November Mini-Retreat

The Church of Ireland Theological Institute’s Lay Training programme is offering a 2-day mini retreat for commissioned lay ministers across the Church of Ireland. This includes commissioned prayer ministers and lay pastoral assistants, as well as lay readers.

This retreat will offer reflections upon our encounters with and responses to human suffering and will be led by the Rev Bruce Pierce, Director of Education at St Luke’s Home Education Centre, who brings a great deal of experience, wisdom and gentleness to the subject.

The retreat begins on a Friday evening, the 13th November, at 6pm, and ends Saturday, 14th November at 4pm in CITI, Braemor Park, Dublin 14. Both residential (€50/£40) and non-residential (€25/£20) places are available and must be booked by 12 noon on Friday, 6th November 2015.

All queries and bookings should go through David Brown, Director of Lay Training at CITI.

Vigil for Peace

The refugee crisis in Europe has escalated to a very worrying degree that we can no longer ignore it. Many of us were at a loss when thinking how to respond. Recently we encouraged everyone to pray for the refugees, trusting that our prayer is effective even when we do not know its direct fruit. In this way we welcome people in need into our hearts, as we offer their need to God in prayer.

The Church’s Ministry of Healing: Ireland was looking for ways to further our call to prayer and so we decided to organise a Vigil for Peace. We would like to invite you all to join us.

The Vigil will take place on Thursday 8th October 2015 in the Nave Chapel, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. It will start at 10am with Morning Prayer and conclude with Choral Evensong at 6pm. Various contributors will give prayerful reflections on the hour. The schedule is as follows:

10.00 Morning Prayer
11.00 Linda Chambers from the United Society
12.00 Carmelite Friars (OCD) from Clarendon Street
12.45 The Eucharist with prayers for healing. The celebrant is the Very Rev Dermot Dunne, Dean of Christ Church Cathedral
14.00 Lydia Monds from the Bishops’ Appeal
15.00 Greg Fromholz on the experience of refugee camps in Lebanon
16.00 Church’s Ministry of Healing: Ireland
17.00 Stephen Collins from the Irish Refugee Council
18.00 Choral Evensong, Emma Lynch from Tearfund Ireland 

You will be welcome to light a candle and say a prayer all throughout the day.
There will be opportunity to donate to the Bishops’ Appeal. Donations will continue to be directed to the needs of 12.2 million people in Syria and 4 million refugees in neighbouring Iraq and Lebanon as well as to NGOs and community initiatives responding to the needs in EU countries.

We hope you will join us in this day of prayer for peace and the refugees.
All are welcome to attend.

 

 

Writing for Healing Workshop with Maureen Ryan

The Very Rev Maureen Ryan is a priest, writer, psychologist, and experienced workshop leader. The workshop will explore writing as a spiritual discipline that helps us celebrate the sacred ordinary, promoting healing and growth especially in times of loss, illness and distress. During the workshop, we will experience the power of writing together in silence, and suggestions with exercises will be provided for establishing the practice subsequently at home.

Absolutely everyone is welcome; there is no requirement of talent or experience. This is writing as a spiritual practice, and no one will be asked to read aloud from their writing.

The day will begin at 10.15am at the Church of Ireland Theological Institute and conclude by 4.30pm. Admission for the day-long event is €40, which includes lunch, coffee & tea, and free parking. The numbers are limited, so booking is essential. Please email hello@ministryofhealing.ie to secure your place. 

 

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’s 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, Carol Casey, and Jessica Stone. There will also be an opportunity to avail of one-to-one discussion with a spiritual director.

CMH: Ireland is offering Wellspring for the first time on the weekend of Pentecost, an apt time to bring our attention to the Breath of God within us. The day will begin at 9.45am at the Church of Ireland Theological Institute and conclude by 4.00pm.

The cost is €40, including coffee & tea, lunch and parking. Places must be booked in advance (hello@ministryofhealing.ie).

Forthcoming dates for Wellspring:
Saturday, 5 December 2015
Saturday, 5 March 2016
Saturday, 21 May 2016

Forgive Us: Confessions of a Compromised Faith

The Church’s Ministry of Healing: Ireland is delighted to welcome Lisa Sharon Harper to speak to us on the subject of forgiveness on Saturday, 6th June 2015.

Currently Sojourners’ Senior Director of Mobilising, Ms Harper is a speaker, activist, author, award-winning playwright and poet. Her writing has been featured in The National Civic Review, God’s Politics blog, The Huffington Post, Relevant Magazine, Patheos.com, Urban Faith, and Prism where she has written extensively on tax reform, comprehensive immigration reform, health care reform, poverty, racial and gender justice, and transformational civic engagement.

 Ms. Harper’s faith-rooted approach to advocacy and organising has activated people of faith across the US and around the world to address structural and political injustice as an outward demonstration of their personal faith.

Her most recent book is Forgive Us: Confessions of a Compromised Faith, in which she and three other authors confess the church’s public failings and call their fellow believers to re-engage the surrounding culture in a new and better way.

We expect Ms Harper to challenge us and to inspire us as we seek to be agents of healing in our world today, and we welcome people of every denomination to participate. This event will take place in the beautifully refurbished Music Room of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, at 2.00pm on Saturday, 6th June, and The Book Well will be making copies of Forgive Us available for purchase on the day.

Admission is €20/£15, and booking is essential. To book your place, please email hello@ministryofhealing.ie.

After a reception of light refreshments, you are also invited to attend our Annual Service of Thanksgiving, to be held in the cathedral where there will be opportunity for special prayers for healing with the laying on of hands and anointing with oil for those who desire it. This is a Church of Ireland Service of Wholeness and Healing with Holy Communion, and everyone of any denomination is warmly welcome.

Out of the Silence, Alleluia Will Rise

A Journey through Holy Week

Please join us next Tuesday evening in Christ Church Cathedral as we gather ourselves for the sacred journey through Christ’s death towards Resurrection. From 7pm to 9pm, Dr Iva Beranek will lead us in an evening of guided reflection on the mysteries of Holy Week, with space for silence and personal contemplation.

There is no charge for admission, though donations will be gratefully received. Entrance is via the Chapter House, and all are warmly welcome. 

A Mirror of God’s Love

You are invited to a day of rest, reflection and encouragement in the midst of this Lenten season. Led by our Ministry Facilitator, Dr Iva Beranek, A Mirror of God’s Love is a quiet day inspired by the life of St Patrick and appropriately being held on Saturday, 14th March 2015.

The day will begin in St Peter’s Parish Centre, Kiltegan, at 10.30am and will end at 3.30pm. Participants should bring a packed lunch, but coffee and tea will be provided.

To confirm your attendance or enquire further, please contact Canon Stella Durand (059 6473368).

Watching, Waiting & Walking: A Quiet Day

The Dublin & Glendalough Diocesan Committee invite you to a quiet day of reflection led by the Ven Susan Watterson. The Quiet Day will take place on Saturday, 7th March 2015, from 10am to 3pm at The Mageough, Cowper Road, Rathmines.

Soup, tea & coffee will be provided, but participants are encouraged to bring a sandwich or other food to complete their lunch.

Please contact diocesan representative Felix Blennerhassett (mob: 087 214 9400, e: felixblen@eircom.net) to enquire further or to register your attendance. There is no charge for admission, though any donations will be gratefully received.

Communicating Your Vocation in a Changing World

Facilitated by Bishop Richard Henderson and hosted by The Church of Ireland Theological Insitute, this ‘mini-retreat’ is intended for those involved in lay ministry in the Church of Ireland. This includes diocesan and parish readers, lay pastoral assistants and prayer ministers.

Designed to allow those who exercise an authorised lay ministry an opportunity to reflect on their vocation amidst a changing world, this retreat will offer time and space for biblical reflection, discussion and prayer.

The retreat begins Friday, 20 February 2015 at 7pm and ends Saturday, 21 February at 2pm and costs €50/£40 per person for residential guests and €25/£20 for non-residential.

All bookings should be made through the Church of Ireland Theological Institute. To reserve your place, please email David Brown, Coordinator of Lay Training, at davidbrown@theologicalinsitute.ie.  Reservations must be received by 12 noon Tuesday, 16 February 2015.

 

Dublin & Glendalough Diocesan Service

The Dublin & Glendalough Diocesan Committee for the Church’s Ministry of Healing will hold their annual service on Sunday, 19th October 2014, at 5pm in St Patrick’s, Church, Powerscourt (Enniskerry).

Archbishop Michael Jackson will preach at the service and will also commission newly appointed prayer ministers.

A reception will follow, and everyone is warmly invited.