The Tralee & Dingle Group of Parishes October 2018.

The Holy Communion is celebrated on Wednesdays in St. John’s at 11 am followed by tea and fellowship in The Ashe Hotel and all most welcome.

Healer Prayer:  This ministry will continue with a service in Teach an tSolais on Tuesday 4^th Sept at 8 pm, followed by tea and fellowship.  Please email marion.hogan@hotmail.com to have names included or else write the names in the black notebooks at the back of each church.

Fund Raising Quiz: A fund-raising pub quiz was held in O’Riadas bar in Ballymac on the 21st September. This was a very successful evening which raised over €1400 for parish funds. A lot of hard work was done by the organising committee. Margaret Groves was MC and Quiz master for the evening.  Everyone who attended enjoyed the event, the committee is very grateful for all those who donated spot prizes, made donations and attended on the evening.

Visitors to St John’s: Victoria Mc Carthy who is the heritage officer for Kerry County Council organised a festival of Architecture in Tralee on the weekend 29^th to the 30^th September. She very kindly included St. John’s on the itinerary and Donal O Sullivan a great friend of the Parish facilitated a tour of the Church. The Links Ladies began their Autumn Schedule by attending the talk.

Palatine visit: On Sunday the 30^th September we were joined by a group of visitors with palatine ancestry, they had come from Canada, Dublin and Limerick. Many of the parishioners would also have Palatine ancestry and the local historian Padraig O Conchubhair spoke on the history of this group who emigrated from the Palatine lands on the banks of the Rhine to Ireland almost three hundred years ago.

Visitors: On Monday the 1^st October the Rev Mark Holland form All Saints Episcopal Church in Tennessee visited St Johns with a group of his parishioners who were on a pilgrimage to Ireland.  Mark served in the parish during the vacancy following the retirement of Archdeacon Susan Watterson in 2016.

Harvest Thanksgiving:  harvest celebrations will be held in Ballyseedy (this will be a united service) on the 14^th Octoberand in Tralee on the 21^st October (united service again).

Appointment to the Diocesan Chapter

Bishop Kenneth has announced the appointment of the Rev Jim Stephens as Prebend (Canon) of St Munchin and Tulloh. to the Joint Chapter of St Mary’s (Limerick), St Flannan’s (Killaloe) and St Brendan’s (Clonfert).  His installation will take place on Sunday 25th November, during Evensong in St. Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick at 4.00 p.m.

All Souls Service: On Sunday the 4^th November a service of remembrance for those who died in the past year will be held in St Johns Ashe Street at 10.45am. It is hoped that all those who have been bereaved in the past year will attend and light a candle in memory of their loved ones.

Sympathy:

We extend our sympathy to the Arthur and Elizabeth Parkinson of Kilflynn on the death of their sister Frances McAdam in Wexford. Frances together with her husband, children and grandchildren were regular visitors to Kilflynn,They would have been well known in the parish as they often attended St Johns in Tralee if their visit coincided with Sunday.

Christmas Fair: Date ahead, we are planning on holding this fund raiser on the 15^th December to raise essential funds for our parish. A committee will be formed in due course to plan the event and it is hoped that the fair will have all the usual sought-after produce such as Jams, Home Baking, Christmas decorations, bric-a-brac, books, Raffles etc. 

Poets’ Corner: on Halloween Bank Holiday Monday there's an open mic event from 3pm to 6pm at Teach an tSolais, Tralee. Open to all ages, (Under 18s must be accompanied). The events are not just for poets, all forms of Creative Writing welcome. Forthcoming dates are: New Year’s Day, Tuesday Jan 1st 2019.

Youth Club: St John's Youth Club is now in full swing for the new year and anyone in First Year at Secondary School and having been born in 2003 is welcome to join (Ages 12-15). Please contact Gerhard Maritz 0877950328 or Rev. Jim Stephens for more information.

Anam Cara Kerry: the organisation that supports bereaved parents is holding a Parent Evening on Tuesday 9th of October at 7:20pm in Recovery Haven, 5 Haig's Terrace, Killierisk, Tralee, Co. Kerry. This event is free and open to all bereaved parents regardless of the age your child died, the circumstances of their death, or whether their death was recent or not.  For more information call our Information Line on 085 2888 888.

St. John’s Parochial School: the children from the school joined the Wednesday morning Holy Communion service on Wednesday 3^rd.  They sang the hymn ‘This little light of mine’, interacted with Rev Jim in a discussion on one of the original environmentalists, St. Francis of Assisi, and enriched the service by their presence.  We look forward to many more events like this in the future and thank the teachers for their input.

Hospital Visits:

If you or a family member are in hospital and would like a visit, please let the clergy know. We are now dependent on been told by parishioners as we no longer have access to that information in the hospitals because of the new regulations on data protection.

Our love and prayers to all who are unwell, especially those receiving treatment at this time, and also to their families and friends. 

News from the West

Kilgobbin Church: A much enjoyed Harvest Thanksgiving Service was held on Sunday 23rd September. We were joined by our Roman Catholic friends and Fr. Michael Cromane gave an interesting sermon on his life as Chaplain in St. Luke's Hospital, Dublin. Following the service, refreshments and fellowship were enjoyed in the Old School Rooms. Special thanks to those who decorated the church so beautifully and provided the delicious refreshments.

St. James, Dingle: We were treated to a very special evening of Celtic flavoured hymns, together with lively jigs and reels inspired by St. Brendan the Navigator and based on the book by Tim Severin. All the way from America, the 'Singing Pilgrims', Jeanne Page and Natasha Coffey and friends, provided a wonderful evening of song, music, story-telling and reflections, and all for the benefit of St. James Restoration Fund.

Dingle Food Festival: takes place on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th October. There will be demonstrations in St. James Church on both days at 12 noon, 1.00pm and 2.00pm. No admission charge but there will be door collections in aid of the St. James Restoration Project.