Parish of Celbridge & Straffan with Newcastle-Lyons: November 2023

Issue 80 CSNL NEWS November/December, 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 ..

I am very conscious that this is our Christmas edition and I want to say

something that addresses what Christmas is about. What immediately springs to mind is a theme that permeates so many of the carols we shall sing this Christmas: ‘Peace and Goodwill to all People’ but we live in a time when Peace is far from a reality on this Earth. The very land in which our faith finds its origins is torn apart by the most brutal conflict in which innocents are suffering and dying in huge numbers. And for the moment removed from our headlines the ongoing brutal war in Ukraine is still being waged and indeed in so many other parts of our World violence and death are the daily experience of so many.

So what do we do? What can we do? I wish like many I had an answer but I do think that each of us in our own small way can begin to make a difference – let us make a priority of reaching out to those who we are different from – those who we would not ordinarily give the time of day and let us try to see in the other the image and likeness of God that is in each one of us, no matter our religion, our ethnicity, our nationality, our gender, our sexuality or any other criteria which we use as an excuse to fail to recognise the common humanity of one another. Because when we do that it is not possible to hate, to hurt and to annihilate each other and that is the beginning of Peace – it starts with each one of us and we may never know the fruit of our efforts but they will not go in vain. And while we are at it a prayer would not go astray:

God of Love, we lift up Palestine and Israel — its people, its land, its creatures. War is a monster that consumes everything in its path. Peace is a gift shared at meals of memory with Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Let us burn incense, not children. Let us break bread, not bodies. Let us plant olive groves, not cemeteries. We beg for love and compassion to prevail on all your holy mountains. Amen. (Prayer by Rose Marie Berger of Sojourners)

Yours Stephen

Church Services & Christmas Services

Sunday Newcastle 9 a.m* Straffan 10.15 a.m. Celbridge 11.30 a.m.

1^st Holy Communion Service of Word Holy Communion

2^nd Service of Word Holy Communion Service of Word

3^rd Holy Communion Morning Prayer Holy Communion

4^th Morning Prayer Holy Communion Morning Prayer

5^th (31/12/2023) United Service. 11 a.m. Straffan.

*Services will continue in Newcastle at 10 a.m., on the 1^st Sunday as a permanent change in the Sunday timetable.

December

Sun 17 4 p.m. Newcastle-Lyons Christmas Carol Service.

Sun 24 11 a.m. Straffan Christmas Carol Service.

4 p.m. Christ Church, Celbridge. Carols around the Christmas Tree.

9 p.m. Christ Church, Celbridge. Christmas Eve Eucharist.

Mon 25 Christmas Day. Services in all churches at usual times.

On Going Events

Craft & Chat: The Group continues each Tuesday afternoon at 2.30 p.m., in the Slip Hall. There will be a break in December until the New Year - date to be arranged. The afternoon is open to all for crafting, chatting and refreshments.

Whist Drives. After a long Summer break it was a great joy to welcome back so many regulars to our Whist Drives in the Slip Hall. Both the September and October drives were well attended and all those who came enjoyed a beautiful supper at the break on both nights. Friday, 24^th November at 8 p.m., will be the Christmas Whist Drive and promises to be a very enjoyable night with some seasonal prizes on offer. Thanks as always to Esther Lougheed & Rebecca & James Taylor for organising the nights and to Val Denner for helping with the raffle.

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.

Pet Blessing Service - 7^th October - Christ Church, Celbridge

At the Ecumenical Service, Rev. Stephen was joined by Fr. Peter Nwiwgw from St. Patrick’s Church, Celbridge. A big thank you to our musicians - James Pasley, Andrew Keeling & Rebecca Pasley. Thanks also to Sophie for distributing the blessing certificates. As always it was great to have the staff and rescue dogs from Kildare & West Wicklow Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The collection was for KWWSPCA. Thanks to our catering team - Lucy Jones, Linda Daly, Vivien Bond, Judith Gleeson & June Galligan. Thanks to the Rector’s Churchwarden, Paula Howard, for looking after the preparations in the church and to Linda Daly & Judith Gleeson for the lovely photos on www.facebook.com/CSNLParish.

Saturday Night Services - Christ Church Celbridge - 7 p.m.

On 9^th September the theme was “The Priority of Love”. Love is His priority - so much so that He died for it. These Services continue (normally on 2^nd Saturday of each month) at 7 p.m., and are a more informal type of service with a variety of musical accompaniment. All are welcome and an integral part of the evenings is the fellowship afterwards over a cuppa and some nibbles. There was a service in October and yesterday November 11^th. There will not be a service in December but will resume in the New Year.

Dublin & Glendalough Magazine - The Church Review

Subscriptions will be due on 1^st January - thanks to Elizabeth Waldron (Newcastle-Lyons), Debbie Kelly (Straffan) & Ken Denner (Celbridge) for distributing and to whom subscriptions will be due. If you do not already receive the bumper packed magazine and would like to do so, please contact the above.

Remembrance Sunday - 12^th November - Poppy Appeal

The Rite of Remembrance will be observed in all churches. The Royal British Legion are experiencing greater difficulties in arranging public collections as many of their members are growing elderly, making the contributions of the Church of Ireland congregations even more important. Poppies were available in all churches.

Confirmation

Classes will be arranged in January.

Straffan Market & Car Boot – Looking Back at 2023

In September we finished the 11th season of the Straffan Market and Carboot. Another successful season, both from a social and a financial point of view. The weather however was a different story. Unfortunately we had to cancel two events due to heavy rains, including the very last one. In addition, there were only a few Saturdays which provided us with clear and sunny weather. Climate change reminded us that even our event wouldn’t escape adversity. Looking back over this past season, our Team of 42 volunteers can be pleased and proud of what we achieved and contributed to both our local Community and to our church maintenance fund. We held 8 events this year, two were cancelled due to rain plus one due to the Irish Golf Open tournament. Despite missing out on three events, we still hosted 502 cars and generated a total income of €12,520. Again this year we have seen a large number of new customers coming in. There has been an increase in the number of craft people and artisan foodie things. We are planning to create a more dedicated section to this next season. The ever popular home bakers tea stall generated a fantastic €3,625. This is a great achievement and we are indebted to all the bakers who very kindly donated all the ingredients, baking, time and energy. Due to their generosity our event has taken on such an important social dimension. Thank you to all our bakers.

On the social front of our event, we were pleased to sponsor two volunteer groups this summer, the Straffan Community First Responders (SCFR) and the Irish LifeBoats. The SCFR group are in the process of setting up this year and are fundraising to purchase equipment for their unit. Their function is to support the ambulance service and provide a local immediate response in a case of a medical urgency whilst waiting for the ambulance service to arrive. The proceeds of our event are equally divided between the Straffan Community Hall (SCH) and our Straffan church. The SCH received a grant this summer that eased their financial position. In recognition of that, the SCH donated their share of the September event to our church. A very generous gesture which was acknowledged by Rev Stephen.

At the end of September we finished up with a get together of all volunteers and had some refreshments at Friel’s of Straffan. It was a great opportunity to meet up with others who we generally only see in a fleeting way when we are on site or tea stall duty. We look forward to another season next year and will be looking again for your support. Your volunteer efforts this year have contributed €6,450 to parish funds. Thanks again to everyone for your support until we meet up again in early 2024 to prepare for another season. Jos Evertsen

Primrose Hill National School

Thank you to the outgoing Board of Management for their hard work and support over the last number of years and best wishes to the new Board which is being formed at this time.

Thanks

.. to Geoffrey McMaster for taking the service in Straffan on 1^st October, when our Rector was in St. Finian’s & Dee Huddleston on 4^th November. Thanks to all those who donated items for the shoeboxes and to those for their contributions to CSNL NEWS during the year. The next issue will be out on the 2^nd Sunday in January. Happy Christmas & New Year!

Calendar Of Events

November

Sun 12 Remembrance Sunday.

Fri 24 Whist Drive. Slip Hall, Celbridge. 8 p.m.

December

Sat 2 Concert. Christ Church, Celbridge.

Sat 9 Concert. Straffan Church.

Sun 10 Concert. Christ Church, Celbridge.

Wed 13 Concert. Christ Church, Celbridge.

Sun 17 Concert. Christ Church, Celbridge.

4 p.m. Carol Service. St. Finian’s Church,

Sun 24 11 a.m. Carol Service. Straffan Church.

4 p.m. Carols around the Christmas Tree. Christ Church, Celbridge.

9 p.m. Christmas Eve Eucharist. Christ Church, Celbridge.

Mon 25 Christmas Day.

Holy Communion in all 3 churches at usual times.

Sun 31 United Service. 11 a.m. Straffan Church.

January

Mon 1 Subscriptions due for the Church Review.

Tue 9 Closing date for CSNL NEWS Issue 81.

Harvest Thanksgiving Services

St Finian’s Newcastle-Lyons was as always the first of our harvest services on Sunday 24^th September. The church was beautifully decorated as always and it was great to see so many in attendance. Thanks to those who provided the lovely tea afterwards and to James Pasley who played the organ. Straffan Harvest was held on the 8^th October and again the church was beautifully decorated. It was particularly good to see Jenny Shaw back at the organ and joined by the choir. There was a lovely harvest tea afterwards in the Straffan Community Hall and thanks to all those who prepared and served it. Celbridge Harvest which was held on 22^nd October was equally a lovely occasion and the church was looking at its best with the harvest fruits and decorations. It was a great pleasure to see so many children and their parents from Primrose Hill School in attendance and playing such an active part in the service. Thank you again to James Pasley and choir for leading the singing. Collections at all Harvest services were given to Bishops’ Appeal.

Reverend Hawker in 1843 invited parishioners to a special thanksgiving service for the harvest at his Morwenstown Church, Cornwall - the tradition we still have today. He put a notice in the church - “Let us gather together in the chancel of our church, and there received, in the bread of the new corn, that blessed sacrament which was ordained to strengthen and refresh our souls.” In other ways, he was an eccentric. One of The National Trust’s smallest buildings, Hawker’s Hut, was constructed of driftwood and Hawker is said to have spent a lot of time there writing poetry and smoking opium! One of his poems “Song of the Western Man” became Cornwall’s National Anthem.

The Church Of Ireland Bishops’ Appeal For World Aid & Development

The Appeal released €10,000 in emergency funds to the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. The Diocese includes 7,000 Anglicans worshipping with 28 congregations in Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria & Jordan. The Diocese runs Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza which provides medical care and support to all people, regardless of their faith or ethnicity.

Concerts In Celbridge & Straffan & Culture Night

In recent times we have hosted a number of concerts in Christ Church. On 21^st October, Johnny McEvoy provided a most enjoyable evening of ballads and many of the audience were devoted fans. On 4^th November, pianist Frank McNamara (of Late Late Show fame) played Chopin by Candlelight and it was a beautiful event. Coming up on 2^nd December are the New York Tenors with Deirdre Masterson, 10^th December, Celbridge Concert Orchestra, 13^th December, The Voices of Spring Community Choir and 17^th December, Connor McKeon & the Maynooth Gospel Choir. In addition the Misneach Orchestra will be performing in Straffan Church on the 9^th December. Tickets from www.misneachorchestra.ie. So a busy musical season ahead!

This year Christ Church, Celbridge hosted CCE Leixlip for a wonderful night of Irish traditional music and dance - the energy and joy of the performances was infectious and we look forward to welcoming the group back in the future.

Sympathy

Ken Beattie of Saggart (formerly of the 12th Lock, Lucan) died peacefully at home on September 20^th. Our deepest sympathy and prayers are extended to his partner Marian, his brother John and sister-in-law Mary and the extended family. Ken, a farmer was a very

popular man locally and in his later years had travelled the four corners of the world with his beloved Marian. His funeral took place in St. Finian’s Newcastle-Lyons and the burial in Esker Lawn Cemetery, Lucan. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.

Deepest sympathy to Lilian Webb on the recent death of her brother, John Cromer, (Toomevara, Co Tipperary) after a long illness. John (who was a parishioner of our Rector in his last parish) was a very warm hearted and generous man who worked very hard throughout his life and was a trusted friend of many people the length and breadth of the island. His funeral took place in Borrisnafarney Church, (Moneygall) and burial was in Toomevara churchyard. As well as thinking of Lilian our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Liz, his family, Maurice, Simon, Jonathan & Louise and their families. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.

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

Chuckle Time

Seen outside a church in Birmingham on 18^th November - “Come this Sunday and avoid the Christmas rush.”

iPod? iPad? Try iPray …. God is listening!