March 2023

Date	Ballyseedy 9.45 am	Tralee 10.45 am	Ballymac 12 noon	Kilgobbin 10.00 am	Dingle 12 noon
5th March	HC	HC	MP	MP	No Service
12thMarch	MP	HC	No Service	HC	HC
19th March	No Service	Mothering Sunday United Service	No Service	No Service	MP
26th March	No service	MP	MP	HC	HC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lent Began on Ash Wednesday the 222nd February with services in Tralee, Ballymacelligott and Kilgobbin. The Two Schools in Kerry under Church of Ireland management, St Johns Parochial School Tralee and Kiltallagh National School in Castlemaine came together for the service in Tralee.

This is a new tradition and began about five years ago, but like everything else was interrupted by Covid, but thankfully has been resurrected again.

It was a lovely occasion and the children participated enthusiastically and the impromptu singing of hymn ‘This little light of mine’ ( Not one that we usually associate with Ash Wednesday) after the service was one of the highlights.

Ashes were administered for the first time to the Rev Jim by one of our young people as part of the sermon.

The children spent some time together afterwards and went for a walk in the town park.

Well done to all the staff in both schools for preparing the children so well.

Lent is that time when we are called to reflect and take stock, It is about giving up and taking up.

It’s a time to give a little of our time to God in Church and in private prayer and for those who embrace this during lent you are also giving in the sense that you are giving encouragement to our small communities.

Fasting, Alms giving and Prayer and the three pillars of lent.

When we think of fasting, we think of austere diets, giving up anything that is nice and pleasurable as a way of identifying with Christ’s experience in the wilderness. While fasting can take that form it should never in my mind anyway be a joyless, painful experience of denial. What it can be about is working on eliminating those things which prevent is from loving God our neighbour and ourselves and prompt us to feed into to the other two challenges of Lent which are Alms giving and prayer. 

In Tralee and Dingle our alms giving takes many forms and parishioners have been very generous to the Bishops Appeal which is supporting those affected by the terrible earthquake in Turkey and Syria.Thank you for your support

 

Mothering Sunday

This falls on the 4th Sunday of lent and we will have a united service in Tralee at 10.45am.

We invite everyone to this service and esp those young people and their parents who have taken part in the Jesse Tree, Carol and Christingle services recently.

 

Walking group.

An informal walking group has been organised by Olive and they met on Sunday February 19th at Muckross House.  Thank you to Linda Woods who very kindly agreed to guide the walkers on the day. Further walks are planned.

Confirmation group 2022

A gift of an apple tree together with confirmation certs will be presented to the young people who were confirmed in June 2022 at the Mothering Day service in Tralee on the 19th March.

Looking forward to meeting them again and its important that they come to receive their confirmation certificates and gift.

Bishops Visit.

Bishop Michael Burrows visited Camp and Dingle on the 12th February. Parishioners were delighted to meet himself and Clare and we are most grateful for his visit and enthusiasm and of course for his challenging words on generosity in light of the terrible earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

 

St James Dingle

The work that was begun last year with a grant from the town and village renewal scheme has been completed to a very high standard by Mike O’Connor and his team from Beaufort.

Brambles and thick undergrowth have been removed and growth suppressed, Tombs have been repaired and paths have been put down.

This will make the graveyard safer and more accessible. This represents a large investment by the parish together with the substantial grant via the Town and Village renewal scheme has been made in these grounds in the last two years. The challenge now will be to maintain this historical oasis of calm in the middle if Dingle in the condition that it has been brought to.

 

Engagement

Congratulations to Giles Hoffman and Maria O’Connell who were engaged recently.

 

Quality Milk Award

Congratulations to Niall Mason farmers bridge, son of John and Carol Mason on winning the Lee Strand quality award recently. It was presented at the Lee Strand social in the Ballygarry Hotel recently.

 

To mark International Women’s Day on Wednesday March 8th, the Tralee International Resource Centre are hosting an exhibition of photos of faces of the diversity of women living in Tralee. The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Different Faces, One Community, Embrace Diversity’, and this event will showcase the diversity we have in our community, and how we have embraced our differences to support and help each other. The event will take place in the Parish Hall, Castle St, Tralee on Wednesday March 8th from 11am until 1pm, and as well as the exhibition, there will be music, a fashion show and food. All are welcome to attend.

 

There is a crack in everything – that’s how the light get in.’ ~

Leonard Cohen