Dear parishioners and friends,
You will have noticed that the Christmas tree and decorations in church were removed on Twelfth Night or Epiphany and that the season of Christmas has drawn to a close. The crib now includes the figures of the three kings or wise men and will remain in place until the end of Epiphany. Our Advent, Christmas and Epiphany stars will also remain lit until the end of the season of Epiphany, Sunday 1 February.
Thank you: Thank you to Natalie and the choir for all their hard work during the Advent / Christmas / Epiphany season. Their musical talents were very much appreciated and brought delight to many. It was wonderful to have Andreja Malir with us again on Christmas morning and such a treat to hear her harp playing during the service. Our thanks also to our lesson readers for the nine lessons and carols who read so beautifully and represented the village community. Our thanks also to Kate and Anthony Harvey for reading for our carols and poetry service on Sunday 28 December and to Julie Parsons for reading the poems this year for us. There has been wonderful feedback from all our special services. Thank you to all our decorators, especially Valerie Little and Caroline Nolan who decorated the church so beautifully for the festivities and to Liz in the office for all her extra work and preparations. Our thanks also to Chris Luby and Niall Carnegie for putting up and taking down the Christmas tree and to our churchwardens for all their hard work also. Thank you to all who helped with catering over the festive period and to the myriads of others who helped make the season so joyful for us all. On a personal note, thank you so much for your lovely Christmas gifts and cards – these were really appreciated also!
Charity Work: Our sincere thanks for all your support prior to and over Christmas as we helped a number of our charity partners once again. We collected 180 selection boxes before Christmas for the Storehouse, Crinken and also a number of boxes of non-perishable foodstuffs for them also. We also gathered together a large quantity of brand-new toys and books for our friends in the Jigsaw Centre (Darndale Creche). These donations will be used by the staff as birthday presents for the children during 2026. Valerie and Gordon Duncan delivered a carload of items including biscuits, thermal clothing, toiletries and other items to Alice Leahy Trust before Christmas, the donations of parishioners and friends. We were delighted to receive a lovely letter from Alice wishing us all a very happy Christmas and to thank us for our support. Alice’s letter reads: ‘Please pass on our sincerest thanks to all in Monkstown Parish for the wonderful delivery of items you dropped you dropped in to us on Monday. The new Long-Johns, hats, socks, gloves, gents’ underwear and other gents clothing together with the biscuits, sweets, tea, cup-a-soups and instant pasta will be very much appreciated by all who use our service. Our work continues since 1975 with people who are homeless and are sleeping out – hard to believe we were 50 years in existence on 25th November. This work would not be possible without the support we receive from the general public, and for that we are extremely grateful. Christmas is a sad time for so many of the people we work with, and we are daily reminded of just how lucky we are. We keep Christmas low keyed and ensure our centre remains a place of welcome and calm. A candle in our fireplace as we have throughout the year, simple decorations and of course Christmas cards from all our friends and supporters. Carols come to us courtesy of Lyric FM to remind us of what Christmas is all about. Of course, we know you will all miss Canon Roy, but we are delighted to see he will be just up the road to us, and he will be able to resume his visits to us for a cup of coffee. Wishing you all in Monkstown a nice peaceful Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year from all here. We know you will remember us in your prayers. Kind regards, Alice.’ We have also received a number of Bishops’ Appeal donations over Christmas and this appeal will remain open until Sunday 25 January. Thank you all most sincerely for remembering and supporting our charity work in the parish over the Christmas period, especially when there are so many other appeals for charities and worthy causes at this time of year.
Clergy Conference: The annual clergy conference will take place from Sunday evening 18 to Wednesday 21 January in Wexford. The rector will be in attendance for the duration of the conference. The Revd Hilary Dungan will celebrate the Eucharist on Wednesday 21 January. Emergency calls to the parish mobile please.
Family Service: The January Family Service for Epiphany will take place at 10:45 on Sunday
25 January. At this service we will have a triple baptism.
Schoolhouse Coffee Dock: The coffee dock area in the schoolhouse is open on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 10:30 to 12.30 and you are warmly invited to drop in and have a cup of tea or coffee and a chat. It is also open on Wednesday and Sunday mornings after the 10:45 services.
