21st September saw the start of our Youth Club with the help of Mark Dunwoody, Carolyn Smith and a good number of our young people.. We had a fun evening and plans were made to join in with the Diocesan activities and to have a programme of our own. Next meeting in the Union is on Friday 16th November (7pm – 10pm) with a DVD. Bring money towards a shared Chinese takeaway. Can we have some parents willing to stay as well? This will be a most enjoyable evening.
At the time of writing we are busy with the elections of the new Boards of Management for our schools. Temporarily the Rector is Chairperson of both schools - but it is only temporarily. We are fortunate to have the choice of two schools in this parish but it does cause extra work in leadership if people don’t come forward. My thanks therefore to Graham Garland willing to become Chairperson at Desertserges. In the future you might think about the Rector taking alternate turns of being Chairperson at the two schools; as one school is NOT more important than the other. They are both Church of Ireland schools and both deliver an excellent education. Smaller schools have a very important role to play – especially for children who might find a larger school difficult.
The Healing Service on the fifth Sunday of September (30th) was appreciated as a moving and much needed prayerful occasion for the Union.
Harvest Thanksgiving – this was a truly splendid celebration on 14th October when Christ Church Kilmeen was decorated with Harvest gifts. We welcomed Edmund, Loretta and Patrick Willis from America. We also welcomed other members of the Willis family from the UK, and others from all parts of Ireland. Other families were represented and we were very pleased to have our local Methodist friends present. As well as harvest we gave thanks for the different gifts within the church - for the restoration of the outer lancets of the south windows (two from the Willis family; two from the Buttimer family; one from the Stanley family and one from the rest of the congregation;) for the two book shelves (the Buttimer family) and the cut glass baptismal bowl (in memory of Ann McKeag.) The Spiro Singers assisted us in our music and we enjoyed a Harvest lunch at the hall afterwards. Thank you to all who helped to make this a memorial occasion.
Friends of St Mary’s Desertserges Tuesday 2nd October – St Mary’s Desertserges saw a church full of local people interested in what Con McCarthy had to tell us about the local history around Desertserges. Thank you to Con for such an interesting evening. We can all look at our landscape with new eyes and try and capture something of the past. Thank you to those who provided refreshments afterwards. We made €1,200 plus that evening.
Our next major fundraiser is the Tea Dance at the BEDA Hall in Enniskeane on Sunday 4th November 3pm – 6pm. €10. See you there!
On Tues. 27th Nov. at 8pm at Hosford’s Garden Centre, we will have a most fascinating and creative evening with Veronica Stuart. Veronica will be giving a talk on Irish Lace and Lace Making. There will be hand made decorations on sale ready for Christmas and in aid of St Mary’s Desertserges. €8, will include light refreshments. All welcome.