Vol 8.3

April - May 2005

Dear Friends ,

In recent months a bleak picture has been painted of the relationships within the Anglican Communion of which we are a part. It’s not the first time that the autonomous independent national churches which comprise the Communion have disagreed, at least within their own provinces on matters relating to faith. We in the Church of Ireland have come through the emotive debates surrounding the ordination of women to the priesthood, and as bishops (something which the Church of England is hotly debating at their General Synod), and the re-marriage of divorcees. In some ways these issues are more doctrinally challenging to those of certain churchmanship than others, such as the current debate on the ordination of homosexual clergy. What ever your opinion on these matters I am concerned, like many in our church, about the independence of the national churches being threatened by any proposed body for the Anglican communion that would act as a magisterium or curia. Each national church has its own constitution and independence and in matters of faith has always worked out its own salvation as it were, using the measures of scripture, reason and tradition, the traditional standards of classical Anglicanism. Presently within Anglicanism the Archbishop of Canterbury has always held a position of respect among the member churches’ primates as primus inter pares, first among equals. However any move to give him and especially any doctrinal body over which he would preside, greater powers to ‘expel’ or pronounce on the activities of member churches would be strongly resisted particularly by members of the churches in the west and northern hemisphere. All families experience turmoil and strained relationships from time to time and it is our earnest prayer that the Communion of 80 million members will continue to exist as a Communion linked by bonds of affection and common tradition. We are a church which ought to be concerned with many other pressing issues such as world debt, social justice and the environment, to name but a few.

Rural Deanery
An increasingly encouraging turnout for the Lenten series has no doubt helped strengthen the sense of belonging and community amongst the member parishes of the Antrim Rural Deanery. The next time we meet in such a way will be at a Youth Worship service in St Jude’s, Muckamore at 7.00pm on Sunday 17.4.05. All are welcome and I hope as many as possible can come along.

Mildred and Clyde
After six and half years in the parish of Killead and Gartree the Rev. Clyde Irvine will retire from full time parochial ministry and of course Mrs Irvine will be vacating her position as organist in St Patrick’s about the same time. Parishioners will already be aware of plans to mark Mildred’s retirement as organist, though more on that later. We wish Clyde and Mildred many happy years of health, happiness and companionship for the future and trust that we will see them about the Parish in due course.

Student Reader
Alas, we said goodbye to Dr Bob Cotter on Palm Sunday. Whilst we are sorry to see him go after having been associated with the parish for two years as student reader, we do wish him God’s blessing as he prepares for ordination to the diaconate in June for Mossley Parish in Connor Diocese.

Christus resurrexit!
Soon we will celebrate the greatest and oldest feast of the Christian Church, the Resurrection of Christ, called Easter. Its importance is emphasised by the long preparation of Lent and the ceremonies of Holy Week. During Easter we will hear in our churches the frequent recitation of ‘Alleluia!’ as the expression of Easter joy. May that joy be yours also.

Yours in Christ

Stephen Fielding

Bowling Club
bowler.gif (1418 bytes)

The bowling club continues to meet on Friday evening from 7.30 pm until 10.30 pm and Monday evening (practice night) from 8.00 pm until 9.30 pm. Anyone who has never bowled before would be welcome to come along on Monday evening to find out if they would enjoy bowling.

We had a visit to the Rock bowling club on Thursday 10 March 2005, with a good turn out of members.

On Friday 18 March 2005 we had our ‘annual’ Easter Egg competition.

We had our second visit of the season to the Baker Stadium on Wednesday 30 March 2005, with a good turn out of members. After bowling for 2 hours we had a meal and refreshments and prizes for the winners on the night.

Our Country & Western concert will be held on Thursday 7 April 2005 in the Parish Hall. Tickets available from members of the bowling club.

The AGM of the bowling club will be held on Friday 6 May 2005 in the Minor Hall at 7.30 pm. This will be followed by the presentation of prizes.

Isobel McCollam (Hon. Sec.)

CMSI Zambia Link

As mentioned by the Rector in last month’s magazine, the parish has set itself a target of £1,000 to support the parish missionary link with the Scott family in Zambia. Keith and Lyn Scott teach in St John’s Anglican Seminary in Kitwe. They do vital work in preparing students for full-time ministry in the Zambian Anglican Church; they deserve our prayers and support.

I would like to thank those who have already given me donations and would greatly appreciate any further donations which could be made, these can be gift aided.

CMSI Ireland are hosting a 2 day conference in Armagh in April, as part of their empower event. More than 60 delegates from 14 different countries will be in attendance. Our parish will be hosting a visitor from Zambia – Mrs Esther Phiri for five days. She will be my guest for three nights and I was wondering if anyone else in the parish could help out with the remaining two nights, probably 18 & 19 April. This should be a unique opportunity to build real fellowship and learn a little more about our brothers and sisters in the Church in Zambia.

Finally we are hoping to have a barbeque at the end of June to help with fundraising for our link project.

Thank you.

Daphne Lucas

Communion Rota for St John's communion.gif (2023 bytes)

St John's
April	Church Wardens
May	Mr & Mrs McCausland

Kitchen Fund / Parish Hall

The Kitchen fund account is now on going. All contributions would be most welcome.

Anyone wishing to contribute please contact Isobel McCollam or the Hon Treasurer Norman Shirley.

The fund now stands at £5,029.00

Tight fit

A man walked into a shoe store, and tried on a pair of shoes.

"How do they feel?" asked the sales clerk.

"Well they feel a bit tight," replied the man.

The assistant promptly bent down and looked at the shoes on the man's feet.

"Try pulling the tongue out," the clerk said.

"Well, theyth sthill feelth a bith tighth.

Scout Group News

Easter is now behind us and we are starting to plan our Summer activities and camps. Cubs and Scouts hope to attend their respective District camps and Beavers have Rally Day and a visit to the Circus to look forward to.

We will finish our year as usual with the Group BBQ in Greenmount College, for which our thanks go to Mr Norman Shirley for organising our visit to Greenmount again this year. This event will take place on Monday 6 June 2005.

Last month we held our annual Coffee Morning and Bring and Buy Sale and raised the magnificent sum of £511.40. Our thanks go to all who helped on the day, and for the support of everyone who contributed to and or attended the event. The money was very welcome to boost our Bank Account and will be spent on improving and buying equipment for the Group.

Catherine Michael (Group Scout Leader)

Table Quiz

A table quiz has been arranged for Friday 13 May 2005 in the Baker Stadium at 7.30 pm .

Proceeds from the table quiz are going towards the kitchen fund in the Parish Hall.

We are once again hoping for good support.

Anyone who has previously attended can vouch for a good evening of fun.

Admission £5.00 per head, including supper.

Isobel McCollam

Library Closure?

For those not already aware of it, the following is happening and may affect the wider community in which you live.

NEELB, Developing People for Life

Press Release, 11th February 2005
Board will Consult on Future of Twelve Small Libraries

The North Eastern Board’s Library Committee has voted to reorganise the way the Library Service is provided and will go out to local consultation on a proposal to close twelve underused libraries.

The move has been made more urgent by the release of financial planning figures for the next three years by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure which funds the Province’s Library Service. However, a reorganisation has been on the cards following years of declining funding and growing costs.

The Board’s top librarians have undertaken a strategic review of all its 45 branch and mobile libraries and support services to come up with a comprehensive plan to reorganise the existing resources in order to provide the best service in the new situation.

The consultation on the closure of branch libraries involves Ahoghill, Ballee, Bellaghy, Broughshane, Bushmills, Carnlough, Castlerock, Cloughmills, Cullybackey, Garvagh, Monkstown and Templepatrick.

If the Committee’s recommendation is approved by the full Board meeting on February 22 there will be a two month consultation period and a final decision on the proposals is expected in May .

The remainder of this press release can be found at

http://www.neelb.org.uk/new/pressreleases/february-05/4feb05.asp

T’Ed .

A prayer of St Benedict

O gracious and holy Father,
Give us wisdom to perceive You,
Intelligence to understand You,
Diligence to seek You,
Patience to wait for You,
Eyes to behold You,
A Heart to meditate upon You,
And a life to proclaim You,
Through the power of the Spirit
Of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Junior Sunday School

CMS Ireland Project

Our CMS project this year is called Fingerprints of Hope based in Nepal. Nepal is located in South-Central Asia and the capital is Kathmandu. It is more famously known for having the tallest mountain in the world – Mt Everest.

Nepal is a very poor, landlocked country with over 80% of its people depending on the land for a livelihood. A combination of over population, stagnant economic growth, crippling debt and continuing civil strife within the country mean that daily life can be very hard in Nepal.

CMSI hope to raise £30,000 this year to build a multi purpose facility on the outskirts of Kathmandu. This building will provide a day care centre for children with mental and physical disabilities, where a hydro therapy pool and multi-sensory room will be built for the disabled children. This is very important to the community, thus giving them a sense of identity in being able to provide for their families and improve their standard of living.

I’m sure you will agree – a very worthwhile cause!

Could we please ask the children to return their collection boxes by Sunday 10 th April 2005.

Big Dander
This year’s ‘Big Dander’ (sponsored walk organised by the Diocese of Connor’s Building for Generations) will be held on Saturday 7 May. We are hoping to make this a Sunday School outing and would encourage as many parents and children to come along and join in the fun with us. The route is pretty straightforward, and you don’t need to be ultra fit to take part. More details and sponsor forms to follow.

Open Sunday School
We would like to invite parents and families, of both the Junior and Senior Sunday Schools to an Open Sunday School on Sunday 29 May, after the 11.30 am church service. We will have on display samples of work completed by the Children, and materials used by the Sunday School teachers. It is an informal get-together giving you the opportunity to chat to the teachers and other children and to see what we do! If your children don’t currently attend Sunday School, please feel free to come along and have a look – they may be tempted!

Junior Activities
Although Sunday School officially finishes on Sunday 29 May, we have decided to run some ‘Junior Activities’ on Sunday 12 and 19 June for the young people of the parish. This will take place during the 11.30 am church service (at the normal time of Sunday School).

Some useful dates for your diary:-

April

3rd Easter Day – No Sunday School
10th Sunday School Resumes – collection boxes returned

May

1st All Age Worship
Saturday 7 th The Big Dander
29th Open Sunday School for parents and family
Last Sunday School of year.

June

5th All Age Worship and Prize Giving
12th & 19 th Junior Activities

Gail

Ladies Fellowship

An outing in February to the Waterfront Hall, to hear The Fortwilliam Musical Society perform “Anything Goes” was a most enjoyable evening. A thank you to all who supported this event.

In March we had our visitors’ night and an evening of entertainment by “The Singing Chef”.

The AGM will take place in April when we shall reflect on the past year’s programme, elect a new committee and enjoy some light refreshments. It would be appreciated if members could bring their missionary boxes to this meeting.

The final meeting of the season is and evening outing. A River Lagan Tour, planned for Tuesday 17 th May. Anyone interested in joining us for this trip should contact any of the following, Mrs Ann Jones, Isobel McCollam or Ann Kerr. Cost and further details will be available nearer the time.

As always new members are most welcome.

Ann Kerr (Hon.Sec.)

Rotas for St. Patrick's

Intercessor Rota for Parish Eucharist

St Patrick's
April	W Brolly
May	M Bell

Communion Rota

St Patrick's
April	Mr A & Mrs D Martin
May	Mr S & Mrs J McCollam

Cleaning Rota

St Patrick's
April	A Montgomery, I Shields, A Millar
May	Mr & Mrs Walbridge, A Kerr, N Clendenning

Flower Rota

St Patrick's
Apr. 3	Church Choir
10	A Millar
17	A Millar
24	A Millar
May 1	Vacant
8	I McCollam
15	D Gaffney
22	D Gaffney
29	Vacant

Organising your wedding

Weddings are very special occasions in the life of any family and in the life of the church. When considering getting married please check possible dates with the Rector before confirming arrangements.

It is expected that couples will make a regular commitment to the life of the church in preparation for marriage.

An annual Rural Deanery marriage preparation course takes place every year in February which 'intending' couples area asked to atttend.

Pull up a chair

He is close to all who call on him sincerely – Psalm 145.18

The old man was very ill, so his family called the minister. When the minister came in, he noticed an empty chair by the bed and said, “I see I'm not your first visitor today.”

The old man smiled and said, “Let me tell you about that chair. Years ago I found it difficult to pray. A friend told me not to worry about it. He said 'Just sit down, put a chair in front of you, and begin to talk to him as you would to a friend.'” Then the old man added with a smile: “I've been doing that for the last 30 years, and it's been wonderful; it really works.”

Soon the old man died. His daughter called for the minister. She said, “When I left him this morning, he was sleeping comfortably. But when I came back, he was gone. Then I noticed something: his hand was on the empty chair beside the bed. Isn't that strange?”

“No”, the minister replied. “The One in the chair just took him by the hand and they left together.”

If it helps you, pull up a chair today and spend some time talking to the Lord. Come to him confidently, for He couldn't love you more than He does at this moment – and that will never change. The Bible says: “Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it.” (Hebrews 4:16).

(UCB The Word for Today)

Safeguarding Trust

In accordance with the recommendations in 'Safeguarding Trust - The Church of Ireland Code of Good Practice for Ministry with Children', a Parish Panel has been appointed (operating since June 1998) to implement some of the responsibilities identified in the Code.

The Panels responsibilities include:

interviewing persons willing to serve as workers in the parish
advising workers on their responsibilities in respect of the Code

advising the Select Vestry in respect of its responsibilities
being an immediate contact point for workers when a suspicion, complaint or allegation of child abuse is made about a worker or on parish premises in accord with the procedures set out in these guidelines.

The Parish Panel Members are:-

The Rev. S A Fielding, Templepatrick
Mrs M Bell, Glengormley
Mr S Clendinning, Templepatrick
Mr M Cooke, Dunadry

Saints of the Church

Mark the Evangelist
25 April -- Festival -- Evangelist -- Red
John Mark was a Jew and, according to Paul's letter to the Colossians, was cousin to Barnabas. He accompanied Barnabas and Paul on their first missionary journey. Afterwards, he went to Cyprus with Barnabas and to Rome with first Paul and then Peter. Mark's gospel is generally regarded as the earliest and was most likely written whilst he was in Rome. It was probably based as much on Peter's preaching of the good news as on Mark's own memory. Mark's gospel has a sharpness and an immediacy about it and he does not spare the apostles in noting their weaknesses and lack of understanding that Jesus the Christ would suffer for the world's redemption. Sharing in the glory of the resurrection means sharing in the giving of self, both in body and spirit, even to death; sharing the gospel was, for all, in essence both excessively generous and ultimately sacrificial.

Philip & James, Apostles
1 May -- Festival -- Apostles -- Red
Philip and James appear in the list of the twelve apostles in the first three gospels but are frequently confused with other early saints who share their names. In John's gospel, Philip has a more prominent rôle, being the third of the apostles to be called by Jesus and then himself bringing his friend Nathanael to the Lord. Philip is the spokesman for the other apostles who are questioning the capacity for feeding the five thousand and, at the Last Supper, enters into a sort of dialogue with Jesus which leads to the Farewell Discourses of our Lord.

James is said to be the son of Alphæus and is often known as 'James the Less' to distinguish him. He may also be the 'James the Younger' who, in Mark's gospel, is a witness at the Crucifixion.

They are celebrated on the same day because the church in Rome, where their relics rest, was dedicated on this day in the year 560.

Comgall of Bangor, abbot. Down diocese. 602
10 May

Comgall was the founder and first abbot of Bangor Abbey, said to have been the largest monastery in Ireland, with as many as three thousand in the community at one period. Comgall visited Columba in Iona and worked closely with him in spreading the Gospel. Columbanus was trained at Bangor before setting out on his missionary journeys to Europe. There was a strong family-spirit in the community life at Bangor. Counselling, as well as instruction, was an important part of the training. To Comgall is attributed the saying, "A man without a soul-friend is a body without a head."

Matthias the Apostle
14 May -- Festival -- Apostle -- Red
After the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, the apostles brought their number back to twelve by choosing Matthias to replace him. He was chosen by lot from amongst the disciples. The author of the Acts of the Apostles sees apostleship differently from Paul's interpretation of the rôle and seems to reflect the understanding of the gospel of Luke. The number had to be restored so that they might "sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel". It was conditional that they had to have been with Jesus during his earthly ministry and witnesses to the resurrection. The point of being chosen by lot, rather than by some democratic method, indicated the election or choosing by God, rather than by mortals.

The Visit of the Blessèd Virgin Mary to Elizabeth
31 May -- Festival -- of the BVM -- White
The church today recalls the visit of Elizabeth to her cousin Mary, as recorded in Luke's gospel. The celebration of the feast first occurred at a Franciscan Order General Chapter in 1263 but quickly spread throughout Europe. Since it is a celebration clearly described in the gospel, the churches of the Reformation were less inclined to proscribe it as they were other Marian feasts, particularly as it was the occasion for Mary to sing her great hymn of praise in honour of her Lord and God. Just as Luke sees John the Baptist as the last of the prophets of the old covenant, he uses John's leaping in Elizabeth's womb as the first time John bears witness to Christ as the promised Messiah. Thereby he links the old covenant with the new. He seems to be saying that just as the old covenant clearly points to Jesus, so does its last prophet, yet to be born.

Bridge

A meeting will be held on Tuesday 5 th April at 8.00 pm in the Church Rooms with a view to setting up a bridge club. All those interested in playing bridge at whatever level in a friendly environment are invited to attend and to bring along any friends (i.e. non-parishioners).

April Fools

In years gone by, the rules surrounding April Fool were this: between midnight and noon on 1 April, everyone is 'fair game' to be made a fool of. It is the morning of the practical joke. But the aim is not just to discomfort the victim: he must be tricked into taking action himself, sent on a 'fool's errand'.

And so children would be sent to the dairy for a pint of dove's milk, or to the bookseller for The Life of Eve's Mother. Practical jokes on a bigger scale were played: in 1860 a vast number of people received an official looking invitation to the Tower of London that read: 'Admit the Bearer and Friends to view the Annual Ceremony of Washing the White Lions.' Precisely the same trick had been played in 1698.

Then, on the stroke of noon, tradition decrees, April Fools is finished. If anyone attempts devilry thereafter, even while the clock is still striking, it recoils on his own head. A child would then race through the sing-song formula: 'April-Fool-Day's-past-and-gone-you're-the-fool-and-I-am-none!'

Have a teaspoon of Prayer

If you have trouble praying, try just it by the teaspoonful (tsp):

T – thank you

S – sorry

P - please


Parish Directory
Rector The Rev. Stephen A Fielding B.Sc., B.Th., M.A. The Vicarage, 926 Antrim Road, Templepatrick, Co.Antrim, BT39 0AT (028 9443 2300 E-mail: templepatrick@connor.anglican.org
*CHURCH OFFICE BEARERS* Rector's Churchwarden:(St.Patrick's) Mrs M. Walbridge, Templepatrick People's Churchwarden:(St.Patrick's) Mr D Mawhinney, Dunadry Rector's Churchwarden:(St.John's) Miss Y.Hutchinson, Doagh People's Churchwarden:(St.John's) Mrs M Bell, N'abbey Rector's Glebewarden:Mr R Barnes, Dunadry People's Glebewarden: Mr M Cooke, Dunadry Supplemental Glebewarden: Mr S Clendinning, Templepatrick *Select Vestry:* (Meets 2nd Monday in month at 8.00 pm) Mr R.Barnes, Mrs R.Barnes, Mrs M Bell, Mr H Cinnamon, Mr S Clendinning, Mrs M Coe, Mr M Cooke, Mrs Y Hutchinson, Mr J Jones, Mr C Lundy, Mr D Mawhinney, Mr T Michael, Mrs I McCollam, Mr S McCollam, Mr B McMeekin, Mr N Shirley,Mr A Walbridge, Mrs M Walbridge Diocesan Synodsmen: Mr E Cinnamon, Mr H Cinnamon Honorary Secretary: Mrs M Bell, Newtownabbey Honorary Treasurer: Mr N Shirley, Templepatrick Honorary F.W.O. Recorder and Envelope Secretary: Mrs I McCollam, Templepatrick Covenant Secretary: Mrs P. MacKean, Loughanmore PARISH PANEL:- The Rector; Mrs M Bell; Mr S Clendinning; Mr M Cooke Parish Organisations and their Leaders:- *Choir* Practices on Thursdays at 8pm. Organist and Choirmistress Mrs M.Irvine, The Rectory, Killead Sunday School Coordinators: Mrs G McCoy, Mr B McMeekin. Leaders: Mrs V Brady, Mrs D Gaffney, Miss R Laird. Helpers: Miss C Lucas, Miss S McCollam.. Crèche (Sundays) Mrs Judith Collister, Mrs Julia Fielding Youth Group Mr Philip Lusty, Mrs Valerie Brady		Sacristan: Mrs R Barnes Hall Secretary: Mrs I McCollam CofI Gazette Secretary: Mrs M McConnell Bible Study Notes Secretary: Mrs D Lucas Christian Aid Secretary Mrs L Lynas Parish Webmaster Mr Alan Walbridge Magazine Producer Mrs Gail McCoy *Youth Organisations* Choir Practices on Thursdays at 8pm Rainbow Guides (4-7 years): Tuesday 2.15-3.15pm Mrs Ann Forsythe, Mrs D Reid Brownies (7-10 years): Wednesdays 6.00-7.30pm Miss Elaine McConnaghie Guides (10-14 years): Wednesdays 7.30-9.00pm Mrs Ann Forsythe Squirrels (4-6 years): Thursdays 4-5pm Mrs C Michael Beavers (6-8 years): Mondays 6.30-7.30pm Mrs C Michael Cub Scouts (8-10years): Tuesdays 6.45-8.00 pm Mr A Martin Scouts (10+ years): Contact Mr P Lawther Parents and Toddlers Group Wednesdays 10.30am-12pm Mrs Hayley Cunningham Adult Organisations Choir Practices on Thursdays at 8pm Indoor Bowling Club : Fridays 7.30pm Secretary: Mrs I McCollam Ladies Fellowship 3rd Tuesday in the month, 8pm. Secretary:Mrs A Kerr Parish Ramblers meet occasionally

Services

April - May 2005

3 Apr.	Sunday	2nd Sunday of Easter
	08.30 am	Holy Communion
	11.30 am	Matins
RCL Full texts available	First Reading Psalm Epistle Gospel	Acts 2: 14a, 22-32 16 1 Peter 1: 3-9 John 20: 19-31

10 Apr.	Sunday	3rd Sunday of Easter
	10.00 am	Parish Eucharist - St. John's
	11.30 am	Matins
RCL Full texts available	First Reading Psalm Epistle Gospel	Acts 2: 14a, 36-41 116: 1-4 12-19 1 Peter 1: 17-23 Luke 24: 13-35

17 Apr.	Sunday	4th Sunday of Easter
	8.30 am	Holy Communion
	11.30 am	Parish Eucharist
RCL Full texts available	First Reading Psalm Epistle Gospel	Acts 2: 42-47 23 1 Peter 2: 19-25 1 John 10: 1-10

24 Apr.	Sunday	5th Sunday of Easter
	10.00 am	Matins - St. John's
	11.30 am	Matins
RCL Full texts available	First Reading Psalm Epistle Gospel	Acts 7: 55-60 31: 1-5, 15-16 1 Peter 2: 2-10 John 14: 1-14

1 May	Sunday	Rogation
	8.30 am	Holy Communion
	11.30 am	All Age Worship
Full texts available	First Reading Psalm Epistle Gospel	Acts 17: 22-31 66: 7-18 1 Peter 3: 13-22 John 14: 15-21

5 May	Thursday	The Ascension
	10.00 am	Holy Communion
Full texts available	First Reading Psalm Epistle Gospel	Ephesians 1:15-23 47 or 93 Acts 1:1-11 Luke 24: 44-53

8 May	Sunday	7th Sunday of Easter
	10.00 am	Parish Eucharist - St. John's
	11.30 am	Matins
RCL Full texts available	First Reading Psalm Epistle Gospel	Acts 1: 6-14 or Ezekiel 39: 21-29 68: 1-10, 32-35 1 Peter 4: 12-14, 5: 6-11 John 17: 1-11

15 May	Sunday	The Day of Pentecost (Whitsunday)
	8.30 am	Holy Communion
	11.30 am	Parish Eucharist
RCL Full texts available	First Reading Psalm Epistle Gospel	Acts 2: 1-21 104: 26-36, 37b i Corinthians 12:3b-13 John 20: 19-23 or John 7: 37-39

22 May	Sunday	Trinity Sunday
	10.00 am	Matins - St. John's
	11.30 am	Matins
RCL Full texts available	Old Testament Psalm Epistle Gospel	Genesis 1: 2-4a 8 2 Corinthians 13: 11-13 Matthew 28: 16-20

29 May	Sunday	First Sunday after Trinity
	11.30 am	United Parish Eucharist
RCL Full texts available	Old Testament Psalm Epistle Gospel	Deuteronomy 11: 18-21, 26-28 31: 1-5, 19-24 Romans 1: 16-17, 22b-28 (, 29-31) Matthew 7: 21-29

Wednesday morning Communions with prayer for the sick are at 10am followed by coffee in the Church Rooms. Saints Days are as announced in church.

The Internet

It used to be that a main topic of conversation was the weather. If there was nothing else to talk about, everyone could say something about whatever we were enduring at the time. However this seems to be being displaced by routes. Gather a few drivers together who have travelled some distance to congregate and very soon all that is heard is road numbers, road works and diversions and how the way they came is by far the best.

We all have our favourite routes between places and often irrationally return differently to how we arrived.

So what is the best way to get from A to B, remembering that shortest does not necessarily mean quickest?

We have printed Road Atlases in our cars, and they have probably been there for many years. New roads and bridges have been constructed that they know nothing about. All our planning is based on wrong data. What are needed is up to date information and some way of working out the best route. What is needed is a route planner.

Route planners can be purchased but are available free on-line; but do they work?

The first problem is that many of our longer journeys go out of GB into Ireland and this can cause problems. As a test I decided to use five of the free route planners to tell me the best way of going from Templepatrick to Galway. This is what I found.

The AA planner at www.theaa.com could cope with the journey without any problems. It quickly gave me clear turn-by-turn directions with town names, road numbers distance and a running time throughout the route.. Unfortunately there was no map. The route it recommended was via Monaghan, Cavan and Roscommon, a total of 194 miles with a calculated time of 4 hours 33 minutes.

Next in the test was Green Flag at www.greenflag.co.uk. One advantage of this site was the ability to produce maps such as ‘turn-by-turn’ or ‘line-drive’ as well as a straight forward single map and list of directions. It gives time between points but not a total running time throughout the route. This planner produced a similar route to that of the AA and was 191 miles taking about three quarters of an hour less at 3 hours 46 minutes. The instructions also gave information about road works and road names as well as numbers

Multimap, www.multimap.com, is a good place for maps. It is very suitable if you want a detailed map to tell someone how to get to your house. There is a route planner, but also a problem. It is best at GB routes although it boasts a pan European ability. Unfortunately the list of countries it considers to be in Europe does not include Ireland. Not perturbed I told it to go from Templepatrick to Galway and it told me it had calculated a route. My suspicions were aroused when it was only 88 miles long and was completed in less than 2 hours. Closer inspection showed the route, via Enniskillen, stopped at the border although it told me it went to Galway.

I next tried GetMeThere sponsored by Toyota at www.getmethere.co.uk. Unfortunately I couldn’t connect to the site, but you may have better luck.

So finally it was Maporama at www.maporama.com. This site, rated best in a recent computer magazine, certainly looked well. But as the saying goes, “Never mind the quality, feel the width”. There was certainly plenty of width. The suggested route went via Dublin with a total length of 256 miles and a drive time of 6 hours!

So out of the five tried I could not connect to one, another stopped at the border whilst the route from another was certainly not the shortest, which it purported to be.

Of the remaining two only one gave maps, so if you want maps the choice is Green Flag. The route is virtually the same as that of the AA

Happy driving.

Alan

Puzzle

Puzzle

Easter Word Search

elephant.gif (3416 bytes)

Notes for the next issue of the Magazine are due on:
Wednesday 11th May 2005.
Contributions from all Parish Organisations would be very welcome

Please send website contributions or comments to Webmaster

Junior Activities Although Sunday School officially finishes on Sunday 29 May, we have decided to run some ‘Junior Activities’ on Sunday 12 and 19 June for the young people of the parish. This will take place during the 11.30 am church service (at the normal time of Sunday School).

Some useful dates for your diary:-

April 3rd Easter Day – No Sunday School 10th Sunday School Resumes – collection boxes returned

May

June

Junior Activities
Although Sunday School officially finishes on Sunday 29 May, we have decided to run some ‘Junior Activities’ on Sunday 12 and 19 June for the young people of the parish. This will take place during the 11.30 am church service (at the normal time of Sunday School).

April

3rd Easter Day – No Sunday School
10th Sunday School Resumes – collection boxes returned