22.06.2015
St Bartholomew’s Launch Fundraising Appeal to Restore Unique Dublin Church
Parishioners of St Bartholomew’s on Clyde Road in Ballsbridge have launched an ambitious appeal for the restoration of their church. The parish aims to raise €1 million over the next two years to carry out extensive work on the historic building.
The St Bartholomew’s Renovation Project 2015 – 2017 was launched yesterday evening (Sunday June 22) at a service of Choral Evensong. The service was attended by Archbishop Michael Jackson, who preached, along with members of the local community, public representatives and representatives of local residents’ associations.
Introducing the service, the Revd Andrew McCroskery, said the project was a considerable undertaking. The fundraising had been kick started by a generous anonymous donation but the parish still had a considerable way to go if they were to complete the work which would enable St Bartholomew’s to continue to be an architectural jewel and place of worship for many years to come. The Vicar thanked all the volunteers for their sterling work on the project to date.
In his sermon Archbishop Jackson said that St Bartholomew’s had always “pointed us in the direction of worship as something of value and vitality, whether there be three or three hundred gathered in church”.
He said three essential features of the life of any church were community, beauty and service. Community was central, he said, as a church gathered people and sent them out again equipped and refreshed.
The Archbishop said that society was dominated by visual images, not all over them beautiful. But beauty and worship went together and fed from one another, he said. “For generations, people across Ireland and across the world have enjoyed the splendour of this church and its almost Byzantine character set, somewhat surprisingly, within the Church of Ireland. They have found themselves entering a space where, once their eyes adjust to the darker light within, they see opening before them beauty and colour that it is hard to find in another church in this concentration and in this style,” he stated.
The positive challenge to every church, Archbishop Jackson said, was an invitation to chare with the community around it the beauty of Jesus Christ. He added that the character of the church was to be one of service and hospitality to be welcoming and inclusive to all.
“The needs of this church are clear. For a long time now it has needed significant work to be done to its fabric and to its decoration. Both of these are part of its continuing survival and of its true beauty. It is very important that it should continue to be attractive and attracting both on the outside and on the inside and in this way be a coherent whole,” he said commending the appeal and the work ahead.
St Bartholomew’s has been used continuously as a place of worship since 1867. The historic building is architecturally significant. Stone carving, figurative painted murals, stencilled decoration, mosaic pavements, decorative ironwork and wood work combine with an excellent collection of stained glass to make the church unique.
The first phase of the project, to secure the structural shell of the building to make the church weatherproof, is underway. Other works which have been identified include renovation of the pinnacles, replacing and repairing mouldings, conservation and repair of the stonework and refurbishment of the stained glass windows.
Information on the restoration project and details of how to donate are available on the St Bartholomew’s website – http://stbartholomews.ie/?page_id=1181
Photo caption: Programme architect, Silvia Mambriani of Howley Hayes Architects, Padraig O’Rourke, Barbara Bergin, the Revd Andrew McCroskery, John Slattery, Archbishop Michael Jackson, Mary Hefferenan, Alistair Rowan and Margaret Considine at the launch of the St Bartholomew’s Restoration Appeal.