Most Revd. Richard Clarke Bishop of Meath and Kildare
“Why Bother with God?”
Over 100 of us gather here in the Knox Hall to listen to an extremely interesting and well informed talk on “Why Bother with God” by Bishop Richard Clarke (Bishop of Meath and Kildare), and author of ‘And is it True?’ This articulate and clear speaker tells us: “No don’t bother with God that is insulting and dishonest. If you must, you may hate God, reject God – that is a logical if (to my mind) misguided option. But really what you should seek to do is to love God and serve God with everything you’ve got – this (I obviously think) is the far better option. But don’t patronise God – this is the most idiotic option of all...” We leave the Knox Hall highly stimulated and grateful for Bishop Clarke’s illuminating talk. The series continues with three more very well attended talks: Vere Wynne Jones, ‘Why Bother with Church?’ – Canon Stanley Baird, ‘Why Bother with Prayer?’, and Bishop Ken Good, ‘Why bother with Jesus Christ?’ Unfortunately I am unable to attend these talks .Thank you to the Reverend Kevin Dalton and the Rural Deanery for organising these talks.

Holy Week and Easter is naturally the biggest week in the life of the church. Our curate the Reverend Darren McCallig is the speaker this Holy Week; the time and trouble Darren takes with his talks are apparent in the large attendances and feedback he receives, during this most holy of weeks.

Thanks to our Rector’s wife Jenny Dalton for entertaining the Monkstown Parish choir for dinner. We enjoy a delicious supper and are quite entertaining ourselves! Wirth an atmosphere of Edwardian gentility intermingled with risqué Music Hall type turns, we manage to turn the evening into what young Sorcha Gorsuch can only describe as “surreal”! Ronnie Elder is impressively operatic and Berry Wynne is absolutely charming singing Handel’s ‘Silent Worship’- Dietrich Fischer-Diskau eat your heart out! The Reverend Kevin Dalton regales with his oft-requested “I married a wife”, and Jane & John Cameron perform a super rendering of cool harmonised ‘Down by the Riverside’. Grainne Dempsey sings us the story of ‘Frank Mills’, in her sweet soprano voice, and Amy Keating tells us,”I‘m so pretty” from ‘West Side Story’ accompanied on the piano by Mr. Piano himself, Josh Johnston. Josh is brilliant on these ivory keys and plays us along in rousing sing-songs. Being a choir these sing-songs are quite good - though I say it myself… Simon Stroughair assistant organist and organist Siobhan Kilkelly, are saving their musical energies for Easter Sunday. Newcomer and hopefully longstayer U.C.D. politics lecturer Derek Hutcheson plays the National Anthem on the piano, backwards (sic) and the finale goes to Darren McCallig who sings us the highly entertaining ballad ‘Brian O’Lynn’ of many verses including a sad one! George Markham is M.C. for the night and funny-story teller extraordinaire.

The Art of Salvation – Easter – how do you picture it? This Easter local artists respond to this challenge and show a display of their work in Monkstown Parish Church. This unique exhibition has conjured up a miscellany of Easter images – a Paschal Fire – churches – crosses – flowers – bonnets – the empty tomb. The paintings add to the beauty of the Easter Day Celebration with its outpouring of beauty – as Dostoevsky said “Beauty will save the world”. Garret Casey’s photos of some of the paintings, appear in this month’s ‘Church Review’.

C.C.