The Church’s Ministry of Healing Dublin and Glendalough Annual Quiet Day 2025 will take place on Saturday 22^nd March, in Newcastle Parish Centre (Church Lane, Newcastle, Greystones, Co Wicklow A63 X782). Join us for a day of resting in God’s unfailing love and turning towards ourselves with compassion. The CMH Quiet Day was extremely popular last year, and attendees experienced it as a source of encouragement, creativity and peace, as we gathered in the presence of the Lord, our Healer. If you would like to join us for this special day, please email Jeanne at healing.dgdc@gmail.com

Our facilitator is Lydia Monds, Ministry Leader with the Church’s Ministry of Healing: Ireland. It promises to be a time of renewed connection with God, leaning upon His strength, provision, and promises, as we navigate the hills and valleys of life. Sessions will include contemplative story-telling, where the Psalm will be shared on sand, and a deeper look at different phrases in the Psalm that might prompt us to view it with fresh eyes. There will also be times of facilitated meditative prayer, as well as time and space to respond to what you have heart through personal prayer or art spaces. We will be leaning into the gift of silence, and allowing Love to speak, as we are supported to be still before God.

You are warmly invited to join CMHI’s new online Lenten Series, Invitation into Wholeness, over four Wednesdays in March and April. It takes place at 7.30pm on the following dates:

• March 19th
• March 26th
• April 2nd
• April 9th

These will be gentle, reflective and nourishing sessions exploring the concept of wholeness in new ways. The sessions are intentionally short but brimming with visual beauty and gentle challenges to our perceptions of wholeness. There is time every week to settle, to rest and to pray, there is time for learning and wondering, and time for journaling or doodling. The course is specifically welcoming of people living with illness and open to all.

Sign up via Eventbrite.

Sample Itinerary

• Welcome & Settling in Practise
• Introduction of theme
• Opening prayer
• Meditative Presentation – slides with artwork, reflection & wondering questions
• Time to sit with questions, pray, journal, doodle
• Time to share
• Pray together prayer on screen to close

Week 1: Brokenness and Newness

Week 2: Trees, Stone, Seas (notions of wholeness in nature)

Week 3: Sounding out the Heart and Trusting our Voice

Week 4: Joy & Sorrow on the Same Page

Main Facilitator:

Having studied literature and spiritual formation, Dr. Jessica Brown is a second-year ordinand in the Church of Ireland.

She also works in the creative writing field as a poet, novelist, singer-songwriter, teacher, mentor, and narrative practitioner.

She has led writing workshops at schools, prisons, festivals, and community events. Beyond academic publications and shorter works, Jessica has published two collections of poetry and two novels for children.

“Jessica was a guest contributor on our Advent Series. She showed photographs of ordinary spaces in an ordinary house and talked about grace to receive the given moment and the given day exactly as it is. When we did, we could see there was beauty in the ordinary and in the things undone and half done. Her reflection has stayed with me, and continued to teach me when I’m resisting how I am in the moment and how I think I should be. The fact that God’s grace is sufficient to meet me where I am and as I am has allowed me (when I remember!) to let go of the striving and grasping and unhelpful beliefs. I am learning to receive the gift of right now and the gift of God’s grace for me in the here and now.”

(reflection on Jessica’s facilitation by Lydia, CMH:I)

We are delighted to have been invited to facilitate a Vocations Event in Cork, Cloyne and Ross on Saturday 25th Jan in Carraigrohane parish hall, from 10am-1pm. This is a gentle, sensitive, morning session for anyone who is exploring a potential call to ministry in the Church of Ireland, whether that’s lay, ordained, or perhaps you’re not quite sure! If, like Samuel, you hear a voice calling you, but are not sure where that call might lead you, then this session may be for you, as Lydia, CMHI Ministry Leader, will suggest ways to still the turmoil of our minds and let God’s voice be truly heard. And as Eli told Samuel, “If He calls you, then you must say, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears”.

Email abbeystrewryunion@gmail.com to ask about booking a place!

Get Ready for “Community Futures”!

Join us for an exciting one-day conference on Saturday, November 16th, 2024, from 10:30 AM to 4 PM at the Lady Gregory Hotel in Gort! Designed especially for those aged 20 to 50 years old, this is your chance to dive into the big issues shaping your world and explore them through the lens of Christian citizenship in contemporary Ireland. All are welcome! Free to attend, including lunch (donations welcome). Reserve your place now via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/community-futures-conference-tickets-1042816079967

What’s on the agenda? We’ll tackle pressing topics like mental health, loneliness, and how the Church can better welcome newcomers and point the way for a wider welcome. We’ll also discuss the shared island concept, housing and homelessness, and the future of our environment and agriculture. This is a unique opportunity to have your voice heard on local, community, and island-wide issues that affect millennials and Gen Z.

Who’s speaking? Expect insightful talks from speakers ready to ignite debate and spark discussions that matter to you. Our speakers are: Dr Pippa Hackett (Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine), Cllr Shane Hickey-O’Mara (Social Democrats, Limerick City North), Rev Johnny Lowden (Glendermott Parish, Diocese of Derry and Raphoe), Rev Philip McKinley (Dunboyne and Rathmoylon Parish Group/Kildare Centre of Mission), Mid-West Simon Community, Ms Lydia Monds (Church’s Ministry of Healing: Ireland), Rev Jimmy Ogwal (Vice President Academic of Mary Immaculate Students’ Union), Ms Donnah Sibanda Vuma (Migrant Victims Support Project Coordinator, Doras)

Why attend? This isn’t just another conference! It’s a vibrant forum where you can challenge norms, voice your doubts, and shape the Church’s response to urgent social needs. You’ll leave inspired and equipped to make a difference, both in your own life and in your community!

Don’t miss out on this chance to be part of something transformative. Let’s shape the future together at Community Futures! ✨

Free tickets via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/community-futures-conference-tickets-1042816079967 or email udcm@tlk.ie