Our sympathy goes to all members of the Augustinian Community and to all members of his family.

Kieran was a staunch friend of the Church of Ireland and a fearless Ecumenist as witnessed to in his taking responsibility for Ecumenical Bible Week at the invitation of Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and me. It has grown to a success beyond expectation and recognition thanks to Kieran’s energy and skills.

He served as an Ecumenical Canon of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, and was frequently to be found in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, where during Lent he gave his electrifying Lectures on St Paul.

We miss Kieran already and will miss him more as the weeks and months go by. We commend him gently and faithfully to God Almighty.

+Michael

The Funeral Mass will take place at 11.00am on Friday, 21st August in John’s Lane Church, Thomas Street, Dublin 8.

In many of the world’s poorest countries, the climate crisis is making it more difficult for farming families to grow food to support themselves.    

In South Sudan, which is among the very poorest countries in the world, most families rely on farming to survive but the climate crisis has made the seasons unpredictable. Delayed rains, dangerously high temperatures and devastating floods leave many struggling to feed their children. On top of that, decades of conflict have resulted in repeated cycles of displacement, with families forced to flee their homes and abandon their farmland time and time again.

In the north–west of the world’s youngest country, Anok Angok Kon lives with her husband and their seven children, on the frontline of a climate crisis they had no part in creating. Theirs is a low–lying region and every year, during the rainy season, heavy rainfall accumulates and flood waters sweep through their village, damaging homes, destroying harvests and killing livestock.

Anok recalls the day when flood waters swept through her village, killing all her precious livestock – animals she relies on to make her living. Like many farmers, she feared what the future would hold for her children.

Anok says that when harvests are destroyed by flood waters, there isn’t enough food to go around and “all are vulnerable”.

Anok’s eldest has finished school and hopes to go to university when the family can afford it. But the food must grow first, and harvests are becoming increasingly uncertain.

Flooding also contaminates water sources, spreading disease, as Anok explained: “During the flooding season, many women and children here suffer from malaria, diarrhoea and typhoid. The continuous flooding of the last few years has led to the destruction of harvests, leaving many farmers unable to provide for their families.”

But Anok and her neighbours were not alone. Christian Aid’s local partner supported the community to protect their land and their drinking water by digging a dyke (a ditch and bank) to hold back the floodwater and prevent it reaching the village. Community members came together to dig the ditch and create the earth embankment, and a local committee maintains it. Anok said: “We hope the dyke will prevent the floods which damage our homes and kill our animals.”

Christian Aid’s local partner also trained Anok and her neighbours how to grow food in a changing climate. With seeds, tools and training, Anok has planted flood–resilient and drought–tolerant vegetables that are also fast–growing, reaching maturity in as little as 45 days, to make the most of the brief spells when growing conditions are favourable. These crops will feed their families, and any surplus can be sold for cash. Anok added: “We used to go and collect leaves from the wild trees to eat but we aren’t collecting them any more because we are growing vegetables. We were given seeds like kale, jute mallow and okra. We sell some to get cash for the children’s school fees and for medical treatment.”

Thanks to the support of Christian Aid’s local partners, Anok’s land is now better protected from flooding, and she is also rearing chickens and selling her groundnut paste to bring in a much–needed income.

Anok also hopes to start a Village Savings and Loans Association (similar to a credit union) so that farmers can save together, share knowledge and support one another through difficult seasons. It’s one more way Anok wants to pass on what she’s learned.

Despite the challenges that Anok faces, she is determined to succeed. “I work hard for two reasons. One, to put something on the table for my family to eat and two, to earn enough money to pay the fees to keep my children in school. If I get a good harvest, this is what I will do.”

Farming families like Anok’s continue to feel the harsh effects of the climate crisis – with growing seasons disrupted, rains arriving late and floods becoming more devastating. It means that growing enough food is a huge challenge for many families already living in extreme poverty.

Your support can help fund the training and practical solutions that farmers like Anok need to reduce hunger and malnutrition, protect their land and their harvests and keep going when weather patterns become more unpredictable. 

This is an opportunity to join a growing and pioneering team in Kilternan Parish. The purpose of the role is to develop and support the church’s work with young people and young adults.

CVs should be sent electronically to Rev Rob Clements at rector@kilternanparish.ie.  Alternatively, copies can be mailed to Rob Clements, Kilternan Parish Office, Kilternan Church of Ireland, Kilternan Dublin D18 ET99

Please do share if you can think of anyone who might be interested!

Closing Date: Monday 31st August, 12 noon

Hours Part Time (20 hpw) to include evenings and weekends. There is the possibility of an additional 10 hpw through the Dublin and Glendalough Youth Department (DGYC)

Contact Rev Rob Clements at rector@kilternanparish.ie if you have any questions.

You can see the job description here. 

Hosted by the Dioceses of Meath and Kildare, hospitality is at the heart of our presence at the Ploughing. Many people leave home early in the morning to attend, and, as we all know, it can be a very long day walking around the hundreds of exhibition stands, so a space to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea is always welcome.

We are delighted that the Church of Ireland Youth Department will again have a large presence at the stand, along with their ever–popular giveaways — last year the demand for the CIYD pink cowboy hats was incredible.

The stand will also give Meath and Kildare an opportunity to showcase their diocesan project in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, “Building Hope Brick by Brick”, and we are pleased that Tearfund will be joining us to share about their work in developing countries. We hope that Pioneer Ministry will come and tell us about the various ministries being planted around the country.

There will also be an opportunity to pray, and we are grateful once again to The Churches’ Ministry of Healing for creating prayer spaces within the stand. A range of prayer resources will be available.

If you are making a trip to the Ploughing this year, do drop into the Church of Ireland tent – we would love to see you!

This is a paid position requiring c.5 hours a week for preparation and delivery. Resources are provided. Experience preferable. Compliance with Child Safeguarding essential. The leader is assisted by a very enthusiastic group of volunteers. 

For enquiries and/or for a more detailed role description please contact the rector on 0860390866 or by email to adriennegalligan@gmail.com.

Taking place on Mary Sumner Day which commemorates the founder of Mothers’ Union, the thoughtful and encouraging address was given by former Worldwide President, Lady Christine Eames. The marvellous choir which combined the voices of members from far and wide was directed by Judith Gannon and accompanied by organist Tom Little.

In her introduction to the service, All Ireland President Kay Clarke said the theme of the service – ‘Join Us, Join In’ – was more than an invitation to celebrate a milestone. It was an invitation to share in God’s mission to belong, to pray, to serve and to witness to Christ’s love in our homes, churches and communities. It also echoed the vision of Mary Sumner whose faithful response to God’s call has inspired generations of members to put their faith into action with compassion, courage and hope.

During the service, the Revd Alistair Doyle (Dublin and Glendalough) was commissioned as All Ireland Chaplain of Mothers’ Union. A board recording the names of all Mothers’ Union Past Presidents was dedicated. This board will now be displayed in Christ Church Cathedral. A Preaching Scarf for the use of the All Ireland Chaplain was presented by the Revd Arthur Barrett (Cashel, Ferns and Ossory) in memory of his mother Mrs Ann Barrett who was General President Ireland from 1989 to 1995.

In her address Lady Eames highlighted the words of the Gospel reading [John 15: 9–17] ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you’ which she said underpinned what Mothers’ Union aimed to do throughout its 150 year history.

Looking around the cathedral she saw many people who had served Mothers’ Union and thought of Mary Sumner who brought people together in her drawing room in a small action which became a worldwide movement. It was 11 years before that movement came to Ireland when Annabelle Hayes, wife of the Rector of Raheny, started the Mothers’ Union here.

The service allowed members to consider the past, pause in the present and think of the future, Lady Eames said. The past was the easy part, she suggested. “We have worked together, we have prayed together through good times, through bad times… The chain of the Mothers’ Union takes it through two world wars and the devastation that wrought. It takes us through a complete change in the life of women, a complete change in what was possible and what was absolutely closed. So there are many, many memories in our minds today,” she commented.

Reflecting on the work of the Worldwide President, Lady Eames said she felt it was to bring member to member around the world. “We often think of the Mothers’ Union as ‘around the corner and around the world’,” she explained and said this work brought her to places she never dreamed she would visit.

She recalled a visit to Uganda where she went to a camp for those displaced by war in Sudan. In a place where people had fled their homes with nothing and lived in rows upon rows of huts, she remembered the gesture of one woman who brought wild flowers in two battered mugs to place on the table where they were worshiping. While the woman may have had nothing, she had not lost her dignity. Afterwards she spoke to the woman and asked what she could do for her and the woman asked her, and members of Mothers’ Union, to pray for them so that they would not be forgotten.

“It seems to me that that goes right to the heart of what we are about today celebrating this occasion for the Mothers’ Union – to pray for one another and to pray with love that this person will not be forgotten. We talk about Mothers’ Union around the corner and around the world. In a different part of the world she challenged me around my corner,” she said.

Lady Eames said it would be wrong to leave the service without thinking about the future. Likening looking to the future to trying to find something an untidy drawer in her kitchen, full of candle ends and instructions for gadgets that had long since expired, she said:

“As we look to the future what are we looking for in Mothers’ Union? What will you and I hand on to those who come after us? Things have moved very, very rapidly. Certainly 150 years ago it was a completely different scene. Women’s lives were completely different. Everyone’s life was completely different… We look to the leadership of the future and know that we will be asking much of them because [like trying to find something in an untidy kitchen drawer] will our leaders in the future be able to see what they are looking for to bring Mothers’ Union into the future? We need to pray that God will give us all the strength and the vision,” she concluded.

If you were not able to attend the Festival Eucharist, it is available to watch back on Christ Church Cathedral’s Facebook page –www.facebook.com/share/v/17aqA5QKWS/

Making the announcement Archbishop Michael Jackson said: “The Reverend Michael Buchanan has served in both Navan and Rathfarnham Parishes. Mike also brings substantial experience as a Community Garda to this new position. I know that he is looking forward to serving in Tullow Parish and I wish him and all members of the parish and community what is best for the future.”

Mike is the father of three children, Arlo who is 17 and is a leaving certificate pupil in The High School, Rathgar, and Natasha and Dayna, both of whom are pursuing careers and are living away from home. Mike is very happily engaged to Jill, who has worked for many years in senior management in the tourism industry.

On leaving school, despite having an early calling, Mike made the decision to join An Garda Siochana and served for 31 years in a number of assignments, including a tour of duty with the United Nations, and retired with the rank of Sergeant.

Having taken advantage of early retirement, Mike began his full–time Theological Training at the Church of Ireland Theological Institute in 2021, having previously studied for a B.A. in Theology at DCU. He was awarded an MTh at Trinity College in 2024 and served as Deacon in the Navan Union of Parishes.

For the past two years Mike has been serving as Curate Assistant at Rathfarnham Parish, Dublin & Glendalough under the guidance of Canon Adrienne Galligan. Mike has recently spent a very fruitful and rich sabbatical in All–Saints Cathedral in Cairo, where he engaged with both the resident and refugee communities in pastoral matters and also participated in interfaith dialogue.

“I have been extremely fortunate to have been blessed with a strong faith, which has sustained me through many difficult times during my life and service,” Mike explains. “One of the joys of ministry is serving the community of believers, and I have forged many strong relationships which have endured over the years, and which continue to flourish.”

He adds: “Of course, the downside of ministry is moving on to new assignments and leaving those with whom I have walked in faith through the many joys, blessings, and hardships of life. I will especially miss those with whom I have journeyed these past two years in Rathfarnham. I am, however, grateful to Canon Adrienne for the wisdom, advice, and experience that she has imparted.

“I am very excited to begin this new chapter in ministry along with my incredibly supportive family in a Parish which is so obviously committed to faith, and which is a vital and integral part of the local community. I believe that together, as a community of believers, we can continue to grow Tullow Parish into something even more dynamic, enduring, and relevant in a world that is seeking answers to the most fundamental of questions. I am very much looking forward to making new friends!”

The volunteers opened St Mary’s Church, Blessington to members of the public throughout Christian Aid Week in May serving home–made soup, bread, scones and cakes. It was the Blessington parishioners’ first–ever effort in support of Christian Aid Week, which is the charity’s annual flagship appeal.

Rector of Blessington Union, the Revd Niall Stratford, described the initiative as a great success and praised the generosity of parishioners and visitors alike.

The parish marked the first day of Christian Aid Week with an outdoor service at Blessington Lakes to mark Rogation Sunday, an ancient festival in the Anglican tradition during which congregations pray for favourable weather, protection from crop failure and a bountiful harvest.

This year’s Christian Aid Week appeal focused on the charity’s work in Dagoretti, a low–income neighbourhood of the Kenyan capital Nairobi where nearly 300,000 people live in homes built from corrugated metal sheets, without basic services such as toilets and running water. Secure jobs are hard to find and most people earn less than a dollar a day which means that many parents struggle to buy healthy food to feed their children. But a Christian Aid–funded project is helping people to grow vegetables in these cramped city spaces. With space in short supply, the produce is grown on rooftops, vertically on walls and on any available scrap of land.

During the Rogation Sunday service, the Blessington parishioners prayed for the urban farmers of Nairobi, that they will enjoy a successful harvest and have enough healthy produce to feed their families and surplus to sell for a much–needed income.

As one of Christian Aid’s sponsoring denominations, the Church of Ireland helped to establish the aid agency in 1945, in response to the refugee crisis in Europe at the end of WWII. Today, Christian Aid works to ease the suffering of people affected by extreme poverty and conflict in more than 20 countries worldwide.

Christian Aid Ireland Chief Executive Rosamond Bennett thanked the Revd Niall Stratford and the parishioners of Blessington Union for their prayers and their fundraising. She said: “We are incredibly grateful to Rev Niall and his parishioners for the love and generosity they have shown. Kind–hearted people like these are making a difference in the lives of people experiencing poverty and conflict around the world. To host a six–day fundraiser as their first–ever Christian Aid Week event is a remarkable achievement. We would like to thank the parishioners who prepared and served the lunches and everyone from the church and the wider Blessington community who came along and supported the event with their donations.”

To support the work of Christian Aid Ireland, please visit caid.ie/donate

This process has taken over 10 years and SSSI are grateful for the support and time of successive committee members to the work of the Society. Whilst this marks the end of SSSI in its current form they are delighted that the work and mission of SSSI continues through the Board for Ministry with Children and Families, with the society’s name being in the future incorporated into the Board’s title. To paraphrase the Bishop of Connor who noted at the meeting, “we do not see this as an ending but rather as a ‘passing on the baton’ to an established structure within the Church, that has already achieved great things”.

The meeting was attended by individuals from across the island who are involved with children’s ministry and who have helped the Society along the way. During the meeting cheques were presented to support children’s ministry within each of the 11 dioceses. These were given in memory of Ms Beryl Stone who recently left a legacy to the Society and who herself gave much to children’s ministry. The meeting concluded with a celebratory tea party.

SSSI wishes to thank all those parishes and individuals who have supported SSSI over many years. The Society deeply appreciates and values the encouragement it has received from so many places.

Should you or your parish wish to financially support the work of The Board for Ministry with Children and Families, please speak with your diocesan Children’s Ministry Representative (see https://cfm.ireland.anglican.org/).

Working closely with their Rectors, the Revd Rob Clements and Canon Alan Breen, and with Dublin and Glendalough’s Youth Ministry Development Officer, Emma Fawcett, Molly and Nana took part in the programme which is geared to help develop their skill set and leadership capabilities through serving in church youth ministry.

Molly was based in Kilternan where there is an established youth group with up to 30 teenagers enjoying their monthly youth nights.

“My main role was largely to just connect with the teens and to create a rapport with them throughout the year. Additionally, I was able to develop youth programs, help out at confirmation classes, create programs for teenagers to go to on Sundays, and even started a youth worship team,” she says.

Singling out a highlight from her internship is almost impossible, Molly says. “I’m sure DGYC’s other intern would say otherwise, but I was blessed with the best group of teenagers. Realistically, they’ve probably done more for me than I have for them, and they’re all absolutely fantastic people,” she explains.

“However! I was able to find two highlights, the first being confirmation classes. This year, we followed the Youth Alpha program, meeting once a week to catch up, watch the video, then discuss in small groups the point that had been made in the video. The classes lasted for about eight sessions and it was such a privilege to see the teenagers that frequently and in a smaller, slightly more controlled environment than youth group normally is! It was also so lovely to be at the confirmation with them all, and see them all declaring their faith and belief in God,” she adds.  

Her other highlight was the conversations she had with teenagers after church. “I was so blessed to be coming into a community church, where the whole ethos is based around shared love, laughter and often food. I found that if I sat down at the couches that we have in church, a group of teens would slowly start to appear and soon enough I’d be holding council to 10 young people who all needed to update me on their lives. The biggest problem that I faced was leaving church before 2pm, having finished the service at 10.30! They’re all so interested and interesting, and it’s a real honour to be let in on their stories,” she concludes.

Nana was placed in Kill o’ The Grange Parish Church where she helped Jonathan Byford with youth ministry. This included leading two youth groups, Maxpack (5th and 6th class) and Core (1st to 6th years), with the help of two teams of volunteers. She also attended world belief classes in Newpark Comprehensive School and assemblies in Kill O’ the Grange National School; and enjoyed coffee on a Friday morning with various members of the congregation.

“As you can imagine, one of the first lessons I learnt in my internship was that church is not just on a Sunday, there are many opportunities to connect with God’s people throughout the week. The physical act of connecting with others and being present in those different spaces has a spiritual impact. Everything is spiritual, learning my youth’s names is a way for me to worship God, dancing in assembly to ‘Jesus You’re My Superhero’ is worship, and being gifted a winter coat by a lovely lady in my church who didn’t want me freezing at the bus stop is worship,” she recalls.

Nana is full of praise for DGYC. “At every turn, DGYC exemplifies their mission to support parishes. Emma Fawcett and Canon Alan Breen, DGYC Development Officer and Chair, were very intentional in choosing a church where I could feed into the work they were doing, and a church that would support my faith journey. I am confident that I have helped Maxpack and Core to the best of my ability and truly had an impact in the youths’ lives. I have facilitated spaces and games where they can be curious and have fun with their faith. As well as written and presented talks for them that engage with the Bible in a fresh way. It has been my joy to get to know the youth, my heart warms when they come up to me during youth group and tell me whatever it is they are excited about that day. Or, when they wave and yell my name when we pass each other on the street. Not only the youth, but everyone at Kill has been wonderful. I have learnt so much in my time here and felt truly cared for. It has been an honour to serve the people in this parish,” she says.

Her internship officially ended with a bang in June at Summer Madness. Now, Nana looks forward to entering her final year of university and completing her English with Creative Writing degree, where she hopes to continue worshipping God through her writing.

If you would like to learn more about DGYC’s internship programme or feel your parish would like to welcome an intern please visit https://dgyc.org/internship