over 50 - young
and old, led by our Rector & Father Joe. A cold, dry and windy morning with a
beautiful red sky. This was followed by
refreshments in the Slip Hall, enjoyed by all.
Thanks to all who helped. Holy
Communion was celebrated in all three churches on Easter Sunday morning and it
was the first time since Covid that parishioners had the option of receiving
the wine and bread, which was a welcome return to normality.
On Going Events
Craft
& Chat: The Group continues to meet on Tuesday
afternoons at 2.30 p.m., in the Slip Hall.
All are welcome to craft, chat and have a cuppa!
Whist Drives: Friday
31st March marked the return of our Parish Whist Drive in the Slip
Hall. It was the first one for three
years and it was lovely to see so many familiar faces after such a long
break. There was a very good attendance
and the supper was as good as ever.
Thanks also to those who donated prizes of which there were an
abundance. Thanks to Rebecca Taylor, James Taylor & Esther Lougheed for
organising everything and we look forward to one more Whist Drive before the
summer break on Friday, 12th May at 8 p.m. New players are always welcome.
Time Of Prayer For Healing: The
Wednesday morning services in Christ Church, Celbridge are not resuming at the
present.
World
Day Of Prayer - Prepared By The Women Of Taiwan
The service was held on Friday, 3rd March
in the Slip Hall, Celbridge and attended by almost 50 people - women and
men. Many took part in the readings, and
the leader was June Galligan.
Thanks to all who arranged the evening, the visual presentation, the
props, the music, the readers, those who provided the refreshments and set up
and cleared up afterwards. This was an
ecumenical event with participants from both the Church of Ireland and Roman
Catholic parishes and attendees from Newcastle-Lyons, Straffan & Celbridge. Father Joe McDonald & our Rector
gave the final blessing. The collection
raised €380 for
World Day of Prayer charities.
Confirmation
Please remember in your prayers four young people from
our parish currently preparing for Confirmation in Christ Church Cathedral on
Pentecost Sunday, 28th May.
They are Anni Leach, Kaelan Brooks, Robyn Kerins & Olivia
Lanigan.
Castletown
Wanderers
Plans are afoot for another event in late May. It will be announced on the parish website
and social media.
Easter
General Vestries
The EGV for Celbridge/Straffan took place on Thursday,
20th April in Primrose Hill School.
The meeting opened in prayer and apologies were noted. Rev. Stephen read a letter from John
Lougheed, who has resigned from the Select Vestry due to health
reasons. This was noted with sadness and
appreciation for all he has done for the Vestry and parish and wished him well
with his recovery. The Minutes of last
year’s EGV
were adopted. There were no matters
arising.
In his report, our Rector noted that it was the
first almost normal year since Covid.
The parish faces a challenge as the numbers attending in Celbridge have
dropped catastrophically. Those present
were asked to pray about the situation.
Tributes were paid to both Bill Nicholson, who has departed to a
rural life and to John Lougheed for all they contributed to the parish
over the years. Rev. Stephen then
went on to thank all the Select Vestry members, the Treasurer, Gordon Bass,
the lay ministers, Dee Huddleston, Cynthia Lang & Geoffrey McMaster. He also paid tribute to our organists, James
Pasley, Jenny Shaw & Dorothy Evertsen, noting how much music added to
worship. He thanked the Church Wardens, Paula
Howard, Dee Huddleston & Shirley Dunlop and all who assist, the
Glebewardens, Kenneth Denner & Thomas Hardy and all who help in
maintaining the grounds of the churches, the Editor, Lilian Webb, for
her means of communication with the parish newsletter. In addition, he thanked the church cleaners,
flower arranges, car boot team, headed up by Jos Evertsen &
Robert Moody who set up work parties, Rebecca Taylor for organising
Craft & Chat & Rebecca & Esther Lougheed for the return of
the Whist Drives. Linda Daly was thanked for taking the minutes. Rev. Stephen then announced that his
Churchwarden for Celbridge is Paula Howard and for Straffan, Dee
Huddleston and his Glebewarden is Kenneth Denner.
Gordon Bass presented the
Treasurer’s
Report and commented on each aspect of the income and expenditure. The Income from Sustentation/Standing
Orders/Envelopes/Subscriptions were down.
The Parish benefit from this means for those who contribute over €250. A Tax Rebate was received over €13,000. The Plate Collection increased. There was an increase in both the rental
income from the parish properties and
the car boot sales over the previous year - this is as a result of Covid
restrictions being lifted. The utilities
have doubled since last year. The
Diocesan Assessment remains the same.
Repairs and maintenance attributed to €50,000 between the halls, both
churches and the Rectory. There was a
great amount of discussion on how to get more parishioners to contribute, due
to the high dependency on fundraising and rental income. There are always repairs and maintenance that
will need attention. Lots of ideas were
discussed in how to get more parishioners involved with the parish - social
events, special services involving the children etc. The age profile is a serious issue. Rev. Stephen then undertook to
summarise and forward a document and circulate to those attending, look for
comments and proceed from there.
Finally, Gordon Bass was thanked for the great amount of work he
does as Treasurer.
The following were duly elected to the Select Vestry:
People’s Churchwarden - Celbridge Esther Lougheed
People’s Churchwarden - Straffan Shirley Dunlop
People’s Glebewarden Thomas
Hardy
Ordinary members:
Gordon Bass Caroline
Cummins Linda Daly
Dorothy Evertsen Liam
Gately Robert Moody
In the Triennial Elections, the following were
elected:
Parochial Nominators Debbie
Kelly Jos Evertsen
Supplementals Caroline
Cummins Kenneth Denner
Diocesan Synodspersons
Tom Hardy Robert
Moody
Supplementals Paula
Howard Dee Huddleston
The meeting ended with The Grace.
St. Finian’s Church, Newcastle-Lyons was the venue
for the EGV on Tuesday, 25th April
This will be reported in the next issue, which will be out 18th
June.
Thanks
Thanks to all those who turned up on Saturday, 25th
March and 15th April to tidy the grounds of Straffan Church and
provided refreshments. Also to the work
party, organised by June Galligan in Celbridge. They did a great job of clearing the flower
bed at the Slip Hall which had become totally overgrown. Special thanks to James Pasley who
brought his strimmer to great effect!
Bereavements
Our sympathy goes to Tony & Debby Kelly on
the death of Tony’s Dad, Thomas,
who died peacefully on 9th March and whose funeral mass took place
on 14th March in St. Coca’s Church, Kilcock followed by burial in
Kilcock. Deepest sympathy also to Declan
Burke and his wife Claire on the death of his brother, Niall
Burke and to Malachy Mackenna and his wife Sarah-Lyn on the
death of his mother Phyllis Mackenna.
We remember all who grieve in our prayers at this time.
Straffan
Car Boot Returns On 20th May!
Due to a wedding and two Holy Communion services in
the village, this is the reason for the later than usual start. We will have a total of 10 events, the same
number as last year. A Volunteers Team
Meeting was held on 29th March in Straffan Hall. Looking forward to seeing you all again. The dates for your diary are:-
May, 20th.
June 3rd & 17th. July 1st, 15th & 29th. August 12th & 26th. September, 9th & 23rd.
Wedding
We wish James Huddleston & Rebekah Forster every
blessing on their marriage in Straffan Church on Saturday, 29th
April.
Organisation
Focus - Church In Chains
Their Global Guide was launched by Rev. Trevor
Sargent, who appealed to Christians not to ignore the plight of persecuted
Christians, but to “be a voice for those who cannot speak or
seek justice the way we can”. David
Turner, director of Church in Chains explained that the new
Global Guide documents how persecution of Christians is increasing right across
the globe from Latin America to some countries in Europe; from the Middle East
to a growing number of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa; from the former Soviet
states of Central Asia through the religiously diverse countries of South Asia
to the communist-led countries in East Africa.
Every TD and Senator were sent a copy of the Guide and they were asked
to sign a petition seeking the reversal of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. www.churchinchains.ie.
Church
Of Ireland General Synod - Wexford, 12th & 13th May
Please remember all those who have decisions to make.
New
Pioneer Evangelist Appointed - St. Brigid’s Centre of
Mission, Kildare
Kelley Bermingham, who lives in
Celbridge, is a member of Celbridge, Straffan & Newcastle-Lyons parish has
been appointed to the above position and we wish her God’s blessing in this
new role. St. Brigid’s Cathedral Centre
of Mission is in partnership with Church Army.
It is being led by Rev. Philip McKinley. Kelley previously worked as Community
Officer in St. Patrick’s Cathedral and said that “The Mission of the
Church and Christian faith in action is very close to my heart.” Kelley has a
long history working and volunteering in the community with people who have
additional support needs. She is
passionate about social justice, connection, human rights and all this is on a
foundation of strong Christian faith. https://meathandkildare.org/news/new-initiative-for-kildare-cathedral/
Parish
Outing
There will be a parish outing on Thursday, 25th
May to Huntington Castle & Gardens, Carlow.
The cost of the bus is €20.00 and entrance to the castle and gardens is €12,00. Bookings can be made with Esther Lougheed
(01-6275245) & Rebecca Taylor (01-6288429 -evenings). These outings in the past have been very
enjoyable and a means of getting together socially from the different ends of
the parish.
Chuckle
Time
A lonely hearts advertisement - “Widower,
52, a lonely sincere genuine man who is certainly not at the pope and slippers
stage of life.”
Calendar
Of Events
May
Fri 12 Whist Drive. Slip Hall, Celbridge. 8 p.m.
General
Synod, Wexford.
Sat 20 First Car Boot Sale. Straffan Church grounds.
Thu 25 Parish Outing to Huntington Castle &
Gardens.
Sun 28 Pentecost Sunday.
Confirmation. Christ Church, Cathedral, Dublin.
June
Sat 3 Car Boot Sale. Straffan Church grounds.
Mon 12 Closing date for next Issue of CSNL
NEWS.
Sat 17 Car Boot Sale. Straffan Church grounds.
Who’s Who
In The Parish
www.cs-nl.org celbridgestraffannewcastlelyns@gmail.com
Rector: Rev.
Stephen Neill 01-6288231 087-2328172
www.paddyanglican.com stephen.neill@gmail.com
Keep up to date on
www.cs-nl.org
&
https://www.facebook.com/CSNLParish & www.Dublin.anglican.org
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Try iPray …. God is listening!