The Archbishop of Armagh has in recent years marked Holocaust Memorial Day (27th January) with a recorded conversation on the theme chosen by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. This year’s theme is the ‘Fragility of Freedom’ and Archbishop John McDowell met with Rabbi David Kale, of the Belfast Jewish Community, Mrs Shirley Lennon, from the…
Pioneer Ministry is writing a new chapter in the Church of Ireland’s mission to reach people with little or no connection to church. With the endorsement of the House of Bishops and generous funding secured from the Representative Body, the initiative is being led by a National Director, the Revd Rob Jones, assisted by Archdeacon Barry Forde and…
Jesus tells us, in Matthew 5 v 45, that God – our Father in heaven – “sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous”. The first part of that observation was borne out in Letterkenny this evening as incessant rain fell on the couple of hundred people who took part in the town’s 10th Christmas…
Christmas Day is one of the great feast days in the Christian calendar, and probably the most eagerly anticipated. Children will be on tenterhooks, waiting to see whether they get the presents they’ve asked for. For most adults, it’ll be a chance to enjoy some time off work, visit family and friends, and share a…
The distribution of cheques from the proceeds of sales at the Parish of Faughanvale’s thrift shop, New Beginnings, has become part of the Christmas tradition at St Canice’s Church in Eglinton and this year has been no exception. The shop, on the Benbow Industrial Estate, just outside the village, reinvests in the local community through…
There was rapturous applause for members of the PSNI, NI Fire and Rescue Service, the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and other emergency services, in St Columb’s Cathedral in Londonderry, on Monday evening (11th December 2023), but the warmth of the ovation paled in comparison to that which followed the performances of Foyle Down Syndrome and…
Rev Mervyn Peoples has been appointed a Canon of St Eunan’s Cathedral in Raphoe. The appointment, which was announced publicly on Friday 8th December 2023, was made by Bishop Andrew and fills the vacancy in the Cathedral Chapter following the retirement of Rev Canon Judi McGaffin. Canon Peoples, who has served in more than a…
Scores of pupils from Tobermore Primary School were among the first visitors on the opening day of Kilcronaghan Parish Church’s ‘Unto Us a Child is Born’ Christmas Tree Festival, which aims to “capture the wonder of Christmas” in trees. The Rector, Rev Rosie Diffin, and her husband, Ronnie, were on hand to greet the youngsters;…
‘What the world needs now,’ the Foyle U3A Choir sang, ‘is love, sweet love,’ and the sentiment in Hal David’s lyrics were rarely more appropriate, given what’s happening in the world at present. The hit song, whose melody was composed by Burt Bacharach, was one of the highlights of the U3A Choir’s barnstorming performance at…
The Season of Advent was launched formally and dramatically in St Columb’s Cathedral in Londonderry on Sunday evening (3rd December 2023) with its now traditional Advent procession. This is a well-established and much loved service of readings, hymns and anthems on the theme ‘Darkness into Light’. The temperature hovered around freezing as the congregation made…
