Issue 62 “UNION NEWS” April 2015

MULLINGAR UNION OF PARISHES

Dear Parishioner(s)

Holy Week and Easter
The observance of Holy Week and the celebration of Easter is a very important and significant time in the church year. Daily Services will be held in each of the churches during Holy Week and the times of the Services are listed in the Union Notes under ‘Church Services during Holy Week’.

On Palm Sunday, 29th March, the Children’s Musical Passion will be held in All Saints’ church. This is a very special occasion and I hope it will be well attended. There will be two very special Services on Good Friday. The Children’s Service will be held at Killucan at 11.00 a.m. on Friday 3rd April. This is the first time we have held a Children’s Service on Good Friday and I hope children and their families from all over the Parish will make a special effort to attend.

On Good Friday, at 8.00 p.m., there will be a Service of Sacred Music and Sacred Words.
Guest soloist will be Helen Hassett and the Parish Choir will sing some beautiful music under direction of Bill McConnell. Good Friday is a very important day for Christians and I encourage you to attend church. Easter Day and the celebration of the Resurrection is always a wonderfully inspiring occasion and I hope people will make a special effort to attend church as part of their Easter celebration.

Parish Vision Plan
Following the launch of the Findings of the Parish Survey, the Select Vestry intend to embark on the implementation of the Report’s findings. The Bishop will attend a special Service on Sunday 24th May at 7.00 p.m. to commission the Select Vestry for its’ leadership role in the Vision Plan and to give encouragement to the Parish. We are blessed to be able to embark on a program of growth and development of the Christian church in the Mullingar Union and I am confident parishioners will give their fullest support.

General Easter Vestry
The General Easter Vestry will be held on Thursday 9th April at 8.00 p.m. in All Saints’ Parish Hall and I hope it will be very well attended. I do hope parishioners will encourage each other to come to this important meeting.

Family Gathering Church Service- Killucan
Following on from the first Family Gathering Service held in All Saints’ on 15th February, the Killucan Family Gathering Service will be held on Sunday 19th April at 11.30 a.m. This will be an opportunity for all the parishioners in Killucan to come together and I hope this occasion will be well supported.

Turkey Prize
At the Parish Dinner last November a parishioner won a turkey as one of the prizes in the raffle. The turkey has still not been claimed. If the winner would like to collect their prize, please telephone Lillian Hampton on 087-9655310.

The William Gibson-Brabazon Tea Party
The Tea Party, held on Saturday 7th March, was a great success and Catherine Gibson-Brabazon would like to thank everyone who gave the occasion their support. Over €700 was raised for plants for the garden at the house. Catherine will be inviting parishioners to the house to enjoy the new planting.

Boys’ Brigade and Girls’ Association
The first Regional Talent Competition was held on Friday 20th March in All Saints’ and was a great occasion. We were particularly proud that the act from Mullingar won First Prize which was richly deserved. Congratulations and thanks to our Captain, David Webster, and his great team of leaders, Fergus Mulhern, Sonya Lucas, Joe McDonald, Parents and helpers for their support and encouragement. Hopefully more talent shows will be held in the future!

Diocesan Clergy Retreat
The Bishop has organised a prayerful Retreat for the clergy of the Diocese in the week beginning 27th April. The Retreat will take place over the first few days of the week and will be held in Portmarnock, Co. Dublin.

May Cake and Plant Sale
The annual Cake & Plant Sale will be held on Saturday 23rd May in All Saints’ Parish Hall from 10.30a.m.-1.00p.m. I hope parishioners will give this occasion their fullest support.

Church Decoration for Easter
The church decoration for All Saints’ and Killucan takes place at 10.00 a.m. on Easter Saturday. Everyone is most welcome to help decorate the churches. This year we hope that the decoration of Killucan church will be undertaken by the younger families in the Parish.

Holy Baptism
We recently welcomed into God’s family through baptism Kate Breda van der Puil. We will continue to pray for Kate and for her parents and godparents as she begins her journey of faith.

Bereavement
We offer our deepest sympathy to Douglas Matthews and Muriel Ray and the members of their families following the death of Douglas’s brother, Herbert, who passed away peacefully following a long illness. A lovely funeral service was held in Taney Parish church. Herbert, through his life, touched the lives of his family and friends in a very special and caring way. By offering our sympathy to Douglas and Muriel and the family, we pray that they will draw strength and comfort from knowing that God’s promises are true, and that Herbert, now in the fuller presence of God, may rest in peace and they will continue to be surrounded by the loving care of their family and friends.

Parish Website
You may like to keep in touch with the Parish through the website and your family and friends may also like to have the web address. The address is www.mullingarunionofparishes.net also if you are on Facebook you may visit our facebook page here
We are greatly indebted to Lorraine Hales for her care and management of the website. The Parish website is now averaging 29,000 hits a month which is truly remarkable and shows a huge growth on last year when the average was around 5,000 a month. I encourage you to continue to look at the website and to also advise your family and friends about it.

With God’s blessings,
Rev. Alastair Graham, Rector
The Rectory, Gaol’s Hill, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath.
Telephone No. 044-934 8376