05.06.2019
Always be Ready – Ecumenical Bible Week 2019
‘Always be ready’ is the clarion call from Ecumenical Bible Week 2019 which runs from June 10 to 16. Now in its sixth year, there will be parish based events around Dublin and Glendalough with lots of talk, debate and participation.
This year’s key verse is ‘Always be ready to give an answer for the hope which you possess’ [1 Peter 3:15]. During the week there will be presentations and discussions on the Bible, the Beatitudes, talking about faith, Luke’s teaching on prayer, a portrait of Jesus in the Gospel of John, accounting for hope, Pentecost and examining who is our neighbour.
The opening event will be a breakfast at St Paul’s Church, Arran Quay, Dublin, on Monday June 10 at 7am. It will be addressed by Fr Bryan Shortall of the Capuchins and Sean Mullan on the theme ‘Come and have breakfast, Jesus said …’ (John 21:12). Entry is free.
On Thursday June 13 from 2pm to 5pm, Archbishop Michael Jackson will host a symposium in the Holy Cross Diocesan Centre, Clonliffe. The subject is ‘How can we be Christian in Ireland today? Voices of Hope in a secularised Ireland’. Speakers include the Revd Paddy McGlinchey of CITI and Patricia Devlin who is a laywoman imagining a new way of being church. It is hoped that the Rt Hon Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP will also join them. The cost for the symposium is €12 and registration is encouraged.
On Thursday evening the ever popular Thinking Allowed event will take place in the Holy Cross centre at 7.30pm. Discussion will centre on ‘What does it mean to you to be a Christian in Ireland today?’ Panellists include Bishop Pat Storey, Meath and Kildare; Julie Wisdom McKinley of the National Bible Society of Ireland; Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Dublin; the Revd Julian Hamilton, Methodist Chaplain at TCD; and Sharan Kelly, of Tearfund Ireland and the Evangelical Alliance. This is a free event and there will be an opportunity for audience participation.
There will be events in 10 different locations during the week. Church of Ireland venues include Whitechurch on June 10, St Mary’s Howth on June 11 and 12, St John the Baptist Clontarf on June 12, Rathfarnham on June 12. Full details of the events are in the flyer below. All talks begin at 7.30pm.
The closing service takes place at St Finian’s Lutheran Church, Adelaide Road, Dublin 2, on Sunday June 16 at 7.30pm. This will be sung Lutheran Vespers and the speaker will be the Revd Sam Mawhinney of Adelaide Road Presbyterian Church.
See www.bibleweek.ie or www.facebook.com/bibleweekie for details.
