Parish of St Bartholomew

Saint Bartholomew's Girls' Choir in Venice

The Girls’ Choir are undertaking a short tour to Venice this week, singing at Mass in St Mark’s Basilica, and giving concerts in two of the city’s historic churches. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the girls to experience a beautiful city which has been one of the most important musical centres of Europe since the 16th century.

Friday 19 February

Forthcoming services and events

Ash Wednesday
There will be a said Eucharist on Ash Wednesday (17th February) with the imposition of ashes at 10am in Christ Church Leeson Park and at 12.45pm in Saint Bartholomew's. The Solemn Eucharist of Ash Wednesday with the imposition of ashes will take place in Saint Bartholomew's at 8pm.
Lenten Lunch
Earlier this month the Archbishops of Armagh and Dublin appealed to the churches to contribute to the relief efforts in Haiti. Your own Vicar stood in the cold on a January day to collect in Dawson Street as part of the 'Black Santa' effort which raised a considerable amount of money for the appeal. In our own parish we will be holding a Lenten Lunch after the service on the first Sunday of Lent (21st February) in the parish room. The Lenten Lunch will be a frugal meal of soup and a roll instead of our usual tea, coffee and buns. Parishioners are asked to forgo their normal lunch and replace it with this Lenten Lunch and offer the money they would normally spend on lunch to the Haiti appeal. Please do come and join us after the service on the 21st to help this cause. If you would like to help with the lunch please speak to one of the church wardens after today's service.
USPG
For many years this parish has financially contributed to the work of USPG (United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel). On Sunday 21st February at the 11am service we will welcome Mrs Linda Chambers as a representative of USPG, who will speak about some of the work and the projects the society is involved in at the present time.
Student Reader
In recent months we have been very fortunate in having a student reader and we are glad to be able to welcome another student reader for the next two months. Martin O'Connor is in his second year of training as a Non-stipendiary Priest. He has worked for the last 36 years in the computer department of the ESB, and since 2003 has been the Education Adviser for the Church of Ireland Bishop's Appeal. Martin grew up in the parish of Drumcondra, North Strand and St. Barnabas and now lives with his wife Christine in Churchtown. Martin is looking forward to sharing in the life and worship of Saint Bartholomew's and is looking forward to meeting you. I am sure that you will give him a warm welcome and we also look forward to meeting him very soon as he begins his placement. Fr Andrew
World Day of Prayer Service
Friday 5th March at 3pm in St.Bartholomew's. The World Day of Prayer Service is held annually around the world on the first Friday in March. It is a worldwide ecumenical movement of Christians of many traditions who come together to observe a common day of prayer each year. It is the largest ecumenical movement in the world organised by women. The churches in the Ballsbridge/Donnybrook branch take it in turns to host the event and this year the annual service will be hosted by St.Bartholomew's. Each year the worship service has a particular theme. The service for 2010 has been prepared by the Christian Women of Cameroon and the theme is Let Everything that has Breath Praise God. All parishioners and friends (and not just women!) are warmly invited to attend. Please do come along and show your support for this important event in the parish. Following the service there will be a reception in the parish room to which everyone is welcome.

Friday 12 February

Parish Study Group

This year the study group will be looking at differing faith traditions within our city. We are often aware of many differing religious groups within the city, but we often know very little about them. This series of talks hopes to be a point of education and an opportunity for representatives of those faith traditions to have an opportunity to present their faith in their own words and explain some of their practice. The series begins on Tuesday 9th February at 8pm in the Parish Room. All are welcome to join us for these talks.
9th February: Dr Norbert Hintersteiner 'Introducing Inter-Faith Dialogue'
Dr Hintersteiner specialises in comparative theology and the study of religions. He held positions at Catholic University in Washington DC, the Universities of Vienna and Mainz and the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands before being appointed to the Irish School Of Ecumenics here in Dublin.
16th February: Dr Alan Peatfield ‘The Way of the Dao’
Dr Peatfield is college lecturer in Greek archaeology in UCD who has held a life-long interest in Daoism.
23rd February: Ani Tsondru: 'Tibetan Buddhism'
Ani Tsondru is a Tibetan Buddhist nun working in Kagyu Samye Dzong here in Dublin. Originally a native of Dublin, Ani has also spent time at the Kagyu Samye Dzong in central London. The centres offer regular times for prayer, readings and meditation.
2nd March: Yahya Al-Hussein: ‘Islam in Ireland’
Yahya Al-Hussein is Imam of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland (ICCI) at Clonskeagh, Dublin. The ICCI is a friendly society and a registered charity, originally set up by students in 1959, establishing Ireland's first Mosque in 1976. ICCI has been the official representative of Muslims in Ireland and looks after the religious, educational and social needs of Muslims in Ireland.
9th March: Mrs Joan Finkel: ‘Judaism Today’
Mrs Joan Finkel is a member of the Dublin Jewish Progressive Congregation which she has been closely involved in since its foundation in 1946. As a former President and Honorary Secretary to the congregation, Joan Finkel has given many talks to many different groups on Judaism and the importance of interfaith dialogue today. Fr Andrew

Friday 5 February

Table Quiz and Auction

The seventh annual Saint Bartholomew's Table Quiz and Auction will take place on Friday 12 March at 8.00pm in Merrion Cricket Club -- and you're invited!
The main purpose of the event is of course to raise much needed funds for the choir, however it is also a particularly entertaining evening, with large numbers of prizes for all to take away.
Tables cost €40, and may contain up to six people in total, no more than four of whom may be adults. As always we would greatly appreciate advance bookings, which can be made by contacting Fergus in the parish office on 01-6688522. We can also take pre-bookings online via "http://tinyurl.com/stbartsquiz". If you don't have a full table please come along on the night anyway and we'll find you a team.
If you can help out with items for the Auction and/or Raffle please contact Robin Heather (ashcom@iol.ie or 087 2570200).

Wednesday 3 February

Recording the CD

The CD was made up of well-known songs but they were slightly changed. During the recording the church was filled with music and the words "cut", "retake" and my favourite word, rather sentence, "that’s a wrap".
Sometimes someone would make a mistake like cough, sneeze or rustle their papers and so the song or piece of music would start over again. The CD recording was one of the few times that boys, girls and men got together and sang.
One song that all three choirs sang together (and my mum’s favourite) would be O Holy Night. When the recording came to a close you could tell the atmosphere was changing. A bit of joy because all our hard work was nearly over, a bit of sadness because we had fun making the CD and a bit overwhelmed (well me) because it all happened so fast (four days doesn’t seem like a very long time, does it!).
When the CD was finally released at the Christmas concert you can bet that we all like the way it turned out, and hearing us at our best was great too. All in all, I think it's safe to say that the recording was a big success and we all loved making it.
By Maya McNair, a member of the Girls' Choir.

Wednesday 3 February

Services

Last Sunday 17th January we were pleased to have as our celebrant and preacher at the Solemn Eucharist the Archbishop of Dublin, Most Revd John Neill. This Sunday 24th January we welcome Revd Patrick Comerford who will preside at the Solemn Eucharist at 11am. The choir of girls and men will sing the setting in F by Herbert Sumsion. At 6pm the choir of boys and men will sing Solemn Evensong of the Conversion of St Paul, the setting being Stanford in A.

Friday 22 January

Epiphany Eucharist

Due to adverse weather conditions the Sung Eucharist this evening will be replaced by a said Eucharist at 8pm.

Wednesday 6 January

Forthcoming services

Sunday 3rd January 2010 11am Solemn Eucharist, sung by the Elgin Chorale: Merbecke Mass, Britten A New Year carol. Wednesday 6th January 8pm Solemn Eucharist of the Epiphany, sung by the boys and men: Ireland in C, Stopford The three kings. Sunday 10th January 11am Solemn Eucharist, sung by the boys and men: Stanford in C and F, Ives Listen, sweet Dove; 6pm Choral Evensong, sung by the girls and men: Dyson in F, Tallis O nata lux.

Thursday 31 December

Choirs' new CD

The choirs' new CD was launched recently amidst great fanfare! A celebration of the twentieth annual concert featuring the church choirs with Alan Stanford, it features a programme of readings and carols that will bring joy to everyone this Christmas season. It will be a lasting souvenir of twenty fabulous years of this unique event, and of course will be a highly enjoyable disc in its own right. The perfect present for anyone with a love of festive music and stories, and with a special connection to Saint Bartholomew's! In addition, all proceeds will help the Choir Fund to provide even better music in the future. For further details and to make an order, please visit http://christmas.stbartholomews.ie/, or speak to the churchwardens.

Tuesday 22 December

Christmas Cards

Christmas cards with beautiful photographs of our church have been produced by Richard Bannister and sets of 10 cards can be bought for €5. We encourage everyone to buy a few sets, and thus contribute to the Parish funds and spread Christmas cheer! They are available on Sundays after the services and from the Parish Office Wednesday to Friday, 01-6688522.

Friday 20 November

Dublin Symphony Orchestra

The Dublin Symphony Orchestra, now in its forty-third year, is one of Dublin’s leading non-professional orchestras whose members hail from a variety of backgrounds and professions. The Orchestra performs at least three public concerts each year and provides its enthusiastic members with the opportunity to study and perform classical orchestral music.
The following works will be performed at our upcoming concert:
 Mozart – Overture to ‘The Magic Flute’
 Mozart – Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major (Soloist/Director – Elaine Clark)
 Beethoven – Symphony No. 5 in C Minor
The Orchestra will perform under the continuing direction of Fergus O’Carroll and take this opportunity of welcoming guest Leader/Director Elaine Clark.

Friday 20 November

Walk of Light

The Walk of Light is an ecumenical event that takes place each year in the city. This year it takes place on the evening of Sunday 22nd November beginning in the Newman University Church of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom at 6pm (St Stephen's Green) and ending in Saint Bartholomew's (the evening is scheduled to end at 8pm). There are a total of three stops along the way, and some light refreshments will be provided after the final stop. Lanterns and candles will be provided and children are welcome.
This is an important part of our witness together in the city as many churches come together through the Dublin Council of Churches and I would like to encourage you to join us for this very special event.
Even if you feel you are unable to make it to all of the Walk of Light, you might perhaps consider coming along to at least one stop along the way. There will be no service of Choral Evensong on 22nd November as we will be participating in the Walk of Light. Fr Andrew

Thursday 5 November

Concert postponed

The concert originally scheduled for Saturday 14th November has had to be postponed. It is hoped the concert will take place at a future date.

Thursday 5 November

CD Recording - Coming Soon

Corporate pre-ordering information
Information on individual orders will be available from December 1

Wednesday 4 November

Student Reader

John Godfrey will be joining St Bartholomew’s on an eight-week Sunday placement from November 1st, as a first year ordinand on the new Master of Theology course in the Church of Ireland Theological Institute. Originally from Wolverhampton in the West Midlands of England, John is a graduate of English and French from the University of Leeds. Since moving to Dublin to in 1998, John read a Masters in Film and Television Studies in DCU and has spent the last ten years in RTÉ Television, as Business Development Manager and more recently Head of Implementation in Television Sales. He is a congregant member of St Patrick’s Enniskerry, where he has been co-ordinating this year’s ecumenical 150th anniversary celebrations of three churches in the area with Archdeacon Ricky Rountree and Father John Sinnott, which have included the recent RTÉ Television broadcast Songs From The Garden.

Wednesday 28 October

All Saints and All Souls

The festival of All Saints takes place on Sunday 1st November at 11 am in Saint Bartholomew’s and all are welcome. The festival of All Souls takes place on Monday 2nd November in Saint Bartholomew’s at 8pm. This feast is a time when many who have had family association with Saint Bartholomew’s return to the parish for this moving and important festival to remember with thanksgiving, their loved ones in the care of God. We welcome you to join us for these festivals and hope and pray that it may be a special and important time for you and your family.

Wednesday 28 October

St Mary's Home Autumn Fayre

Many thanks to all who supported the Autumn Fayre on Thursday 1st October. The bookstall was, as always, run by St Bartholomew’s Parish and business was brisk. We are grateful for the support of St Conleth’s School. The proceeds of the day will greatly help the good work of the Home.

Friday 2 October

St Mary's Home Autumn Fayre

The annual Autumn Fayre in aid of St Mary’s Home, Pembroke Park will be held in St. Conleth's College, Clyde Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 on Thursday 1st October 2009 between 10am and 2pm when we look forward to meeting our many friends.

Wednesday 24 September