Nov 04 2021

Raphoe Installation Service

A new chapter was written on Thursday 4th November, 2021, in the centuries-long history of St Eunan’s Cathedral in Raphoe, when the Rev Canon Judi McGaffin was installed as a member of the Cathedral Chapter. In succeeding Rev Canon Dr Bill Long, who retired last March, the Bishop’s Curate-in-Charge of the Fahan Group of Parishes…

Oct 24 2021

Omagh Church Celebrates 150th Birthday

The Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Rt Rev Andrew Forster, has paid tribute to the generation of worshippers in Omagh who were so confident in their faith and in God that at a time of great uncertainty for the Church of Ireland, they proceeded to build a new church, St Columba’s, in the heart of…

Oct 23 2021

Black History Month Summit

The Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Rt Rev Andrew Forster, was one of a number of church leaders who addressed the ‘Black History Month Summit’ in Londonderry on Saturday 23rd October, 2021. The event – at the City Hotel in the city centre – was also attended by the Bishop of Derry, Dr Donal McKeown,…

Oct 17 2021

Pet Blessing Service in Castlerock

Around 20 new faces turned up at Christ Church, Castlerock on Sunday 17th October, 2021 for an occasion that was something of a pet project for the local Rector. Rev Chris MacBruithin had invited pet owners to come along to the parish’s first Pet Blessing Service. With a few minutes to go, the Rector wasn’t…

Sep 30 2021

New trustees commissioned at annual MU Diocesan Service in Omagh

Seven new trustees were commissioned to office for the Diocesan Mothers’ Union, this evening, in St Columba’s Church in Omagh. The women were commissioned by Bishop Andrew Forster during the branch’s annual Diocesan Service. Restrictions introduced in churches to minimise the threat of COVID-19 meant the service went ahead without the usual pageantry that makes…

Sep 30 2021

Archbishop pays tribute to the late Pat Hume at opening of General Synod 21

The Archbishop of Armagh & Primate of All Ireland, Most Revd John McDowell, used his presidential address at the opening of General Synod 2021 to pay tribute to Mrs Pat Hume, who died at the beginning of this month. Archbishop McDowell said Mrs Hume’s “quiet, utterly unseen, steely, consistent and lifelong work for peace and…

Sep 23 2021

Canon Welsh Installation

The newest member of the Cathedral Chapter of St Columb, Rev Canon Colin Welsh, was installed formally on Thursday evening, 23rd September 2021, at a Service led by the Dean of Derry, Very Rev Raymond Stewart, and attended by two bishops – the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Rt Rev Andrew Forster, and the retired…

Sep 16 2021

Bishops demand full redress for mica families

Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland bishops, and a leading Presbyterian clergyman, have called on the Irish Government to offer full and immediate redress to the thousands of people whose homes have been affected by the mica/pyrite crisis. Numerous family homes have been seriously damaged because defective building blocks were used in their construction. The…