Parish Newsletter

Masses Today

6.30 Edward Egan, (Anniv).
11.00 Jack Craddock, (Anniv)
6.30 Tom Tierney, (Anniv).

AS I WAS SAYING.....

The move to St. Nicholas for the duration of the renovations is absolutely fabulous news! It is, of course a truly historic move, and it is a privilege to be part of it. Rev. Patrick Towers summed up the significance of the move as follows: "Anything like this is a marvellous mark for a city like Galway, in terms of the types of relationships we wish to foster and putting aside the rivalries of the past."

The move is to be welcomed from a practical point of view, first of all. The practical advantages are rather obvious. To begin with, the Augustinian and St Nicholas' are physically no more than a stone's throw apart. Furthermore, our congregation already park their cars in the car park across the road from St. Nicholas'. In practical terms then, St. Nicholas will be even more convenient for our congregation that St. Augustine's itself. In addition, there are no intimidating flights of steps to be climbed on the way into St. Nicholas. From this perspective, our elderly parishioners will in fact welcome the move. In short, the use of St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church during the course of the renovations represents the best chance we will have of keeping our congregation together. In addition, the alternatives on offer were not very attractive. Out principal alternative was St. Patrick's School Hall. Any of you familiar with that building will agree that it is entirely unsuitable for the celebration of a Sunday Liturgy. Our choir has been, for generations now, a central feature at the Augustinian. Given the poor quality of the acoustics in Patrick's Hall, I don't believe the choir would actually have been able to function there. They certainly would have found it very, very difficult.

But the real value of the move belongs to the ecumenical and symbolic order. From that particular point of view, the move is truly historic, and long overdue! In effect, it is now over 400 years since both communities went their separate ways. The political Cold War lasted a mere 40 years, its religious counterpart, over 450 years. The Iron Curtain dividing the Churches was more enduring and more prohibitive as its political namesake. Up to Vatican II, Protestant Churches were 'off limits' entirely for Catholics. Even the 1949 funeral of ex-President and Gaelic scholar, Douglas Hyde, conducted in the Protestant St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, was boycotted by Mr. Costello and the entire Cabinet! That was probably the political nadir of that freezing ecumenical winter!

During Church Unity Week at the beginning of the year, I wrote the following words here in our Sunday Newsletter:

Unless we [Protestant and Catholic] meet one another, unless we get to know one another, and even get to like one another, all the theorising and tokenism now associated with ecumenism will remain just insubstantial candy floss, mere window-dressing. As the majority Church, it is we who are obliged to make the generous move. But there is little evidence of this generosity. Because, in an increasingly secular age, domestic bickering concerning obscure theological points is truly a scandal.

Because of this week, I will never again be able to voice those negative sentiments! The generous move was initiated by the Church or Ireland, and it was responded to in kind by the Catholic community in the person of Bishop McLaughlin. It is wonderful news. It has been a great week!

-Dick Lyng

BITS & PIECES

GO AHEAD FOR MOVE TO ST NICHOLAS

The Bishop of Galway, Dr James McLoughlin, has given permission for parishioners from St. Augustine' s Catholic parish in the city to celebrate masses in the Church of Ireland St Nicholas' s Collegiate Church while theirs is closed for renovations.

This will mark the first time that a Catholic service has been held in St Nicholas' s since the church passed to the Anglican Communion in 1691.

Bishop McLoughlin accepted a generous offer from the Church of Ireland community to accommodate members of the Augustinian parish whose church is closing for nine months. The Rev Patrick Towers of St Nicholas' s Church offered the use of it to the Augustinian parishioners for the duration of the works which are due to start in April.

He has offered to reschedule the weekly 11.30 a.m. Sunday service to facilitate Augustinian parishioners every weekend. Bishop McLoughlin has now given permission for weekend masses for the Augustinian parish to be celebrated in St Nicholas's during the period.

"This was an extremely generous offer, and I am genuinely grateful to the Rev Towers and his parishioners for their readiness to help accommodate the Augustinian parishioners," he said. "I feel this offer is very much in line with the courtesy and kindness that has always been shown to me personally on the many occasions when I have participated at events in St Nicholas's," the bishop said.

The offer was approved by the Church of Ireland bishop of Tuam, the Most Rev Richard Henderson, and it came about as a result of grassroots meetings between lay parishioners of the two churches.

Planning permission for the renovation of St Augustine's was granted recently, and parishioners were facing an uncertain period during the revamp.

(Irish Times, 23.02.05).