| Friday 22nd August, 2008 You are here: Home - 22nd August 2008 Index Page |
Front Page
Prince Charles has Christian Aid backing over GM food stance
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| Prince Charles (Photo: Daily Telegraph/08/PG) |
Speaking to the Gazette, the chief executive of Christian Aid Ireland, Margaret Bowden, has backed the Prince of Wales over his recent comments on GM foods. Last week, Prince Charles told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that multinational companies were conducting an experiment with nature which had gone "seriously wrong".
Editorial
LAMBETH CONFERENCE FUNDING
Following the news that the recent Lambeth Conference ran at a deficit of £1.2m, the Board of Governors of the Church of England’s Church Commissioners and the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England agreed to make available to the Lambeth Conference Company (the body given responsibility for managing the Lambeth Conference 2008) up to £600,000 each as required to enable the company to honour its commitments "while fundraising efforts continue". At least at this stage, both bodies regard the amounts as "interest free loan facilities". Full Text
HUMAN RIGHTS IN OLYMPIC CHINA
As the Olympic Games continue in Beijing, events surrounding the Games have raised the profile of the issue of the denial of certain human rights in China. There has been some improvement in recent years and, indeed, some Church of Ireland links with China have grown. However, the human rights problem is still far from resolved and prisoners of conscience remain in prison in China; others, for conscientious reasons, are under house arrest and yet others are in hiding. Full Text
Home News
Liverpool FC’s Shankill visit ‘positive for area and Church’
By Karen Bushby
The annual visit to Belfast’s Shankill area by the community coaches of Liverpool Football Club made news this year when the ‘European Cup’ went missing. Fortunately, the replica of the famous cup - last won by Liverpool in 2005 - was only temporarily misplaced in transit, and the cameras from UTV followed Sister Valerie Thom of the Church Army to the airport, where it was successfully retrieved.
Tribute
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The Revd Robert Brendan Haythornthwaite
The Revd Brendan Haythornthwaite died in France on 29th December 2007 and his funeral service followed at the beginning of January this year. The interment of his ashes recently took place in the churchyard of Holy Trinity church, Fethard, Co. Tipperary. The following is an abridged version of the address of Bishop Edward Darling at the thanksgiving/ memorial service preceding the interment.
After graduating from Trinity with an LL.B. in 1956, Brendan took what we would nowadays refer to as a ‘year out’ and worked as a legal adviser in a gold mine in Ghana. On returning to Ireland, he practised for a period as a solicitor in Drogheda, Co. Louth, before he felt a call to ordination. Perhaps the seed had been sown by the fact that his grandfather was rector of a Dublin city parish.
Parish resource designed to aid understanding of Holy Communion service
Resource material is now available that is tailor-made to the needs of parishioners in the Church of Ireland, unlike a number of other resources which, in many cases, have to be tweaked to suit the Irish context.
Presentation
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Dr Martin Mansergh TD (centre) is pictured at a reception in his honour hosted by South Tipperary County Council with Liz Mansergh (left) and Dean Philip Knowles (right). Dr Mansergh was recently appointed to two Minister of State positions in the Republic of Ireland’s government: at the Department of Finance, with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works, and at the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism, with special responsibility for the Arts.
Glendalough Institution
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The Revd Leonard Ruddock (left) is seen following his institution as rector of Blessington, Diocese of Glendalough, accompanied by Archbishop John Neill. (Photo: Nigel Gillis Photography)
Dublin See House Visit
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The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Eibhlin Byrne (centre) is pictured during her recent courtesy visit to the See House, Dublin, with Archbishop John Neill and his wife, Betty.
World News
New AIDS chief says faith groups can support best health practices
By Juan Michel
Faith-based organizations can play an important role in the response to HIV and AIDS if they abide by the best public health practices, says Dr Julio Montaner, the new president of the International AIDS Society.
Interreligious youth group celebrates open debate
By Henrik Hansson
During a youth interfaith seminar outside Geneva last month, some participants realized that religious differences are usually smaller than imagined and that cultural differences are often more significant than expected.
Peace calls from Orthodox Churches in Russia, Georgia
The patriarchs of the Russian and Georgian Orthodox Churches last week issued calls for peace as military conflict between Russia and Georgia over the pro-Russian separatist enclaves of South Ossetia and Abkhazia escalated into the first war between countries with Orthodox Christian majorities in modern history.
Bishop wants Anglican ‘orderly separation’
In a report to his diocese on the recent Lambeth Conference, the Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Michael Scott-Joynt, has said that he sees "a negotiated ‘orderly separation’ as the best and most fruitful way forward for the Anglican Communion".
Grappling with ‘macho’ society for women’s rights
The Revd Ina Ngefar- Bara Pa of the Timor Evangelical Christian Church says she had to grapple with a "macho" society and a conservative congregation when she wanted to establish a programme to support women’s rights in her congregation in Indonesia’s West Timor province.
Focus on Canon Law
Ecclesiastical courts and disciplinary jurisdiction
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| Revd Terence Dunlop |
In the last of a series of three articles on Canon Law, the Revd Terence Dunlop considers the functions and effectiveness of ecclesiastical courts, with regard to a recent blessing ceremony in a London church of a same-sex clergy civil partnership. Full Text
Letters to the Editor
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Archbishop Harper’s comments on homosexuality Full Text
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Scripture, tradition and reason Full Text
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The Lambeth Conference Full Text
By the Book
See what large letters I use
Edward Vaughan
I have always been captivated by an expression the Apostle Paul uses at the end of the letter to the Galatians. He writes: "See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hands." (6: 11). What exactly is going on here? I take it that Paul has dictated the material in the letter to this point to an amanuensis or scribe. The words at the end of the letter are different. At this point, Paul takes the pen into his hand and starts to write himself. When he does so, he uses a large script.
Musings
Presence
Alison Rooke
"Last out, switch off the lights." Being the ‘last one’ out of buildings can sometimes be an unnerving experience - whether it is a church, church hall, school, supermarket, theatre or shopping mall. A place which, just a short time earlier, was teeming with people can seem very sinister and eerie in atmosphere once everyone has gone; thus, the person who ‘switches off the lights’ is, indeed, one to be admired on many occasions.
News Extra
Controversy Over Omagh Bomb Commemoration Services
Last Friday (15th August) marked the 10th anniversary of the Omagh bombing, when 29 people, including unborn twins, were murdered in a Real IRA car bomb attack in the Co. Tyrone town - the single worst atrocity in over 30 years of the Northern Ireland troubles.
New HIV/AIDS initiative to be launched for young people in Derry and Raphoe
By Earl Storey
A new initiative in the popular Derry and Raphoe children’s series of ‘Let’s Go!’ events will be launched in the Diocesan Centre, London Street, Londonderry, on Wednesday 27th August.
Resignation