14.03.2016
Wonder of Baptism Shines Out at Clontarf Come&C Service
A celebration of Baptism and Easter was at the centre of the latest Come&C service in Clontarf Parish on Saturday evening (March 12). The 150 year old Church of St John the Baptist was the venue for the service which saw people of all ages renew their baptismal vows and recommit to taking action on the pledges made on their behalf when they became members of the Church.
All the Come&C services are diocesan but with a local flavour designed to enable people from all parts of Dublin and Glendalough meet up and get to know each other and see what life is like in other parishes. They also provide an opportunity engage with one of the Five Marks of Mission of the Anglican Communion to enable people to deepen their own discipleship while imagining what the Marks of Mission can look like in their own lives.
The service was led by the Rector, the Revd Lesley Robinson, who outlined the history of the church which opened its doors in May 1866 and which is one of the largest Church of Ireland churches on the north side of Dublin. The church has recently undergone extensive renovations and the Rector said their thanks for the resources that were available to carry out the work lay at the heart of their anniversary celebrations.
The parish school is Green Lanes National School and Ms Robinson said it was a blessing to the parish. Children from the school sang during the service.
The theme of the service was ‘To Teach, Baptise and Nurture New Believers’, based on the second Mark of Mission of the Anglican Communion. The Rector said that since her arrival, the parish had welcomed 59 babies and children to full membership of the Church.
Exploring Baptism the congregation undertook an exercise being piloted by the Church of Ireland Youth Department in their Confirmation programme putting together jigsaws of texts about Baptism.
With Easter just around the corner, members of the congregation, young and old, were given the opportunity to renew their baptismal vows. They made a thumb print commitment on a special banner pledging to recommit to an area of the promises made at their Baptism: to recommit to regular worship; to repent of a persistent sin; to recommit to proclaiming Gospel values; to work on loving and serving others; and to work for peace and justice in the world around us. People placed their thumbprints on their chosen pledge.
The Thumbprint Commitment Banner will join the Good News Banner from Tallaght and the Tree of Hope from Castleknock at the remaining Come&C services.
Pointing out that the Gospel commissions us to Baptise and teach, the Rector called on the assistant parish organist,
Stephanie Maxwell who thought the congregation an uplifting Easter hymn from the new hymnal supplement Thanks &
Praise entit
The service concluded with prayers based on the Five Marks of Mission and a blessing from Archbishop Michael Jackson.
The next Come&C services take place in Dublin City University in Glasnevin and Christ Church Dun Laoghaire.
The service in DCU will take place in the Interfaith Centre on Monday April 25 at 5.15 pm. The theme will be ‘To respond to human need by loving service’.
The service in Christ Church Dun Laoghaire takes place on Sunday May 29 at 7.00 pm when the theme will be ‘To transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation’.
Photo captions:
Top – Members of the congregation making their thumbprint commitment.
Middle – Teams taking part in the jigsaw challenge
Bottom – Pupils of Green Lanes National School singing during the service.
There are more photos on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DublinandGlendalough/posts/978280268874684