Meeting of the Diocesan Council of Mission Thursday 16th January in the Woodlands Hotel, Adare. The meeting was very well attended, and the main points discussed & planned were:
1 The Treasurer, after having been congratulated on owning a ‘celebrity ewe’, who had given birth to no less than six lambs!, informed us that the final donations to overseas projects since 2017, were as follows:
(i) USPG water tank project in Swaziland ( Mission Sunday project 2017) €7,350.00
(ii) Peter McVerry Trust, ( Mission Sunday Project 2018) €9,350.00
(iii) East African Crisis Donation, ( Bishops Appeal) € 300.00
(iv) Syrian Refugees in Lebanon,( Mission Sunday project 2019)… to date €4,178.00
The Treasurer highlighted the fact that he was still awaiting donations from 10 parishes for the Mission Sunday 2019 project, and that he would be in contact with parish treasurers, before the end of the month.
2 As Diocesan representative on the C of I Council for Mission, Rev Charles McCartney presented a comprehensive report on the last meeting held on 21st. Nov 2019.
3 The main item for the meeting was planning events for 2020. After a long, ‘enthusiastic and interesting’ discussion, the proposed programme is as follows:
(i) Ecumenical Evening on Sat 29th. Feb, at 8 p.m. in Lorrha Community Centre, when George Harding, a parishioner of Lorrha Church, will give a talk on the work of 10 students from UCD to establish a new social project in rural Tamil Nadu, South India.
(ii) A retreat in Killaloe Cathedral, ( May/June, date to be decided), led by Rev Terry Mitchell
(iii) Mission Evening in Oct in the Woodlands Hotel, the principal speaker being the C. O. From Sarsfield Barracks, on the conditions experienced by his battalion while on duty in Lebanon. ( Due to rising tensions in the Middle East, it will be impossible for any of the Council members to visit Lebanon in the near future to see the work of Tearfund among the Syrian refugee children in that country.)
(iv) Pending Episcopal approval, to hold a ‘diocesan worship and fun day’, on Mission Sunday 22nd Nov., based in St Marys Cathedral., and the surrounding area. While the members appreciated the amount of work and financial cost involved, based on the success of a similar event held a few years ago, they felt it would be well worth the effort. especially when this year we would once again be support a local charity(ies) as our Mission Project for 2020.
4 Finally, the members instructed the Sec to make contact with the, ’Pioneer Ministry and Outreach Board’, In Tuam Diocese, with a view to meeting them and sharing ideas for ‘advancement of the Kingdom’.
5 Next meeting of the DCM scheduled for: Thursday 5th. March. in the Woodlands Hotel, Adare at 7.45 p.m.
Communications Officer: Dorothy Brislane. Sec: David Frizelle.