Church Services

Lectionary Year A

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Church Leaders Mark Holocost Memorial Day

To mark this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day, the Church Leaders Group (Ireland) held a time of reflection as part of their meeting in Armagh on 27th January.

Pictured from left are:

Archbishop John McDowell, the Church of Ireland

Primate of All Ireland;

Archbishop Eamon Martin, the Roman Catholic Primate of All Ireland; the Revd David Nixon, the President of the Methodist Church in Ireland;

Bishop Andrew Forster, the President of the Irish Council of Churches and Church of Ireland Bishop of Derry and Raphoe; and the Rt Revd Dr John Kirkpatrick, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

We wish to appoint a Groups and Facilities Co-ordinator to join our team.

The successful candidate will work with and under the direction of the Centre Director to ensure the efficient operation of the Kilbroney Centre and its ministry of welcome to groups on residential and day trips.

This will include: Offering Hospitality to groups/ Housekeeping Duties/ Supervision of Volunteers/ Deputising for the Centre Director as required.

For further particulars (including the opportunity for an informal conversation) please contact Jan Peach, Centre Director: booking@kilbroneycentre.com

Deadline for Applications: Friday 10th February at 5.00 pm.

Clonallon and Warrenpoint Facebook https://www.facebook.com/warrenpointcoi/ Sunday Services live streamed at 10.00 am.

Kilbroney Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KilbroneyParishChurchRostrevor/ Sunday Services live streamed at 11.30 am.

Crafters on Wednesdays

This group continues to welcome all folk with crafts of any kind. We gather between 11.00 am and 1.00 pm in the Parish Room.

Tower Bells and Handbells on Thursdays

Tower bells 6:45 to 7:30 pm

Handbells 7:30 to 9.00 pm

Ladies’ Guild 23rd February 11.00 am

Deadline for March 2023 edition of The Pointer is Friday 24th February

Please keep sending in articles and photographs!

Editor: hannamanor15@btinternet.com

Kilbroney Parish Church Prayer Group

Wednesdays 10.00 am to 11.00 am

Ladies Bible Study

Warrenpoint Vestry

Tuesday 14th February at 10.45 am

Everyone Welcome

Compline on Facebook 9.00 pm

Sunday

Kilbroney

Tuesday

Clonallon & Warrenpoint

Badminton

Warrenpoint Parish Hall

All new members welcome Mondays and Thursdays beginning at 5.30 pm

Ash Wednesday Eucharist

22nd February 2023 10.30 am

Warrenpoint Church

Handbells over Christmas

Kilbroney Handbellers‘ schedule was as busy as ever in the lead up to Christmas with performances at Carrick Primary school Christmas fair, after dinner entertainment for Saint John's Parish Church, Newcastle, dining at Castlewellan Castle, an RNLI fundraising evening in Carginagh Church alongside Kilkeel Silver Band and the first Open Mic evening at an Cuan to be hosted by new member April Feng. (We are an international group now as well as cross community with members from Germany, China and USA.)

hand in setting up their own handbell group with their bells and communication is ongoing with another Church of Ireland Church wanting to set up a group with their handbells. (We advised Dundela Parish Church, Holywood, several years ago too). So our bell ringing ministry is spreading!

Next on the agenda for the team is to perform at Warrenpoint and Newry Feis in their percussion ensemble class to get a professional, musical critique from an adjudicator (I’m really in it for the cup!!)

Onwards and upwards!

Lent

The monk, within his monastery, the ploughman and the lord; would keep the Lent time patiently and keep a simple board.

Christmas performances were to culminate at the Candlelit Nine Lessons and Carols service in Saint Bronach’s but unfortunately a few positive tests for covid in the team prevented that from happening. The team were so disappointed at not being able to perform at our own annual Carol Service especially as we were to be joined by a group of P6 and P7 girls from Kilbroney Integrated, on a second set of descant bells compatible with ours on loan from Saint John’s, Newcastle.

The girls had received six weeks of free handbell workshops after school in the church to perform at the school Carol service hosted in the church on Friday 16th December. They rang magnificently.

Saint Bronagh’s and Killowen Primary Schools also availed of a free handbell workshop in the church while visiting our mini Christmas Tree exhibition. At one point 24 bells were ringing together!

It is our aim to give Saint John’s, Newcastle, a helping

Rich food nor meat could touch their lip just plain and simple fare; dried bread in sauce they could not dip –or face the Parson’s glare!

Today, such things don’t tend to be we’ve left them in the past!

Just those within that monastery who keep the Lenten fast.

But all should come to love anew the treasured time of Lent and spend more time with Father, who rewards such time well spent!

Nigel Beeton

We no more earn heaven by good works than babies earn their food and drink by crying and howling.

Martin Luther

I am not what I might be, I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I wish to be, I am not what I hope to be; but I thank God I am not what I once was, and I can say with the great apostle, ‘By the grace of God I am what I am.’

John Newton, former slave trader

2nd January 2023

Bell Ringing at Saint Bronach’s Visiting Bell ringers with the chairman of NMDDC Michael Savage.

In the bicentennial of KPC we were fortunate to host the Northern District Practice of the IACR (Irish Association of Change Ringers). We were blessed to have some of the best bell ringers in Ireland participate, and we were graced by the presence of Michael Savage at this event.

This practice will be a warm-up to Saint Bronach’s hosting the competition for the Cunningham Cup, just after Easter next year. It is very fitting in our bicentennial year that we host this trophy as it was instituted by two of our founding ringers, Charles and James Cunningham. James, unfortunately after service in WW1, died of the Spanish flu in 1919 aged 35 years. His brother Charles, aged 91 presented this beautiful silver cup to be awarded to the ringers with the best timing (striking). Unfortunately he did not live long enough to see his home tower win the trophy, which they did in 1954, 1956 and 1963. In 1954 KPC were the first Northern Team to win the all Ireland championship, the Murphy Cup, and were runners up in 1956 and 1963.

Our current band has a way to go before we emulate those achievements, but we will try.

Covid and Christmas

Over the festive season in Northern Ireland, it was estimated that one in 16 people had COVID, a nine-month high. While many parishioners were not able to be present for some events, and other planned items had to be cancelled, we are thankful that the services of Nine Lessons and Carols, as well as the regular church gatherings, were able to continue. It is encouraging to see that the Covid rates have now reduced again to about one in 40. We urge everyone to continue to take all precautions to keep yourself and other folk safe.

Nollaig na mBan

This is Women’s Christmas and is traditionally celebrated in Ireland. I have been unable to find much about its origins but it is celebrated on 6th January, the eve of the beginning of Epiphany, Old Christmas Day, also 12th Night, Little Christmas, Three Kings Day, the Orthodox Christmas, and the tradition of Wassailing.

As it currently exists it is experiencing a revival in Ireland, women get a day off from family and domestic responsibilities (the men folk are expected to cover all the housework and cooking and childcare) to have a celebration, relax and enjoy each other’s company in a sort of mini Christmas with cake and a drink. Nowadays many men help a great deal with domestic duties and cooking.

My son did Christmas dinner this year and it was a real pleasure to be able to sit down with his family and enjoy the meal and the fun with the grandchildren. It did not stop me from having a Women’s Christmas party of course on the 6th January as I enjoy the company of my female friends, and we all deserve a night off whatever our circumstances.

In the Tudor times, the 12th Night ( of Christmas) was a popular celebration ending the season before the next period in the church calendar of Epiphany. There was a special cake for the occasion and partying when roles were reversed for example, kings became peasants. Truth be told the partying and mischief was pretty wild. This seems close to what happens in Women’s Christmas when the men take over the domestic duties and the women go out for a drink. Please do not read into this that my party, or any other Nollaig na mBan was wild, suffice to say everyone really enjoyed themselves.

Susan Farrell

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