Next weekend will see the beginning of a short period of celebration to mark a decade of women priests in the Church of Ireland.
On September 3rd at 8 p.m., there will be a celebration of the Eucharist in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, at which the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Walton Empey, will preside. The celebrant will be Canon Ginnie Kennerley, rector of Narraghmore and Timolin, and the preacher will be the Archbishop of Armagh, Dr Robin Eames. All are welcome to attend.
The following Monday and Tuesday there will be a conference in the Church of Ireland Theological College for women who are ordained and for those women in training for ordination. The keynote address will be given by the theologian, Mrs Anne Thurston.
Contributors include Canon Kenneth Kearon, director of the Irish School of Ecumenics, the Rev Katherine Meyer, Presbyterian chaplain in Trinity College and Sister Una Agnew, lecturer in spirituality in Milltown Park. Further information may be obtained from the Rev Anne Taylor at anneted@gofree.indigo.ie and the Rev Susan Green at greenorr@esatclear.ie.
There are some 500 stipendiary clergy in the Church of Ireland. Of these 58 are women, 33 of whom are stipendiary clergy and 25 are auxiliaries. Another 14 women are in training for the stipendiary ministry, with a further 13 for the auxiliary ministry.
Only two cathedral chapters, Christ Church, Dublin, and St Anne, Belfast, have female canons.
Tomorrow RTE will televise a celebration of the Eucharist, with baptism, from Kilternan Parish Church, where the rector is Canon David Moynan. In Christ Church Cathedral, the services will be sung by The Pilgrim Singers while in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, the visiting choir will be from Oriel College, Oxford.
The Bishop of Cork, the Right Rev Paul Colton, will visit Little Island. In Dublin the chaplain of Trinity College, Dr Alan McCormack, will celebrate the Eucharist and preach at the annual Alumni Service in the College Chapel. At 4 p.m. in St Doulagh's Church, Malahide Road, Balgriffin, the Friends of St Doulagh's will hold an ecumenical Songs of Praise Service.
In St Patrick's Cathedral on Tuesday there will be a lunchtime concert by the Cronenberger Mannerchor from Wuppertal, Germany. On Wednesday evening the cathedral will host a recital of organ duets by Maureen McAllister and Robin Jackson.
On Thursday evening in Newcastle Parish Church, Co Wicklow, the Archbishop of Dublin will institute the Rev William Bennett to the incumbency of Newcastle and Newtownmountkennedy with Calary.
Mr Bennett, ordained in 1990 for the curacy of St Nicholas's, Carrickfergus, has been rector of Lisnaskea, Co Fermanagh, since 1993.
On Friday the Rev Lynda Peilow begins work as the curate of Canon Adrian Empey in the Dublin parishes of St Ann with St Mark and St Stephen. Ms Peilow was ordained in 1997 for the curacy of Castleknock where she began her clerical career under the guidance of the present Bishop of Cork.
A date for the diary is September 9th, when the Cashel Book Fair will be held in the Deanery School, Old Road, Cashel, in aid of the Bolton Library. Inquiries to: 062-61944.