Christmas 2021

 

behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10,11

Date	Ballyseedy 9.45 am	Tralee 10.45 am	Ballymac 12 noon	Kilgobbin 10.00 am	Dingle 12 noon
12th December	MP	MP	No Service	HC	HC
19th December	HC	HC	HC	No Service	HC
2nd January	MP	MP	MP	MP	No Service

 

Services during Christmas and New year.

We are looking forward to welcoming you to our Christmas services this year. For so many of us Christmas would  not be Christmas without attending Church on Christmas eve or on Christmas Day to celebrate the birth of Jesus and to marvel at the story of the incarnation, of God becoming man and sharing our human life.

All the usual precautions that we have become so used to will need to be observed to protect one another  including social distancing. So full capacity in the smaller churches is not possible under the current regulations.

Please Note that we have moved the Ballymac Christmas eve service which is normally a full church to Tralee to allow for more social distancing as St Johns is a large and spacious building with two galleries if required.

Christmas eve

St James Dingle    HC at 6.30pm      

Kilgobbin                HC at 8.15pm

St Johns Tralee      HC at 9.30pm (Booking required Ring Susie at 087 9362732)

Christmas Day

St Johns Tralee HC at 10.45am (Booking required Ring Susie at 087 9362732)

St Stephens Day

Ballymacelligott, HC at 11am

Sunday 2nd January

See the table above

Feast of the Epiphany

Thursday 6th January   HC Tralee at 11am

Mission Sunday,

This is always marked on the Sunday before Advent and this year we are asked to contribute to a Christian Aid Disease reduction project in Ethiopia.

In remote rural areas of Ethiopia only a third of the people have access to clean water, sanitation facilities such as latrines and of course increased drought and floods and erratic temp changes can cause disease to surge. These diseases include Mosquito borne viruses such as malaria and dengue and bacterial illnesses such as Cholera and Meningitis. Envelopes are still available for contributions.

Congratulations, To Winnie and Patrick Shanahan on the birth of their son Dominick. A little brother for Samantha, Natasha and Christopher.

Sympathy To Kate Power of Oak Park on the death of her sister Desiree Prole in Dublin.

I heard of Desiree Prole long before I ever knew Kate Power as she was a good friend and kind Principal to a friend of ours when she was beginning her teacher career many years ago

 

Concerts,

There are two concerts scheduled for St Johns Church in Ashe Street.

The first is a concert by Aidan O’Carroll with the Kerry Chamber Choir and Kerry School of Music Senior Orchestra and Soloists. It is a concert of traditional carols. Admission is free but they will accept donations. It will be held this Friday the 11th December at 7pm.

The second is a concert by the Dingle New Music orchestra for the 17th at 8pm

Wedding We wish Emer Blennerhassett from Camp and Dan McMahon every happiness as they prepare for their wedding next Saturday in Killarney. We pray that it will be a lovely day and a memorable occasion for their families and friends.

Ballymacelligott Church Tower.

After a long summer of stops and starts the work on the tower at Ballymacelligott was completed. The main contractor was Alan Boyle and the Architect was Tom O’Sullivan of Meitheal partners. Donal Corcoran and his trainee stonemasons from the ETB also contributed to this project.

Many thanks to both Tom and Alan who went beyond the call of duty to get this work done.

The repointing and associated works would not have been possible without the generous grant from the structures at risk fund which we applied for through Kerry County Council and also from a most generous donation from Ann Williams of €5000 in memory of her parents and grandparents who worshipped there in the former times.

Its important that these historic buildings are preserved where possible as they are an important part of the local heritage. Ballymacelligott church is still a living church with a worshipping community and we hope that the work that has been done will be a source of pride for the parishioners and an impetus to them to continue to make it place of prayer and praise in the years that come.

Follow in the footsteps of St. Columba in Scotland

If you are looking for a Christmas present idea for your loved one - this is the ideal gift.  Linda has organised a wonderful trip to Scotland that will combine both spirituality and physicality as you immerse yourself into St. Columba's life in Scotland.  It will be Guided by Martin Haworth of "Roaming Scotland" who is both an author and expert on Celtic History in the region.  Your holiday will also include 2 nights on the magnificent Island of Iona.  Dates for this trip will be Oct 2nd to Oct 7th 2022 and participants will have the opportunity to take an extra night or 2 in Glasgow or Edinburgh should you wish.  Only 8 places are available so please contact Linda at lindakwoods@gmail.com to book your place. 

Christmas fair

For the second year in a row we are unable to hold our Christmas fair. This has been a wonderful community event for our parish and an essential source of income to maintain parish finances. We are planning another gofundme appeal which will be circulated early next week. Please support it if you can.

Communions. I visit a number of homes on a regular basis to share Holy Communion with those who are unable to attend church. If you know of anyone who is not in a position to attend church and would like Christmas Communion please let me Know

Poppy Appeal, Michael Latchford would like to thank all who have so generously contributed to this appeal over the years. This year €295 was raised. Michael would like to hand this role over to someone else for next years collection. Thank you, Michael, for organising this for so many years.

Recovery Haven Says Thanks

 

Wishing you all a Joyful Christmas

and a happy new year.

Parish website: www.traleedingle.ardfert.anglican.org   Email: stjohns.ashestreet@gmail.com

 Rev Jim 087 0529107