PRESS RELEASE January 16th Immediate
Thousands of Dublin Christians come together for special week of joint worship
Twenty two Ecumenical services involving Christian churches will be held in the Dublin area alone to mark Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity which begins this Friday (January 18th). Many more services are planned in individual parishes around the city and county.
Reflecting the increased multi ethnic and multi national make up of Irish society, representatives from all the major Christian Churches in the country will be taking part along with many smaller Christian congregations, including the Indian Orthodox congregation. This year will see continuation of the partnership with Christian Aid, in the relief of poverty and advocacy of justice.
The Week of Prayer enters into congregations and parishes throughout the world. Pulpits are exchanged and special ecumenical worship services are arranged. A basic text on a biblical theme is prepared and jointly published by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the World Council of Churches. The theme for 2013 is: ‘What does God require of us?’ (cf. Micah 6:6–8)
The week in Dublin will begin with an Interdenominational Service, the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity, in the Indian Orthodox Church of St. George & St. Thomas on Cathal Brugha Street. The preacher at this Service will be the Reverend Dr Frederick Bliss SM, Professor of Ecumenical Theology, University of St Thomas (Angelicum) Rome.
Many Inter-Church Ecumenical services are planned and a number of events offering less familiar forms of worship. On Wednesday, 23rd beginning at the Quaker meeting house in Monkstown, participants are invited to walk from there to the local Catholic and Church of Ireland Churches, with an opportunity to explore prayer in each the different traditions.
On Sunday 20th in St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland Church in Powerscourt,Co. Wicklow, local Catholic Parish Priest, Fr. John Wall will speak at a “pulpit sharing ecumenical service”
Later that evening, there will be a Choral Evensong in St. Bartholomew’s Church of Ireland Church on Clyde Road with members of the Constantinian Order, the Order of St. Lazarus, Order of St. John, The Papal Knights, Order of the Holy Sepulchre and Order of Malta all taking part.
The Trinity College Chaplaincy team is planning a Choral Evensong as an Ecumenical service in TCD on Thursday 24th with Rev. Dr. Katherine Meyer of Sandymount Presbyterian Church as the main speaker.
As the week comes to a close on Friday 25th, two very special events will be held – a Taizé Prayer around the Cross takes place in the St. Paul’s Church in Arran Quay, while in Christchurch Cathedral , Cumann Gaelach na hEaglaise(COI) and the Catholic Pobal an Aifreann will jointly host an Interchurch service in Irish, with a (bilingual!) reception taking place in the crypt afterwards.
Further information, resources and a full listing of events are available at the following sites
