ST JOHN THE BAPTIST — PARISH MATTERS — APRIL 08

THE RECTOR ’ S LETTER

Dear Friends,
It is amazing to think here we are in April and Easter is behind us. Falling
as it did this year means we are already focussing our minds on summer.
The clock has changed and it seems so much brighter in the mornings. It
brings a change of mood as we start the new Church year.We have elected
a new Select Vestry.There is a report on the meeting later in this edition.
Suffice to say, thank you to all who served last year in the various
officerships in our Parish and God’s speed to those who do so this year.
An election took place this year for the 12 places on the Select Vestry.This
is, indeed, a very healthy sign, in that people want to offer time to their
Parish Family, but it also means that people are also disappointed by not
being elected for the first time or by not being re-elected. Thank you to
so many for your attendance which was a big increase on years gone by.
Ronan, our Treasurer, gave his report on the day outlining where we
stand. The financial report is also to be found in this edition of Parish
Matters. He reported a very serious development: that we have seen a fall
in Christian Stewardship (Envelopes, etc.) for the first time in many years.
So also we have seen little or no increase in annual giving. Please consider
increasing this thereby facilitating our development of ministry in Clontarf.
Our main means of fundraising this year will be our Summer Fete. This
will take place on Sunday 8th June in and around the Parish Centre from
2.00 — 5.00pm. It will have the usual stalls (no white elephant) and much
fun outdoors too.We will have bouncy castles, alongside burgers and hot-
dog stalls. This will undoubtedly be a fantastic afternoon and a great way
of raising much-needed funds for the Parish.The stalls, like before, will be
manned by representatives of the various organisations. Please make sure
to keep this date free in your diary as it is really important for our Parish.
Last month the Needs Group included a feed-back form with the
magazine. Clearly the format did not work as so few were returned. The
Group is taking advice on how best to approach this in the future.
 The thinking behind this was to ascertain what the Parish needs to do
as we develop over the coming months and years. The need to
communicate was the primary wish of the Group and so we will be
returning to this in the near future. We need also to update the Parish
records. It would be much appreciated if you could give your email address
to me. I send out emails regularly with information relevant to the
Parishioners. So it only takes a second, please drop me an email with your
address on it. It is also hoped that some parishioners might opt for an
electronic Parish Matters instead of a paper copy, thereby reducing our
carbon footprint and reducing parish costs.
Our Wednesday evenings in Lent were very well attended.Thank you to
you all for your attendance, though we could easily have fitted a few more
people in. The feed-back from these evenings were very positive,
particularly following the discussion on gnosticism on the last night.
It is hoped to offer such evenings each month.The next one takes place on
Wednesday 23rd April at 7.30pm in the Parish Centre.There will be a short
Worship Service followed by a talk entitled “What makes John so different
to Matthew, Mark and Luke”. This will be followed by an opportunity for
discussion and will close with tea and coffee. Please come along.
Yours in Christ,
Derek

Mothers’ Union
We will be meeting on Thursday 10th April at 8.00 pm in the Pavilion
Room, the guest speaker on the night will be Linda Smith, Manager of
Aoibhneas Woman’s Refuge in Coolock.
Our AGM will be held on Thursday 17th April at 3.00 pm. in the Pavilion
Room, with Tea.
Thanks to the members who made buttonholes for Mothering Sunday and
thanks to Susan and some of the senior girls from Connect who helped out
also.They got a quick lesson on the art of buttonhole making and they
entertained me as well. I really think that group should be called "Wired"
The Lenten Lunch collection for Overseas was 300 Euro, thanks to
everyone who supported it.
I.Acheson
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Clontarf Womens’ Group

We will be meeting in the Pavilion Room of the Parish Centre, on Tuesday
1st April at 8.00 pm.
Lemon’s Beauty Salon will be joining us for an evening entitled " All
About Eyes " . Eyebrows- Shaping and Tinting, etc. the cost will be 25 euro.
We collected Easter Eggs for the
children at Coolock Women’s
Refuge.
We were delighted to be able to
help them. Thank you to all who
bought eggs. We were also able to
give a few toys to the children.
H. McCullagh & B. Sargent
Good Friday Youth Service
The 12 noon Youth Service was again led by Susan our Youth and
Children’s Pastor with the music being performed by the band
" Scripture " .The young people led the prayers beautifully and a monologue
told the Good Friday story.This was most poignant and touching.
The attendance was high and very encouraging. The collection went to
the charity " From Russia with Love " working with poor children in Russia.
Thank you to all who made this a very special act of worship.You should
all be very proud as this was a real expression of faith in Christ on the day
when he gave all for each one of us.

Junior Badminton Club

There continues to be a large attendance on Tuesday nights in Mount
Temple. The recent Tournament held in Baldoyle Badminton Centre
had a smaller than usual entry - possibly due to the timing - half-term
and mock exams. We were once again delighted with results of our
members:-
Sam Acheson was narrowly beaten in the Semi-Finals of the Boys
singles under 11.
Adam Lynch and Niall Conologue were placed third in the Boys
Doubles under 13.
Sam Stirling and his partner were very successful and won the Boys
under 13 Doubles.
Shane McCullagh and Devin Connolly had to fight the Final of the Boys
under 13 Plate Competition and after a long game Shane claimed victory.
Well done to each and every one of you. It should also be noted that
most of the boys had to play up a section this year.
R.Watts

Senior Badminton Club

Leinster Competitions are drawing to a close - Three of out teams are into
the Quarter-Finals of the Cup. Our Men’s first look as if they will be very
well placed in the League also.
The Club are hoping to organise an evening in Stockyard Restaurant on
Wednesday 16th April, so please keep this date free.
We have just heard that Karl McDermott is re-locating to England and
we wish him all the best in his new job - the team are devastated that he
is leaving them at this stage of the Season - very bad timing, Karl!
P.Watts

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Bowls Club
On Tuesday 26th February the Quarter-Final of the Price Cup was played
in our Parish Centre between teams from Tallaght and Stillorgan. A very
good game was won by Tallaght.
H. Erskine

Tennis Club
The Tennis Club will shortly be announcing a series of activities to start off
the new season.
Anyone who is interested in playing tennis please see our web page
www.clontarftennis.com. You can register your interest on-line and full
contact details are on the site.
N. Darragh

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USPG Indian Night
On Friday 29th February we gathered in the Parish Centre for our fund-
raiser for USPG and our link project — the Delhi Brotherhood. 130 people
supported the night and we had great fun. Jan and Linda with help from
our India Team helped with the food which was a great success.Thank you
to all who dressed up in Indian clothes to give that authentic feel. Thank
you also to all who worked so hard from ticket sellers (Heather, Elaine and
Mandy) to those who set up the main hall and to all who gave prizes for
the night.
In the end we raised a staggering 4100 Euro for the project with your
support.This will make a massive difference to the Brothers work on the
ground in Delhi as they work with the young people who are at such risk
as they come to the city in search of their fortunes leaving behind the
villages from which they came.
Derek

Evening Worship
will be held on Wednesd ay 2 3rd A pril 2 0 0 8
at 7.3 0pm in the Parish C entre
this will be followed by a talk entitled

" W hat makes John so different to M atthew, M ark

and Luke "

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Ladybirds
Well done to all Ladybirds who were at the church service you were
super at all the actions in the sermon. We are delighted to welcome
Veronica as a Ladybird helper - she will be a great help to Wendy and Enid
as the number of Ladybirds is rising week by week.
A big thank you to Wendy for organising our 80th celebrations so well,
we are all very proud of her.

Brownies
A huge thank you to everybody who made our church service to celebrate
our 80th year of Guiding in Clontarf such a lovely occasion. To those who
read, said prayers and collected- well done and to Reverent Sargent thank
you for a really great sermon. All the girls thoroughly enjoyed it. We are
having a well deserved rest for 2 weeks over easter but will resume on the
first Wednesday in April. We have just welcomed 2 new Brownies up from
Ladybirds and we hope that they will enjoy their time with us.

Guides
We are really enjoying the new challenges each Wednesday evening and
have recently all got our new uniforms which look great and also give us
a sense of belonging to the wider Guiding movement.Thank you to all the
guides who served tea, coffee and biscuits after the church service and also
to those who helped with the clean up too!!
M.Watts

5th Company Girls’ Brigade

Well, we are now on the last ‘count down’ to our Centenary Celebration
weekend which will take place on the 25th/26th and the 27th April 2008.
Our Centenary Display will take place in St. Fintan’s Boys High School
on Friday the 25th April at 8.00p.m. and everyone is most welcome to
come along.
Our Past Member’s Centenary Dinner will be held on Saturday 26th
April in The Royal Dublin Golf Club at 7.15p.m. and our Centenary
Thanksgiving Service will be held on Sunday the 27th April at 3.00p.m. in
Clontarf & Scots Presbyterian Church.
On Sunday 17th February we were extremely fortunate to have
President Mary McAleese attend a Service in Clontarf & Scots Church and
unveil two stained glass windows which we had commissioned to mark
our Centenary. One window depicts the ‘old’ Girls’ Brigade Badge and the
other the ‘new’ Girls’ Brigade Badge with the motto — ‘Seek, Serve and
Follow Christ’ and the date 1908 — 2008 underneath the windows. It really
was a wonderful day, enjoyed by all.
Regardless of all our Centenary ‘Events’, the Girls’ Brigade programme
continues along unabated and we have been very busy with P.E.
Competitions, the G.B. Scripture Test etc. and are now practicing for the
Musical Theatre Competition to be held on the 5th April.We also have our
District’s ‘Fun Competitions’ on Saturday 29th March in Santry starting at
10.00a.m. Due to the fact that we meet on a Saturday and a Monday night
we are losing out on G.B. practices because of the St. Patrick’s weekend
and Easter so we are having Girls’ Brigade on Wednesday 19th March and
Wednesday 26th March from 2.00p.m. — 3.30p.m. for Explorers and
3.30p.m. — 5.00p.m. for Juniors/Seniors and 5.00p.m. — 6.00p.m. for
Brigaders. Hopefully we will get the majority of girls on these two
afternoons — all girls have already received a note about these, but just in
case I am including it in this newsletter — a gentle reminder!
M McElhinney
 SERVICES FOR APRIL

6th April Easter 2

8.30 a.m. Holy Communion
10.30 a.m. Morning Prayer

13th April Easter 3

8.30 a.m. Holy Communion
10.30 a.m. Parish Family Communion

20th April Easter 4

8.30 a.m. Holy Communion
10.30 a.m. All-Age Worship

23rd April Wednesday

7.30 p.m. Evening Worship with Talk
Subject: What makes John so different to Matthew, Mark and Luke
Venue: The Parish Centre

27th April Easter 5 - Rogation Sunday

8.30 a.m. Holy Communion
10.30 a.m. Parish Family Communion
 Scripture Readings for April

6th April Easter 2

Acts 2: 14a, 36-41
Psalm 116: 1-4, 12-19
1 Peter 1: 17-23
Luke 24: 13-35

13th April Easter 3

Acts 2: 42-47
Psalm 23
1 Peter 2: 19-25
John 10: 1-10

20th April Easter 4

Acts 7: 55-60
Psalm 31: 1-5, 15-16
1 peter 2: 2-10
John 14: 1-14

27th April Easter 5 Rogation Sunday

Acts 17: 22-31
Psalm 66: 7-18
1 Peter 3: 13-22
John 14: 15-21
Sunday Club
Coming up to Easter we were busy doing pictures for Church. We had a
scene of Palm Sunday, The Last Supper and the Empty Tomb on Easter
Sunday.The Banner we had made last year has completed the story stating
‘Jesus is alive!’ Everyone had great fun doing the work. Well done
everyone! We must try something else soon.
J. Acheson

APRIL SCHEDULE
6th Sunday Club Morning Prayer
13th Sunday Club Holy Communion
20th In Church All Age Worship
27th Sunday Club Service of the Word

"Sunday Club Children with Easter Art Work before it was put up in the Church
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Christian Stewardship/Planned Giving
The Parish Accounts for the year ended 31st December 2007 were
presented to the Annual Vestry on Sunday 9th March 2008.
While the financial situation of the parish is healthy at present significant
concern was expressed at the reduction in Christian Stewardship
Contributions. It was stressed that this is the first time in memory that
Christian Stewardship has decreased year on year. In 2006 the total
received was 62,598 Euro while in 2007 the amount was 8% less at 57,566
Euro. Church expenses did NOT decrease in the same period.
Christian Stewardship is planned giving by Parishioners (or planned taking
by the parish!).The Stewardship funds, received by way of monthly standing
order and weekly envelope, are needed to cover Church expenses —
personnel costs and running costs of the Church premises such as heat,
light, cleaning, and insurance — they are not used for the Parish Centre.

It was noted
— that few of the 98 contributors had increased their giving in 2007
— that of the 160 households in the parish, less than 100 made a regular
planned payment through the Christian Stewardship Schemes.

The Select Vestry has consequently identified the development of the

Christian Stewardship Schemes as a priority matter for at least the coming
year.
An increase of 7 Euro per month from 125 contributors would amount
to 10,500 Euro in a year. Please help your parish!
If you are a current contributor, and we are very grateful for your
generosity in the past, please review your contribution and increase it by
amending your Bank Standing Order or your Weekly Envelope, if at all
possible.
If you are not a current contributor, and you would like to be, you can
set up a standing order in favour of the parish — the bank details are:
 Clontarf Parish No 2 Account
Account No 02825-120
Allied Irish Bank plc, 37/38 Upper O’Connell Street, Dublin 1
Sort Code 93-13-22.
If you prefer to make payment by weekly envelope, please advise Ms
Sandra Stirling or the Churchwardens. A pack of envelopes will be
delivered to your home.

[Copies of the annual accounts are available in the Church lobby.]

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Easter General Vestry
Our Easter General Vestry took place on Sunday 9th March in the Parish
Centre following the main Service. It was better attended than in past
years which was good to see. Being a triennial year both Parochial
Nominators and Diocesan Synodsmen were elected for the coming three
years.

The Parochial Nominators for the next 3 years are:

Bruce Maxwell, Mark Acheson, John Rowden and Declan Barry.

Our representatives on Diocesan Synod are:

John Rowden, John Patten and Ted Jones.

Rector’’ s Church Warden

Ted Jones

People’’ s Church Warden

Lindsay O’Toole

Rector’’ s Glebe Warden

Brendan Bournes-Harper

People’’ s Glebe Warden

Nigel Darragh

Twelve others were elected to the Select Vestry

Olwen Lynch and Alan Harper (for the first time)
Ronan Kelly, Declan Barry, Clive Jackson, Mark Acheson,
Bruce Maxwell, John Rowden, Ed McKenna, John Patten,
Stuart McConnell and Heather Hunter.
It is always very healthy when there is an election. It is a sign of a deep
interest in serving God in this capacity in one’s Parish.
Thanks were expressed by the Rector to all outgoing office holders.The
death of Sam Jackson (Parochial Nominator and 8.30 Church Warden) was
referred to in his speech, stating how Sam was missed “by us all”.
The Rector thanked the many organisations and individuals who
supported him and the Parish over the past year, looking forward to the
year ahead. Special thanks were recorded for the Youth and Children’s
Pastor — Susan Connolly, the Hon. Secretary — Bruce, the Hon. Treasurer
— Ronan, and to the Rector’s wife — Breda. He thanked all for their
attendance and interest in the Parish and it’s life, praying God’s blessing on
the future.
In the subsequent Select Vestry meeting Bruce Maxwell we re-elected
Honorary Secretary. Ronan Kelly was also re-elected Honorary Treasurer.

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Rector's Church Warden Ted Jones
Ted Jones joined the Parish in 1948. This is his second year on the Select
Vestry. He is a widower since 1998 and has two children, Nicholas and
Christine. He is a grand father to 5 children and and also has one great
grandson.
Ted served as an RAF pilot from 1940 - 1945. After the war he worked
for Grant-Barnett the umbrella manufacturers. He has been retired since
1980.
In 2006 he became a local celebrity when he did a parachute jump in aid
of St. Francis Hospice. In doing this he raised 7050 euro and now hold the
title of the oldest skydiver in Ireland.

People’s Church Warden Lindsey O’Toole

Lindsey Allen joined the Parish when she was 3, when her parents Morris
and Elaine moved to Clontarf from Raheny. She was confirmed, married
Graham and had her daughter Lucy baptised here in St John the Baptist.
She has been on the Select Vestry for 3 years. She has served as Glebe
Warden.
She was educated at Greenlanes National School and Mount Temple. She
is at present the Financial Controller of the Westbury Hotel.
Her claim to fame is that she is a direct descendant of Bram Stoker so
be afraid, be very afraid.
Reflection
At time of writing we are nearing an early Easter. All Christian Churches
will have celebrated Christ’s victory over what He Himself called “the last
enemy, death”.
Death here refers to everlasting loss and not just the cessation of our
human breath, lamentable as that surely is. One cannot usually bring
analytical and scientific conclusions to bear on Scripture. In this instance,
the explanation is surely self-evident. If Jesus, as we believe, conquered and
is our Victor over the death — enemy, He has secured its antithesis, life
everlasting. So well, we should rejoice at Easter with thanksgiving and
praise.We also do well to remember that such a life-and-death battle was
not won without the shedding of blood. The hymn says, ‘lest I forget
Gethsemane, lead me to Calvary’. A unique price was paid for our
redemption and security.What peace of mind! We are truly thankful.
A Maharry

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 PARISH GROUPS/CONTACTS
RECTOR: The Rev’d D. C. Sargent (833 1181)
[email protected]
YOUTH AND CHILDREN’S PASTOR: Susan Connolly
(086 377 7278) [email protected]
GREENLANES NATIONAL SCHOOL
Principal: Ms. C. Atkin (8331554) [email protected]
B.B. COMPANY SECTION: Mr A. Ayling (831 5234)
B.B. JUNIOR SECTION: Mr. M. Acheson (831 8645)
ANCHOR BOYS: Mrs. H. McCullagh (853 5594)
WOMEN’S GROUP: Mrs. B. Sargent (833 1181) and
Mrs. H. McCullagh (853 5594)
YOUTH GROUPS: Ms. S. Connolly (086 377 7278)
BOWLING CLUB: Mr. H. Maude (833 1056)
BADMINTON CLUB: Mrs. P.Watts (832 6078)
JUNIOR BADMINTON: Mr. R.Watts (832 6078)
ORGANIST/CHOIRMASTER: Mr. J. Rowden (2809948 \
0876347546)
SUNDAY MORNING CRECHE: Mrs. B. Sargent (833 1181)
FLOWER GUILD: Mrs. I. Acheson (833 8288) and
Mrs B. Gallagher (833 8683)
GB PAST MEMBERS: Mrs. I. McMullen: (853 0356)
BROWNIES: Mrs. P. and Ms. M.Watts (832 6078)
LADYBIRDS/GUIDES: Ms.W. Kelly (848 1569) and
Ms. N. Flynn (8476110)
MOTHERS UNION: Mrs. I. Acheson (833 8288)
SUNDAY CLUB: Mrs. J. Acheson (831 8645)
POST-CONFIRMATION GROUP: Susan Connolly
(086 377 7278) [email protected]
PARISH WHIST GROUP: Mrs. H. Hunter (833 7940)