Harvest

The last of the Harvest festival services took place in St Mary’s Doneraile on October 19^th. The church was beautifully decorated as usual with the service having an ecumenical flavour as they welcomed a local priest, Fr. Martin Heffernan as the preacher. Fr. Heffernan is no stranger to St Mary’s as he not only lives locally, but he has also attended previous Harvest celebrations in St Mary’s. It was a delight to have him share his thoughts with us.

Schools Concert in Mallow

Following a very successful concert featuring the three Second Level schools in Mallow at our Bicentenary last year, we were delighted to welcome two of the schools, St Mary’s Secondary School and The Patrician Academy on 22^nd October to perform an Inter-School Celebration Evening entitled “My Native Land” at St. James’s in celebration of the Patriot Thomas Davis, whose anniversary of his birth was 14^th October (born 1814). Thomas Davis was baptised in the then St Anne’s Church, the font from which is now situated in St James’s. A full church watched as the students performed music, poetry,  STEM and Public Speaking. It was an entertaining and very enjoyable night, and we look forward to having them with us again soon. The concert was organised by Mallow Development Partnership.

Services of Remembrance

On Sunday 9^th November, members of all three churches in the Union gathered to reflect on the theme of Remembrance and Peace. In Castletownroche and Doneraile there were services to remember those who died in wars, past and present. In St James’s Mallow there was a special service of Reflection and Remembrance as we thought of worshippers past and present, and our departed loved ones. Names were read out, and people were invited to come forward to light a candle if they wished. The sight of beautiful candle flames flickering on the table were a sign to us that, in Christ, the darkness of death is transformed into the light of his risen life and the new beginning he promises all his people.

Sympathies

We send our condolences to George and Ben Buckley (Castletownroche) and their families on the death of their sister Rose Shire who lived in Limerick.

Christmas Concerts

One of the highlights of the year in the Union are the two Christmas Concerts which will be held in St James’s Mallow on December 12^th and 13^th. At the time of writing the tickets are going very well. These concerts have been very popular with the local community and beyond and feature very talented musicians and singers from the locality. Thank you in advance to the organising committee, chaired by Jillian Harris, and the many volunteers who have given of their time and talents to make this annual event a success. See ‘St James’s Church Mallow’ Facebook page, and Mallow Union of Parishes website for details https://mallow.cloyne.anglican.org

Carol Services in the Union

St James’s Mallow – 14^th December at 7pm

St Mary’s Castletownroche – 21^st December at 3pm

St Mary’s Doneraile – United Carol Service 28^th December at 11am.

Christmas Services

Christmas Eve 24^th December

St James’s Mallow – 8pm

St Mary’s Doneraile – 11.30pm

Christmas Day 25^th December

*St Mary’s Castletownroche – 9.45am

*St James’s Mallow – 11.30am

* please note earlier times

New Year’s Eve – Wednesday 31^st December

St James’s Mallow – Eucharist at 11am