This year’s carol service had a particularly warm and festive atmosphere, with the darkened church aglow with candles, and the service began with the ‘Advent Responsory’ sung by the institute choir and the choir and participants processing to the ‘Advent Prose.’

We were welcomed to the parish by the Revd Bernie Daly, a former lecturer in the Church of Ireland Theological College, and the Bidding Prayer was read by the Director of CITI, the Revd Dr Maurice Elliott. The service was led by Canon Patrick Comerford, Lecturer in Anglicanism and Liturgy, and the blessing was pronounced by the retired Bishop of Connor, the Right Revd Dr Samuel Poyntz.

The readings were introduced by a cross–section of the institute community, including students, staff members past and present, and family members, and a collection was taken for the homeless in Dublin this Christmas.

The institute dining room in the institute was full to capacity later in the evening when staff, student, family members and friends returned for a reception.

[Caption: The Revd Dr Maurice Elliott, Bishop Samuel Poyntz, the Revd Bernie Daly and Canon Patrick Comerford at the Advent Carol Service in Saint Nahi’s Church, Dundrum]

Before the semester came to an end, part–time students and full–time students celebrated the year’s end with their traditional, season parties and reviews.

In the closing days of the semester, a group of Year II students also visited the Irish Jewish Museum in Dublin as part of the Liturgy and Spirituality module on the MTh course, and were accompanied by their lecturer, Canon Patrick Comerford.

The small museum on Walworth Road in Portobello is in a part of Dublin that once had such a prominent Jewish community that it was known to generations of Dubliners as “Little Jerusalem.” The museum is housed in a former synagogue that was built in 1917 when two adjoining terraced houses off the South Circular Road were knocked together.

The museum was opened in June 1985 by Chaim Herzog, then President of Israel. He was born in Belfast and grew up in Dublin, the son of a Chief Rabbi of Ireland.

Mrs Debbie Briscoe and Mr Howard Freeman showed the visiting students around the traditional synagogue upstairs and the exhibits on the ground floor. A unique feature in the museum on the ground floor is a traditional kitchen, with double kitchen sinks and a typical Sabbath meal setting from a Jewish home of the late 19th and early 20th century in this neighbourhood.

Mrs Briscoe and Mr Freeman also recalled the history of Jews in Ireland over the centuries, including the communities in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Belfast, and the contribution over the centuries of Irish Jews to Irish political, social and cultural life.

“In the days leading up to Chanukah and Christmas, this was an opportunity to appreciate the Jewish community’s understanding of sacred space, worship and inculturation, and the story of an important religious and cultural community in Ireland,” Canon Comerford said after the visit. “There was more than food for thought during this visit, as there should be at all times in interfaith dialogue,” he added.

[Caption: CITI students Rob Clements (Dublin and Glendalough) and Andrew Campbell (Connor) visiting the Irish Jewish Museum in Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)]

 This year’s Advent Carol Service takes place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday 7 December in Saint Nahi’s Church, Dundrum.

 Saint Nahi’s is a picturesque and warm and inviting church, close to the Luas line and beside the library in old Dundrum Village.

 The service includes traditional Advent readings and music, and you are invited afterwards to a seasonal reception at 8.30 p.m. in the Church of Ireland Theological Institute.

Why not make this your special way of preparing for the coming of Christ at Christmas?

For more information telephone the institute at 01–4923506.

[Caption: Saint Nahi’s Church, Dundrum]

Commenting on the appointment Rev Dr Maurice Elliott, said, ‘This new role will further facilitate CITI in fulfilling two critical aspects of the original vision of the bishops – the prioritising of a culture of life–long learning amongst the clergy and the development of an Institute which might begin to serve the needs of the whole church.  On the basis of his own study and research, his previous breadth of experience and his current position in the diocese of Connor Peter Hamill is ideally suited to this role.  We look forward very much to welcoming Peter, his wife and family as members of the CITI community.  I am confident that under Peter’s skilful direction this exciting new departure within training will become a matter of lasting significance for the whole of the Church of Ireland.’

The Chair of the Governing Council, the Most Rev Dr Michael Jackson, commented, ‘I am delighted that Mr. Peter Hamill has been appointed to the position of Director of Continuing Ministerial Education and Lay Training in the Church of Ireland Theological institute. Peter’s range of experience, depth of commitment and creativity in education equip him well for this position. It comes at a time when the Institute is seeking to expand and to integrate lay ministry, Continuing Ministerial Education for clergy and the new Reader Training programme.

We acknowledge with gratitude the generosity of the Church of Ireland Priorities Fund in making this appointment possible and wish Peter all that is best as he embarks on a new phase in his life and ours.’

 The course will be delivered by members of the Church of Ireland Children’s Ministry Network who are all experienced practitioners in children’s ministry.  The modules will cover Child Development; Leadership Skills; Programme Planning; Children & Community; Pastoral Awareness and Spirituality and the Bible. There will also be the opportunity to look at current resources. 

The cost of the course, which includes the fee for the Building Blocks Conference, is €95 which it is hoped parishes will be willing to cover/subsidise.  The course will run in The Church of Ireland Theological Institute and in Christ Church Parish, Lisburn.

Further information from Lynda Levis, CITI Tel: 4923506 / lyndalevis@theologicalinsitute.ie

Booking forms are also available at The Sunday School Society Resource Centre Bookshop in The Holy Trinity Church Rathmines.

The partner institution is responsible for the training of deacons within the Lutheran Church of Norway.

With the re–envisioning of diaconal ministry for the Church of Ireland in the form of an internship within training, the partnership will offer creative opportunities for both staff and students to learn about wider expressions of diaconal ministry.

 Pictured: the Revd Dr Maurice Elliott, Director of the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, with members of the faculty from Oslo who recently visited CITI in Dublin.