Issue
83 CSNL NEWS May/June, 2024.
Parish
Of Celbridge & Straffan with Newcastle-Lyons
Church
of Ireland United Dioceses of Dublin & Glendalough
By the
parishioners - for the parishioners
From Our Rector - Dear Friends .. In a couple of weeks we will celebrate the feast of Pentecost also known as the Birthday of the Church. The day when Jesus’ followers received the gift of the Spirit was the day when they went out into the world to spread the good news and so it was the beginning of the church or its birthday. Obviously the day we are born we are not able to do anything on our own - we rely on the nurture of our parents, especially our mothers in those earliest days and it is only when we grow up that we go out into the world to fulfil whatever is to become of our lives. We too are sent by God - not necessarily to become preachers or evangelists but to lead lives that bring glory to God by acts of love towards those we meet in our lives. Pentecost is not just for the Holy Joes and Josephines - it is for each one of us. We are all offered the gift of the Holy Spirit in our lives and that same Spirit can transform the potential and possibility of our lives. On this Pentecost Sunday two young people from our parish, Poppy Murphy & Marlena Quigley will be Confirmed in Christ Church Cathedral at 3.30 p.m. As we pray for them let us also this Pentecost welcome the power and blessing of God’s Holy Spirit in all our lives.
Yours Stephen
Church
Services
Sunday Newcastle 9 a.m* Straffan 10.15 a.m. Celbridge 11.30 a.m.
1st Holy
Communion Service of Word Holy Communion
2nd Service
of Word Holy Communion Service of Word
3rd Holy
Communion Morning Prayer Holy Communion
4th Morning
Prayer
Holy Communion Morning Prayer
5th 30th
June. United Service. 11 a.m.
Straffan
*Services will continue in Newcastle at 10 a.m., on
the 1st Sunday as a permanent change in the Sunday timetable.
On Going Events
Craft
& Chat: The Group continues each Tuesday afternoon
at 2.30 p.m., in the Slip Hall and is open to all for crafting, chatting and
refreshments. All welcome!
Wednesday Night Prayers: From 8p.m., to 9
p.m. At the moment they are held in the
home of Tony & Elizabeth Waldron in Newcastle. If anybody would like details they can
contact Rev. Stephen or Dee.
Everyone is very welcome to come along or to let us know if there is
something they would like us to pray about.
Whist Drives. The final Whist Drive of the season took
place on 22nd March and will resume in September. Thanks as always to Esther Lougheed &
Rebecca & James Taylor for organising the nights and to Val Denner for
helping with the raffle
Saturday Night Services. These will resume in June. Date to be announced. The service is generally quite informal and we
would be delighted to see some new faces - also if you play a musical
instrument feel free to bring it along.
The service is normally followed by refreshments and time for a chat
after the service.
Sunday Services On
Line
Don’t forget that if
you can’t get to church on
Sunday, the service from Straffan is live-streamed.
https://www.churchmedia.tv/straffon-church-of-ireland and www.facebook.com/CSNLParish.
Thanks
..to Dee Huddleston for taking the service in
Straffan on 1st Sundays in April and May while our Rector was
in Newcastle-Lyons and also for taking all three services on Sunday, 21st
April when our Rector was on holidays.
Unfortunately, both Stephen & Nicola got Covid while away and
he was unable to take the services on 28th April. Thanks to Geoffrey McMaster who took
the services in all three churches and Dee Huddleston assisted in
Straffan. Thanks to all who maintain the
church grounds now that the mowing season is in full swing and in preparation
for the Car Boot Market.
Bereavement
At time of writing these notes the parish is reeling
from the sad and unexpected news of the death of Liam Gately. Liam, a former churchwarden in Christ
Church, Celbridge, a member of the Select Vestry and a man who gave so much to
our parish in sharing his skills, expertise and most of all his kindness will
be hugely missed but our thoughts are especially with his family in their time
of great loss. We pray for his wife Valerie, his children Ciara,
Darragh, Sinead, Emmet & Caoimhe, his grandchildren Ava & Emily,
son-in-law Damien, Darragh’s partner
Toma, mother Anne, sister Carol, brother-in-law, niece,
nephew and extended family. His funeral
was to take place on Saturday 4th May in Christ Church,
Celbridge. May he rest in peace and rise
in glory.
Roll
Up! Roll Up! The CSN-L Parish Summer Fair Has Arrived!
On Saturday, 11th May from 10 a.m., - 2
p.m., in the Slip Hall, Celbridge. There
will be a variety of wonderful stalls, plants, crafts, toys, books, curiosities
and the famous cake stall. There will be
games of skill and chance. As well as
tea and coffee when you need a break.
There is face painting for the kids and a colouring corner. We will also be showcasing the artistic
skills of the children at Primrose Hill National School. Our new event this year is a dog show to be
held in the garden behind the hall. We
have a series of classes such as fancy dress and best trick. Judging starts at 11 a.m., so be sure to
register nice and early. We look forward to welcoming everybody from the
community to this very special event.
And don’t
forget to buy a raffle ticket …it could be you!
Parish
Outing - Wednesday, 29th May To Russborough
Situated outside Blessington, here is an opportunity
to have a tour of the house, admire the park and gardens and enjoy afternoon
tea. A great day out to get to know
fellow parishioners. Everyone
welcome. Further details from Esther
Lougheed & Rebecca Taylor and will be
announced in church and on social media.
WhatsApp
Groups
WhatsApp group continues to be very active. There are also groups specifically for
Newcastle and another for Straffan notices – together they provide a very
effective means of contact in the parish.
Straffan
Market & Carboot Sale 2024 Report By Jos Evertsen
The 14th Season of the Straffan Market
& Carboot Sale event started on 4th May. Dates for 2024:-
18th May 1st
June 15th June 29th June
13th July 27th
July 10th August 24th August
7th September 21st September 5th
October
The gates open from 8.45 a.m. - 12.30 p.m. If you are interested in booking a stall,
WhatsApp your name and what you sell to Mobile 089-2797200. Calls can not be answered. Pre-BOOKING is required. Fee is €15, paid at the gate. Car + Small trailer is €20. Please use the exact amount. This year we are opening a dedicated CRAFT
only section. This will provide for home
grown and home made produce, Hobby Crafts, Antiques, Books & Music (CD’s, Vinyl’s). No mix with Bric-a-Brac can be used. When applying for a CRAFT Stall, please
WhatsApp your full name + type of CRAFT.
With the arrival of and our links with the Ukrainian
families in Straffan, we are hoping to get them involved in our event. Hopefully this may help them to improve their
conversational English and integrate into the local community.
We are always looking for new volunteers. It requires only 2 hours of your time on a
Saturday morning, a few times during the May to October season. Over the years the parish has benefited an
average of €7,000/year
towards the upkeep and maintenance of the church building. If you like to contribute to our home baking
for our Tea Stall a few times, that would be very welcome as well. For any further information contact any of
our parish volunteers. Thank you for
your support. Looking forward to hearing
from you.
Wedding
Huge congratulations to Karley Shaw & Brendan
Brady who were married on the 18th April in Christ Church,
Celbridge. Maid of Honour was Samantha
Shaw and bridesmaid Emma Curry.
The Bestman was Travis Davidson and groomsmen were Robert
Brady & Michael Duffy. The
reception took place in the Station House Hotel in Kilmessan and was a lovely
evening. We wish Karley & Brendan
every blessing in their marriage.
Ash
Wednesday, Holy Week & Easter
On Ash Wednesday, services were held in Christ Church,
Celbridge and Straffan. The children
from Primrose Hill National School took part in the service in Christ Church,
Celbridge. Holy Week services started on
Spy Wednesday with the traditional service of Compline in St. Finian’s Church,
Newcastle-Lyons. Then on Holy Thursday
in Straffan we had the feast of the Institution of the Eucharist which finished
with the sombre and dramatic stripping of the altar. On Good Friday it was good in all three
churches to join with our ecumenical sisters and brothers in marking the Way of
the Cross in procession between the churches.
Deacon Rev. John Graham assisted in Straffan. Holy Saturday saw the lighting of the Easter
Fire and the new Paschal candle lit from its flames and carried into Straffan
Church marking the dawning of the Resurrection.
Then on Easter morning we had our ecumenical Dawn
service at Castletown gates which was very well supported despite the hour
change robbing us of a vital extra hour of sleep. However those brave souls who ventured out
were treated to Hot Cross Buns and hot drinks in the Slip Hall. Finally, later that morning all churches
celebrated the Feast of the Resurrection with services of Holy Communion. It was a busy week but a very meaningful one
and thank you to everyone who
took part and helped make it happen - those who
cleaned and decorated the churches, provided the music, set up for the various
services and cleared up afterwards and provided refreshments.
Thanks as always to those who observed the days of
Holy Week in our parish and those who assisted with the various services and
ceremonies.
Thanks to our Rector too. The Editor
greatly appreciated that the services from Straffan were broadcast live and so
could join in the services on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday & Easter
Saturday.
Suicide Awareness
Training At CITI
This will take place at the Church of Ireland Theological Institute in
Baemor Park, Churchtown on Saturday, 25th May. The session will offer an evidence based
training course to equip attendees with the necessary skills and confidence to
support individuals who may be considering suicide. The course will run from 9.30 a.m., to 1
p.m. The cost is €25.
Register at: https://forms.gle/bgkraF7rpTFc64c66
Newcastle-Lyons
Easter General Vestry Meeting
The Easter General Vestry meeting for Newcastle-Lyons
was held on 10th April in the Church. Rev. Stephen opened the meeting in prayer
and apologies were noted. Our Rector’s
remarks began with paying tribute to a member of the Select Vestry who is no
longer with us but whose spirit and legacy lives on in this church so dear to
him for over 80 years. Willie Doble was
at the heart of the parish and his contribution on so many levels made such a
difference to so many people through the years.
He is still missed by us all but of course especially by Sandra &
Claire and their families who we hold in our prayers at this time. The past year has been relatively
unremarkable in terms of parochial life but one thing which Rev. Stephen does
think is a positive development is the establishment of the monthly 10 a.m.,
service on the first Sunday of the month and the refreshments which follows.
St. Finian’s Church, Newcastle-Lyons in 2024 is
celebrating 300 years in its current form, this anniversary gives us an excuse
to push the profile of the church both within the parish and in the wider
community and hopefully to turn around the downward trend of church involvement
and engagement within the parish. This
of course is not unique to us here. It is something visible throughout our
church - but it is still down to us in the local church to change things in our
corner of God’s
Kingdom.
Thanks were given to the Glebewardens, Willie
Harris, Mervyn Eager & Tony Waldeon, with a particular word of thanks
given to Willie Harris who after 25 years is stepping back from this
role. Willie’s vision,
energy and commitment to the church is always evident and Rev. Stephen thanked
Willie for all his work and we hope we can rely on his advice and wisdom
for many years to come. Rev Stephen thanked
everyone for their support throughout the year.
He paid a particular thanks to Geoffrey McMaster as a valuable
colleague in ministry and a very important local presence in Newcastle.
Sandra Doble presented the
Treasurer’s
Report highlighting areas of concern, this is the fourth year we have run at a
deficit. On a positive note the deficit
has reduced by a small amount. Looking
forward, we hope the coming anniversary year, will be a better one for us, with
planned fundraising activities to take place in 2024. Thank were also given to our Hon. Secretary, Maggie
Harris, Church Wardens - Elizabeth Waldron & Vivien Bond. And a special thanks to our Hon. Treasurer, Sandra
Doble, for overseeing our parish finances and for the considerable work
involved in the preparation of the annual accounts. Finally, to all vestry members and
parishioners for the help and time everyone has contributed to the smooth
running of the parish.
Annual Elections:
Rector’s Churchwarden Vivien
Bond
People’s Churchwarden Elizabeth
Waldron
Rector’s Glebewarden Mervyn
Eager
People’s Glebewarden Tony
Waldron
Select Vestry (in addition to the above)
Devon Beattie Claire
Burke Sandra Doble
Maggie Harris Willie
Harris Peter Hildebrand
Andrew Jordan Avril
Kerr
Hon. Secretary Maggie
Harris
Hon. Treasurer Sandra
Doble
Concerts In Christ
Church, Celbridge
The UK Drifters concert on 18th April was a wonderful
event. Every seat was taken as favourite
after favourite was played. The audience
joined in with great gusto. Regular
concert goers used to bringing their own cushions to the concerts will be
delighted to know that full length pew cushions for all the pews in the church
have been ordered and should be in situ in the next few weeks. This will also be of benefit to Sunday
morning congregations and will make it much easier to sleep comfortably during
the rector’s sermon. Further events:-
Friday, 17th May Washburn University Choir (Kansas)*
Friday, 24th May Frank McNamara - Mozart by Candlelight.
Saturday, 22nd June. John Spillane
Saturday, 7th September. Brian Kennedy
Saturday, 5th October. Sean Keane
All tickets are now up on Eventbrite and also
available from Breda - 087-9630719.
*Accompanied by St. Mary’s Parish Choir, Maynooth under Sarah Darlington.
Celbridge
& Straffan Easter General Vestry
The EGV was held in Primrose Hill School, Celbridge on
11th April. Rev. Stephen opened
the meeting with a prayer, followed by a warm welcome to everyone. In his report, he acknowledge the many
challenges and opportunities we face as a parish. Similar to last year, our greatest challenge
remains to be getting people into church to attend our services. One of the ways that may help in the longer
term is opening our churches for wider use in the community and this has happened,
especially (but not exclusively) in Celbridge with the development of a regular
schedule of concerts. So many local
people have commented that they had never been in our churches before and
perhaps this is something that we can build on. That said, even though we are
small in number there is an energy and a vibrancy in our congregations and
there is still so much we can do as church no matter how many people cross the
door of the church on any given Sunday.
A prime example of this is the considerable outreach
to the new Ukrainian community, mostly of women and children, based in Straffan
and many of whom are regular attendees at our church in Straffan (so much so
that we now produce service sheets/readings/sermon in Ukrainian). A number of the parishioners, some on this
Vestry have been volunteering in holding language and conversation classes with
members of the Ukrainian community and their efforts have been well received. This is practical Christianity and it is
every bit as important as the prayers we say or the hymns we sing in church.
Rev. Stephen expressed his
thanks to the Vestry members for their ongoing commitment and support, Caroline
Cummins, our secretary, who stepped in at short notice and has served us so
well - we are sorry that she has to step back at this point but thank her for
all she has done and we do hope to see her back at some point in the not too
distant future. Also thanked were Gordon
Bass, our Treasurer, for his diligent and efficient management of parish
finances, Dee Huddleston, Cynthia Lang & Geoffrey McMaster, Diocesan
Lay Ministers based in our parish, organists, Jenny Shaw, Dorothy Evertsen
& James Pasley and the choirs in both churches. Church & Glebe Wardens were also thanked
- Paula Howard, Esther Lougheed, Dee Huddleston & Shirley Dunlop, Ken
Denner & Thomas Hardy. Thanks also to Lilian Webb, Magazine
Editor, Church cleaning and Flower arranging rotas, Jos Evertsen &
the Car Boot Sale team, June Galligan & Lucy Jones for the Parish
sales, Robert Moody in Straffan & June Galligan in Celbridge
who regularly organise work parties to maintain and beautify the church
grounds, Rebecca Taylor & all the Craft & Chat members,
Esther Lougheed & Rebecca Taylor for the Whist Drives and to all our
parishioners. Our Rector concluded
by announcing his appointments to the Select Vestry.
Church Warden Celbridge Paula Howard
Church Warden Straffan Dee Huddleston
Glebe Warden Ken
Denner
The Treasurer’s Report, which was presented by Gordon
Bass, is at the end of the report. A
general discussion followed with lots of ideas on how we can financially
improve our parish’s
future. Some of the suggestions/comments
were:-
More social events to get people back into the church,
eg., BBQ, Harvest Supper etc. The Whist
Drives support the Celbridge Community & the Straffan Carol Service was
full with lots of irregular parishioners.
We need to let everyone know that the church won’t be here it if is not
supported. Doing a snag list with the
accounts to see what needs to be done with possible donations to smaller
jobs/bite size pieces of bigger jobs.
What are we leaving for the future generation? A specific drive donation with a business
plan to project forward 5 years. Set up
a Social Committee now that the Fair is underway. Lucy Jones volunteered along with June,
Linda & Trish. Rev. Stephen will
put it on the parish Whats’App group also.
Opening the church with the organ playing during the Fair to encourage
people to come and look inside. We need
to invest in people/social activities for our future. A welcome sign outside the church inviting
people in. A notice board with a list of
the current/future activities on it.
The following were duly elected to the Select Vestry:
People’s Churchwarden - Celbridge Esther Lougheed
People’s Churchwarden - Straffan Shirley Dunlop
People’s Glebewarden Thomas
Hardy
Ordinary members:
Gordon Bass Linda
Daly Dorothy Evertsen
Liam Gately Lucy
Jones Robert Moody
Trish Pasley
The meeting closed with the Grace.
Treasurer’s Report: The 2023 Annual accounts for Celbridge &
Straffan Parish which I presented recently to our Easter General Vestry,
confirm a very satisfactory financial outcome for the year. Here are some of the more salient
points. We had a €54,000 overall
surplus of income over expenditure. Our
Diocesan Assessment (payment), and our insurance costs have increased by a
combined €8,000
since 2017. These are fixed costs
subject to annual increases in line with inflation etc. Utility costs increased by €11,000 since 2017
- a variable cost which hopefully we will see some reductions in this
year. Repairs and maintenance to all
Parish buildings was (luckily), mainly confined to regular recurring
maintenance/upkeep last year. This kept
our expenditure relatively low. Rental
income was exceptionally strong.
Fundraising including the Car Boot Sales, is always a very welcome and
essential contributor to Parish funds.
While income from Fundraising has been increasing over the past couple
of years it has not yet returned to pre-Covid levels. Parishioners’ financial contributions
(envelopes, standing orders and other regular contributions; Church plate
collections etc.) have changed little since 2017.
The more vulnerable aspects of our current financial
model are (a) the relatively low number of Parishioners who contribute
financially to the running of the Parish (eg. Total personal contributions did
not even fully cover our fixed outgoings last year), and consequently (b) our
increasing reliance on rental income.
Rental income is always susceptible to market trends and the level of
demand for older buildings such as ours, so we should not depend on this income
to help finance the normal running of the Parish. Parishioners’ personal contributions should at
least be sufficient to cover the basic running costs of their Parish but
unfortunately this objective has not been met for some years now. The high cost of keeping our two historic Churches
and the other Parish buildings in good repair is a constant drain on
resources. The reality is that we will
definitely face substantial renovation/repair costs in the future, the only
question is when! We need to accumulate
financial reserves towards this eventuality and not wait until we are suddenly
faced with a crisis.
However, ending on a positive note, I do want on
behalf of the Select Vestry, to thank everyone who contributed in any way to
what, financially speaking, was definitely a very satisfactory 2023 for
us. Our finances are in good shape at
the moment - but we all just do need to look to the future financial needs of
the Parish and plan for them accordingly.
Thank you everyone. Gordon Bass.
At a meeting of the newly selected vestry, Gordon
Bass was re-elected as Hon. Treasurer.
Church
Of Ireland General Synod - Armagh - 10th & 11th May
Please remember in your prayers those attending and
decisions to be made.
Calendar Of Events
May
Fri 10 General Synod. Armagh.
Sat 11 General Synod. Armagh.
Summer
Fair. Slip Hall. 10 a.m., - 2.00 p.m.
Fri 17 Concert.
Christ Church, Celbridge. 8 p.m.
Sat 18 Car Boot Market. Straffan.
8.45 a.m. - 12.30 p.m.
Sun` 19 Pentecost. Confirmation.
Christ Church Cathedral,
Dublin. 3.30 p.m.
Fri 24 Concert.
Christ Church, Celbridge. 8 p.m.
Sat 25 Suicide Awareness Training. CITI.
9.30 a.m.
Wed 29 Parish Outing. Russborough.
June
Sat 1 Car Boot Market. Straffan.
8.45 a.m. - 12.30 p.m.
Mon 10 Closing date for CSNL NEWS summer issue.
Sat 15 Car Boot Market. Straffan.
8.45 a.m. - 12.30 p.m.
Fri 21 End of Year Service. 11.30 a.m. Christ Church,
Celbridge.
Sat 22 Concert.
Christ Church, Celbridge. 8 p.m.
Sat 29 Car Boot Market. Straffan.
8.45 a.m. - 12.30 p.m.
Who’s Who
In The Parish
www.cs-nl.org celbridgestraffannewcastlelyns@gmail.com
Rector: Rev.
Stephen Neill 01-6288231 087-2328172
www.paddyanglican.com stephen.neill@gmail.com
Keep up to date on
www.cs-nl.org
&
https://www.facebook.com/CSNLParish & www.Dublin.anglican.org
Anxiety weighs down a heart,
but a kind word cheers it up. Proverbs.
12:25.
