Christ is Risen, Alleluia!

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Resurrection-icon

“God, give us eyes to see
the beauty of the Spring,
And to behold Your majesty
in every living thing –
And may we see in lacy leaves
and every budding flower
The Hand that rules the universe
with gentleness and power –
And may this Easter grandeur
that Spring lavishly imparts
Awaken faded flowers of faith
lying dormant in our hearts,
And give us ears to hear, dear God,
the Springtime song of birds
With messages more meaningful
than man’s often empty words
Telling harried human beings
who are lost in dark despair –
‘Be like us and do not worry
for God has you in His care.'”
(Helen Steiner Rice)

The Church’s Ministry of Healing: Ireland wishes you all a very Happy Easter! 

Annual Thanksgiving Service & Gift Day

You are most welcome to join us at our Annual Thanksgiving Service & Gift Day, this year held in St Michan’s Church, at 3.00pm on Saturday, 16th April 2016. 

This is a Service of Wholeness & Healing with Holy Communion, and there will be an opportunity for prayer ministry with the laying on of hands and anointing with oil for those who desire it.  Our celebrant is the Rev Canon David Gillespie and our preacher is the Rt Rev Patrick Rooke.  

Everyone is invited to enjoy some light refreshments after the service. 

Getting to St Michan’s is easy. The Four Courts stop on the Luas Red Line is just opposite the church, and Dublin Bus no 83 stops right outside the building. Dublin Bus numbers 37, 39(a), 145, 25(a/b), 70, 66, 67, 79(a), 51d all stop along the quays, just a few minutes’ walk away. If you are planning to drive you can avail of Smithfield MultiStorey Carpark on New Church Street  or the Four Courts Carpark on Ussher’s Quay, both nearby.

We hope to see you there!

Restoring the broken

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I had a broken pot that I decided to repair. Actually, I broke it myself during a talk I was giving in order to illustrate our brokenness. Sometimes life breaks us, either through our own unwise choices, but most of the time through things that happen to us over which we have no control. At some point in this life we will realise that we, too, need healing. 

I looked at the pot and thought, “You were too beautiful for breaking”. I think Jesus would tell us something similar, “You are too beautiful for breaking”. Jesus knows what we have been through and so He tells us, “I want to mend you. I formed you in your mother’s womb, you are mine”. 

I gathered the pieces of clay, whatever was left of the pot and brought them home. One evening I lit a candle in my room, put all the broken pieces on a cloth, turned on some praise music in order to create a prayerful atmosphere, and I started putting the broken pieces together. It took some effort, some pieces were easier to stick together than others. However, what I soon discovered was that as I found the exact piece that was broken off another piece, they fitted perfectly, even to the smallest detail. With enough patience, as I found which piece belonged where, the pot started to take shape again.

For us healing is a journey, there is no quick fix. However, in our brokenness, or rather through it, God’s light can shine due to His love and grace. If I was so concerned about mending this pot as best as I could, how much more is God concerned in helping us heal from our wounds. I did not even create this pot, I only bought it, which is a much smaller investment than creating something. God, on the other hand, created you and me, He invested much more. Well, He actually invested His very self to help us in every possible way – so I believe that He is much more concerned about making broken people whole, than I was about putting back together this beautiful pot.

 

Iva Beranek
Dr Iva Beranek is the Ministry Facilitator for the CMH: Ireland

Wellspring

Come to the well.
The well is deep.

Wellspring is a one-day retreat incorporating Christian mindfulness and biblical reflection, to which all are welcome. It is a chance to spend some time apart from the noise of the world, to be fully present to yourself and to your communion with God, so that by the end of the day, you can re-enter the world refreshed.

A series of nurturing silences in which you can choose to pray, read, take a walk, or even have a little snooze will be interspersed with a few guided (and optional) reflections led by facilitators Iva Beranek and Carol Casey. There will also be an opportunity to avail of one-to-one discussion with a spiritual director.

This is our third Wellspring and it takes place in Spring, which in itself is a nurturing season. The day will begin at 9.45am at the Church of Ireland Theological Institute and conclude by 4.00pm.

Here is what some of the participants thought of a previous Wellspring: 

‘An incredibly sensitively and prayerfully planned day.’

‘I have come away reminded of the tools at my finger tips so to speak to deal with the many curved balls life seems to throw.’

The cost is €20, including coffee, tea and lunch. Places must be booked in advance (hello@ministryofhealing.ie). 

Forthcoming date for Wellspring:
Saturday, 21 May 2016