THE CONSTANT HOPE: Christmas means...memories of parents and siblings together, ...of goodies and treats, of games, gifts and Santa, ...of carols and songs telling the story of Jesus birth, ...of " O Come all ye Faithful" sung in church on Christmas morning, ... celebrating our wedding anniversaries. Christmas means... keeping traditions, ...letters, cards between old friends ...family at Christmas Eve supper when the youngest lights the Christmas Candle, symbol of the Light of the World and the cake is ceremoniously cut ...of turning off lights to bring in the pudding in flames. Christmas means...midnight Holy Communion - joyful yet solemn, our church family celebrating together the meaning of the season - Emmanuel, God with us, Prince of Peace, Hope of the World. Christmas means...the hospitality of our children, as following Christmas morning service, we spend the day in their homes in family tradition sharing and enjoying the excitement of our grandchildren, appreciating this special stage in our lives with the assurance that the Christmas message continues to give hope for the world. Joan & Alec Hales SPAN CHRISTMAS EDITION SPAN CHRISTMAS EDITION 2010 2010 CARRIGROHANE UNION OF PARISHES CARRIGROHANE UNION OF PARISHES St Peter’s, Carrigrohane St Senan’s, Inniscarra The Church of the Resurrection, Blarney Christmas Events & Services! Sat 4th Dec—7.30pm in the Parish Centre—A Fundraiser for the Healthy Vine Trust & Carrigrohane Union Youth Project Beetle Drive with prizes, quiz, cake stall and entertainment Fun for all ages ! €20 per table (4-6 people/ table) or €5 per person. Space may be limited so call the office on 4877260 to book your table Sat 11th Dec—3pm—Carol Singing in ‘Rosenalee’, Ballincollig Sun 12th Dec—3.30-5pm Christingle Lighthouse, Blarney 7pm Community Carol Service, Inniscarra Mon 13th Dec (time to be confirmed) Blarney Community Carol Service in the Roman Catholic Church, Blarney Wed 15th Dec—Very Special Seniors’ (over 50?!) Christmas Lunch at 12.45pm in Parish Centre, (following Holy Communion in the Parish Centre at 12 noon) THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS We asked new and long standing members of the Church to share with us what Christmas means to them... A NEW REWARD: Christmas to me in the past had always been traumatic. When I was a child we didn’t get Christmas presents and my parents would always have a huge fight Christmas Eve which resulted in one of them walking out. Then when I became a parent myself things were just as stressful as I tried to give my children everything I didn’t get, and more. I had things so controlled that we literally couldn’t breathe. Since becoming a Christian things have changed dramatically. I am much more relaxed. I find giving, even if it’s something small, so rewarding. The most important thing that I’ve learned is that it is our Lord and Saviour’s birth and that’s led to more of an understanding of the meaning of Christmas. Ashley Hayes Fri 17th Dec— Christmas meal out for all youth-work volunteers (Glow, Glow Max, Youth Cafe & Sunday PM) to say thank you for all your work— 7.30pm in Wagamamas Dessert is on us!! 7-9pm—Carol Singing in Ballincollig shopping centre for Guide Dogs Sat 18th Dec CDYC Christmas Bash in The Trident Hotel, Kinsale, For anyone aged 16+ Details on www.CDYC.ie Book tickets now - it will be a great night out !!! Sun 19th Dec—Parish Carol Service at 7pm, Carrigrohane Fri 24th Dec—Holy Communion at 11pm, Inniscarra Sat 25th Dec—Christmas Day—10am Holy Communion, Carrigrohane & 11.15am Holy Communion, Blarney Sun 26th Dec—11.00am , United Worship, Inniscarra 31st Dec—Café Church New Year’s Eve Party from 9pm in the Parish Centre—all welcome! PDF Creator - PDF4Free v2.0 http://www.pdf4free.com
Transcript
THE CONSTANT HOPE:
Christmas means...memories of parents and siblingstogether,...of goodies and treats, of games, gifts and Santa,...of carols and songs telling the story of Jesus birth,...of " O Come all ye Faithful" sung in church onChristmas morning,... celebrating our wedding anniversaries.
Christmas means... keeping traditions,...letters, cards between old friends...family at Christmas Eve supper when the youngest lights the ChristmasCandle, symbol of the Light of the World and the cake is ceremoniously cut
...of turning off lights to bring in the pudding in flames.Christmas means...midnight Holy Communion - joyful yet solemn, our church family celebrating together themeaning of the season - Emmanuel, God with us, Prince of Peace, Hope of the World.Christmas means...the hospitality of our children, as following Christmas morning service, we spend the day intheir homes in family tradition sharing and enjoying the excitement of our grandchildren, appreciating this specialstage in our lives with the assurance that the Christmas message continues to give hope for the world.
CARRIGROHANE UNION OF PARISHESCARRIGROHANE UNION OF PARISHESSt Peter’s, Carrigrohane St Senan’s, Inniscarra The Church of the Resurrection, Blarney
Christmas Events & Services!Sat 4th Dec—7.30pm in the Parish Centre—A Fundraiser forthe Healthy Vine Trust & Carrigrohane Union Youth Project
Beetle Drive with prizes, quiz, cake stalland entertainment
Fun for all ages ! €20 per table (4-6 people/ table) or€5 per person. Space may be limited so call the office on
4877260 to book your tableSat 11th Dec—3pm—Carol Singing in ‘Rosenalee’, Ballincollig
Sun 12th Dec—3.30-5pm Christingle Lighthouse, Blarney7pm Community Carol Service, Inniscarra
Mon 13th Dec (time to be confirmed) Blarney Community CarolService in the Roman Catholic Church, Blarney
Wed 15th Dec—Very Special Seniors’ (over 50?!) ChristmasLunch at 12.45pm in Parish Centre,
(following Holy Communion in the Parish Centre at 12 noon)
THE MEANING OF CHRISTMASWe asked new and long standing members of the Church to share with us what Christmas means to them...
A NEW REWARD:Christmas to me in the past had always been traumatic. When I was achild we didn’t get Christmas presents and my parents would always havea huge fight Christmas Eve which resulted in one of them walking out.Then when I became a parent myself things were just as stressful as Itried to give my children everything I didn’t get, and more. I had things socontrolled that we literally couldn’t breathe. Since becoming a Christianthings have changed dramatically. I am much more relaxed. I find giving,even if it’s something small, so rewarding. The most important thing thatI’ve learned is that it is our Lord and Saviour’s birth and that’s led to moreof an understanding of the meaning of Christmas. Ashley Hayes
Fri 17th Dec— Christmas meal outfor all youth-work volunteers
(Glow, Glow Max, Youth Cafe & Sunday PM)to say thank you for all your work— 7.30pm in Wagamamas
Dessert is on us!!7-9pm—Carol Singing in Ballincollig shopping centre for
Guide DogsSat 18th Dec CDYC Christmas Bash in The Trident Hotel,
Kinsale, For anyone aged 16+ Details on www.CDYC.ieBook tickets now - it will be a great night out !!!
Sun 19th Dec—Parish Carol Service at 7pm, CarrigrohaneFri 24th Dec—Holy Communion at 11pm, Inniscarra
Carrigrohane Union took a very brave step to begin theprocess of setting up a full time youth work project. Theoriginal vision was to ensure that Parish young peopleand others would have an opportunity to engage withfaith development in fresh and exciting ways. It wasdecided that in order to see this vision realised, the Par-ish needed to employ a Parish Youth Worker. This wasmade possible thanks to the Good Bequest. The mon-ies from this source have allowed the Parish to employMatt and Katie on a full time basis since August 2007.
Earlier this year a very thorough review was undertakenof our Youth Work project in order to celebrate its suc-cesses and identify any learning from the first threeyears of the project. The following extract is from thisReview, which is available on the Parish website fordownload or hard copies are available from the Parishoffice.
The Review Group recognised and celebrated the manyachievements of the Project over the past 30 months. Inparticular it noted the strong personal commitment ofthe youth work staff and the volunteer team to youngpeople. There is lots of evidence that the Project hasmade a significant contribution to the faith formation ofa generation of young people and the church will benefitfrom this for many years to come. There is plenty ofevidence of high quality programmes and activities be-ing offered.
The Review recommended that the Parish takes a num-ber of practical steps to improve the support and ac-countability structures for the Youth Workers. It recom-mended that the level of contact between the youthwork project and young people be informed by bestpractice guidelines. It also recommended that a trainingand support strategy for volun-teers be developed and that thepool of volunteers be expanded.It recommended that the Projectcontinues to develop relation-ships and contact with externalbodies including the DiocesanYouth Council. In developingexisting programmes, it alsorecommended that thought begiven to other initiatives and thatthe Priority groups for the nextphase of the project should be:Parish Young People; Parishyoung people who are on themargins of the parish; Parishyoung people who are attendinglocal secondary schools; young
people who live in the immediate catchment area ofthe Parish Centre.” (Review Group Members:Cesca Tyrrell, Hilary Jenkinson and Ivan McMahon)
Following on from this review a new Youth WorkerManagement group was set up with a revised brief(Ian Jonas, Marg Everett, Heather Lane, Mark Dun-woody, Cesca Tyrrell, Ivan Mc Mahon as well as ouryouth workers). This group reports directly to theSelect Vestry. We would like to acknowledge thework of the outgoing members of the former youthadvisory group, particularly Trevor and Diane Martin,Hilary Jenkinson.
Since the adoption of the Review by the Select Ves-try, work has now begun on implementing many ofthe changes recommended as well as of coursecontinuing to build on the good work what was al-ready going on with young people.
One of the key issues which was identified throughthe Review was the need to reinforce the links be-tween the Parish and the Youth Work project. If youare a parent of a young person who is involved youare probably aware first hand something of the workthat goes on in the Project. If you are not directly orindirectly involved you may not feel particularly closeto the Project.
As an attempt to ensure that we all take responsibil-ity for this important piece of work we are suggestingthat we use the principles developed in the UK by aconsortium of churches and faith based organisa-tions as a way of focussing our attention.
“We Love Our Youth Workers” is a National Char-ter which is made up of a set of seven promiseschurches and Christian organisations make aboutthe practices and principles they will use in employ-ing a youth worker.
(If you would like to look at the full charter visit:http://www.weloveouryouthworker.org.uk)
While some of these principles relate to us as anemploying body, many of them are undertakings weas individual members of the Parish can commit our-selves to. Please see the enclosed flyer—intendedas an aid to prayer for us all.
Ivan McMahon
“We Love Our Youth Workers” SPANSPAN
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Charity Swap—Toddlers NewsOur Friday morning Toddler Group is as busy as ever. We con-tinue until 17th December and return again on 14th January.Our team is quite stretched at the moment so if anyone wouldlike to come on board, please talk to Lucia O'Donovan tel. 0872942285.3rd December will be a CHARITY SWAPmorning, where people are asked to do-nate good quality pre-school items (toysand baby equipment) that they no longerrequire and these will be available totake away on the 3rd by anyone whoneeds them. All items will be free to takeaway, but anyone who wishes can contribute to a collection forthe Cuanlee shelter for abused women and children. If anyonein the parish has anything lurking in their cupboards that they'dlike to donate, items will be collected at the Parish Centre onFriday, 26 Nov and Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2 Dec.If you'd like more information please contact Lucia as above orMary on 085 1294708
SPANSPAN
InvitationThe Man Born to be King
Starting in the beginning of December, the Wednes-day night home group will be reading (aloud!) Doro-thy Sayers' twelve radio dramas on the life of Jesus,The Man Born to be King. Sayers' plays give greatinsight into the gospel story, making Jesus and thedisciples seem very real. Unfortunately the book isout of print and we're having trouble locating rea-sonably priced copies of it. To avoid making loadsof photocopies, would anyone have a copy of thebook that our group could borrow for the next fewmonths? We promise we'll take good care of it. Andif anyone would care to join us, at 15 St Mary’sPlace, Carrigrohane on 1st December at 8pm – and
continuing after Christmas at FionaCawkwell’s flat - they'd be morethan welcome. Thank you!
Mary Venables (021-4877006/085-1294708)
Jesus — the Star of ChristmasWe all love a “rags to riches” story and that’s why shows like “The X Factor” areso popular, as it finds someone who is completely unknown and makes them astar. Mary Byrne, the Tesco worker from Dublin, is the current darling. A womanof great talent, living an ordinary life, with a passion for singing but obscure to thepublic eye, is now acclaimed by millions. If she doesn’t win the competition outright, she will nonetheless be a star - at least for a time.
Stars are what make the celebrity culture. They shine above the rest of us,whether we are Tesco workers, dieticians, phlebotomists, publicans, mechanics,professors, street cleaners, call centre operators, farmers, sailors, truck drivers,airline pilots, social workers, secretaries and clergy (we can’t leave them out!)etc. For the most part we are quite happy to be obscure and out of the publicgaze and don’t hanker for a coating of star dust. If truth be told, we can be prettycynical about the celebrity culture and talent shows...
So, it is easy to knock these programmes for unreal expectations and being swept away by the idea of stardom.But at the heart of these talent shows is the desire of individuals to use a gift in a way that brings satisfaction andmeaning to their lives.
Indeed, one of the most well-known Gospel stories is the parable of the talents (Matthew 25 v 14f). As far as Godis concerned life is a “talent show” where if we don’t use our talents, our gifts, then we are missing out and God’sheart breaks. The Church too is part of the “show” to encourage people in discovering their gifts and so pleaseGod and find personal satisfaction.
.Away from the glitz then, can the church develop talents that help our communities, often struggling, to flourishand resonate not with star dust, but the glory of Christ who is the true star this Christmas? While stars come andgo, His light still burns brightly. Born in obscurity Christ came, heralded by a star to become the “bright MorningStar” (Revelation 22 v 16) to lift us out of the shadows and “as children of God have a new dignity” (BCP p 358)so that we can become the people and communities we are created to be. Ian
Opportunities to serve and sing carols…• Come join the singers for Inniscarra Carol Service on 12 December at 7pm—we’ll be practising on
Tuesday evenings at 8.15—23rd & 30th November and 7th December. Everyone welcome!• Carol singing in Rosenalee Nursing Home on Saturday 11th December at 3pm.• Singing in aid of the Guide Dogs for the Blind in the Ballincollig Shopping Centre with some of the worship band
on Friday 17th December from 7-9pm.• Decorating the Churches for Christmas: Blarney Church on Saturday 11th Dec at 11am; Inniscarra Church on
Saturday 11th Dec at 11am; Carrigrohane Church on Saturday 18th Dec at 10am
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Tuesday 30th November10am-12 noon Toddlers in Blarneychurch8.15pm Carol singing practice,Inniscarra church
Thursday 2nd December8pm—Alpha Blarney secondary school
Friday 3rd December10am Charity Swap morning in the Parish Centre (see else-where in Span & on news-sheets for details)10.15-11.45am Toddlers—Parish Centre, Carrigrohane7-9pm Glow Max in the Parish Centre
Saturday 4th December7.30pm Beetle Drive in the Parish Centre
Tuesday 7th December10am-12 noon Toddlers in Blarney church8.15pm Carol singing practice, Inniscarra church
Wednesday 8th December8pm—Book Club meets at Bacco, Ballincollig to talk about‘Skipping Christmas’ by John Grisham
Thursday 9th December8pm—Final Alpha in Blarney secondary school
Friday 10th December10.15-11.45am Toddlers– Parish Centre, Carrigrohane7-9pm—Glow in the Parish Centre
Saturday 11th December11am decorating Blarney Church for Christmas11am decorating Inniscarra Church for Christmas3pm—Carol Singing in Rosenalee Nursing Home, Ballincollig—
followed by refreshments in the Parish Centre11am United Celebration in the Parish Centre
5.30-7.30pm Sunday PM
Sunday 12th December9.00 am Morning Prayer, Carrigrohane
10.00am Holy Communion, Carrigrohane11am A Service of the Word, Blarney
3.30-5pm The Christingle Lighthouse, BlarneyGrowing Leaders Session this afternoon in Parish Centre
5.30-7.30pm Sunday PM7.00pm Inniscarra Community Carol Service
Monday 13th December(Time to be confirmed) Blarney Community Carol Servicein the Roman Catholic Church, Blarney
Tuesday 14th December10am-12 noon Final Toddlers of term in Blarney church
Wednesday 15th December12 noon A Service of Holy Communion in the meetingroom of the Parish Centre12.45pm—V Special Seniors’ Christmas Lunch in the Par-ish Centre
Friday 17th December10.15-11.45am Final Toddlers of term—Parish Centre,Carrigrohane7-9pm Carol Singing in aid of Guide Dogs for the Blind inBallincollig Shopping Centre—all welcome!7.30pm—Christmas dinner in Wagamamas for all youthwork volunteers
Saturday 18th December10am decoration of St Peter’s for ChristmasCDYC Christmas Bash in the Trident, Kinsale
Friday 24th December11pm Holy Communion for Christmas Eve, Inniscarra
Saturday 25th December—Christmas Day10am Family Holy Communion, Carrigrohane11.15am Family Holy Communion, Blarney
Sunday 19th December11am Holy Communion, Blarney
7pm Carol Service in St Peter’s, Carrigrohanefollowed by seasonal refreshments in the Parish Centre
December 2010Sunday 28th November
5.30-7.30pm Sunday PM in the Parish Centre‘O Come Emmanuel’ - at 7.30pm in the Parish Centre—a short informal time of worship as we begin Advent
Sunday 26th December11.00am, United Worship, Inniscarra
31 DecemberCafé Church—
New Year’s Eve Partyfrom 9.00pm-00.30 in the
Parish CentrePlease let the office know if you have a party pieceyou would like to share –such as a song, a poem, aprayer, a joke, a skit, a monologue, a game….etc.
Please bring items to eat and drink for sharing -thank you!
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New Year’s Eve Partyfrom 9.00pm-00.30 in the Parish Centre
Please let the office know if you have a party piece youwould like to share –such as a song, a poem, a prayer, ajoke, a skit, a monologue, a game….etc.
Please bring items to eat and drink for sharing- thank you. Fancy dress is an optional extra!
Everyone is very welcome!
PeopleA clean sweep for the New Year! There is room forcleaning help on the rota for St Peter’s Church in Janu-ary (and July!). Please contact the office if you’d like to
help—even to just do it once to test the waters!Our best wishes go with Edith Whittaker as she moves from Rose-nalee Nursing Home to St Luke’s Nursing Home to live.Thank you—• to Jim Casey for an inspirational and enjoyable
Café Church evening in November.• to Simon & Eleanor Stokes for sharing their exciting and moving
story at the United Celebration.• to Helen Burke for hosting & leading the Home Group for so
many years. The group has reached a natural conclusion due tomembers leaving away and other circumstances.
Congratulations to Fiona Devoy McAuliffe on being awarded herPhD.We continue to pray for the McEvoy family following the death oftheir daughter in a road accident. Jim McEvoy is involved with TheGunners—the Special Olympics team who have completed the workon the field between St Peter’s & Nangles, and will be using it for train-ing in the Spring.
We change the answer machine message at the beginning of each week—and include the times of the services for the following Sunday.
A Thinking Evening, aroundConfirmation & Communion
...for all those considering Confirmation, and those fami-lies that would like to think about Communion for theirchildren. Young people and parents are all welcome tothe Parish Centre to meet with Ian & Matt on
Wednesday 5th January at 7.30pm
“Sunday Worst” That is what we would likeyou to wear to St Peter’s on Sunday 12th December forthe 10.00am service – ie; the old clothes you use for
house work , gardening etc. Also please bring a brush,spade, and visibility jacket! For we are going to clear upthe leaves from around the road and path outside thechurch as an expression of being good neighbours. Ofcourse if you wear your “Sunday Best” as usual, you
are still more than welcome to encourage the rest of us!
Beetle Drive with prizes, quiz, cake stall andentertainment
Sat 4th Dec—7.30pm in the Parish CentreA Fundraiser for the Healthy Vine Trust &
Carrigrohane Union Youth ProjectFun for all ages ! €20 per table (4-6 people/ table) or €5 per person.
Space may be limited so call the office on4877260 to book your table
Dear friends,Greetings from a very cold midlands – but without the scaryCork icy hills! It has been a busy month and is quite a change to come to atraditional parish. They are a great bunch of people who work very hard tokeep the Churches going and support one another through the challenges oflife. They have done a massive job on the Rectory, which makes a great differ-ence for us. It is interesting to have a school for the first time and there is lotsto learn. The parish have just agreed to apply for the Church 21 parish devel-opment programme, which should help us to work together to develop, andhopefully grow the parish. We are busily preparing for the Christmas festivitiesand I’m hoping to introduce Christingles to the children’s Christmas party.We both want to say a very big thank you to you all for your very generous giftas well as all your good wishes. We are still working through those great bagsof pressies from Blarney! Thank you to those who travelled up for the Institu-tion. We are hoping to spend the money on a kitchen table and chairs as wellas a new wardrobe – ours is sitting in the garage since it refused to go up thestairs! We are settling in well and are slowly finding our way round. Alan’s DIYskills have included sledge hammering fencing posts to keep the dogs in thegarden (and away from the neighbour’s hens) and we are working round someof the local table quizzes.Wishing you all a very happy and safe Christmas and every blessing for 2011,
Ruth and Alan
JOB OPPORTUNITIESCarrigrohane Union seeks a
Sessional Parish Youth WorkerThe Parish is seeking to employ a sessional youth workerfor approx 10 hours per week from for a six month period
from 1 March approximately.The person should have experience of working with young
people; have a real and living faith, and bemotivated by a desire to share their Christian
faith with this age group.The person will be involved in a range of activities
including Youth Cafe, Glow, Glow Max, Sunday PM, Holi-day Bible Club etc
Full details of the post are available from the ParishOffice ([email protected])
Closing date Wed 8 December
Tearfund Ireland is looking for aFundraising & Marketing Manager!
Serve God’s church—speak out for the poor.A senior, full-time position. See www.tearfund.ie for moredetails. Closing date 26th January 2011 at 5pm. email:
