March 2003
* The Service at Desertserges on 2nd March is also a Gift Day with a special collection at Morning Prayer at 10.00am at St Mary’s. Gifts can be made at other times as well.
I know that some of us won’t be getting our Diocesan magazine until after the service on 2nd March itself, but I thought I would nevertheless include details here for the wider readership.
A number of structural repairs have been necessary at St Mary’s Church at Desertserges during the last few years.
These have included, patching walls for painting; repairs to slating on roofs; removing ivy from the tower and the cleaning of guttering there and elsewhere; the removing of steep stairs to the gallery (to comply with ‘Health and Safety’ regulations); other minor but necessary repairs.
All these jobs have been done professionally and well – but now the bill has, at last, arrived!
Unfortunately our reserves are not adequate……..so, it was decided at the January Vestry Meeting that a special Gift Day rather than fund raising should take place immediately.
We need to raise at least €2,000 just to tide us over!
Whilst on the subject of ‘improvements’ we are most grateful to Richard Buttimer and Mark Donovan for putting up a fence around the grass by St Paul’s Parish centre and car park; and to Lily Shorten with Henry and Elizabeth Patterson for planting broad leaf hedging.
Not only has it enhanced the area but there is also now a separate ‘safe’ area should the Parents and Toddlers playgroup wish to do activities outside in the summer. (This group meets on Mondays 10.45 – 12.15 during school term times.)
Richard has also made safe some railing by the school entrance at Ballymoney and reshaped two strong fireguards to fit around the new storage heaters in Miss Hawkins classroom.
Meanwhile at Desertserges National School, furniture and fittings have made the new rooms into good practical learning spaces. The school garden is now springing up with bulbs planted last year by the children.
A dozen or so of us took advantage of Charles Irwin’s visit to start to think about a Mission Statement for the parish. Charles listened whilst members of the parish told him (as someone coming from another culture) – and me (as a still comparatively new rector) what it was like living here and being part of Kinneigh Union. We followed a series of questions and drew a map. Charles then summed up what he thought he had heard. We have ended up with a useful picture/map and a number of phrases that I am working on. There maybe different mission statements that will be used for certain periods of time but the important thing is to make them ours. The two strongest emerging words for this Union were People and Community, which I find very positive as this shows the church is alive, not just a series of part time buildings.
Women’s World Day of Prayer Service at Christ Church Kilmeen on Friday 7th March at 11am. Speaker – Sr. Eilish, Principal Sacred Heart Secondary School, Convent of Mercy, Clonakilty. All men and women of all denominations very welcome to this occasion.
Lent Course – I do Believe and Take It - a course looking at the Eucharist written by Michael Burrows. Thursdays 13th/20th/27th March, 3rd/10th April, 8pm at the Rectory.