The shadow of the Creeslough tragedy loomed large over the Derry and Raphoe Diocesan Synod, on Wednesday 12th October, as people remembered the victims and prayed for those affected by last Friday’s disaster, which claimed the lives of 10 people. Before delivering his Presidential Address, to the diocese’s first ‘in person’ synod in three years,…
A Joint Statement from the Archbishop of Armagh, The Most Revd John McDowell; the Archbishop of Dublin, The Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson; and the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, The Right Revd Andrew Forster following the tragedy in the village of Creeslough, in County Donegal, in which 10 people lost their lives. “On behalf…
The Bishop’s Curate-in-Charge of the Gweedore group of parishes, Rev Liz Fitzgerald, has been commissioned as the new Diocesan Chaplain of Derry and Raphoe Mothers’ Union at a service in St Columb’s Cathedral in Londonderry. The commissioning happened during the colourful annual Mothers’ Union Diocesan Festival Service, which was returning to ‘normal service’ after almost three…
Prayers were said at a Service of Ordination in Omagh, on Friday evening, in memory of The Late Queen Elizabeth II. The Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Rt Rev Andrew Forster, said at the start of the double Ordination Service, in St Columba’s Church, that it was appropriate to begin with a moment in reflection…
“Queen Elizabeth II, like her father, did not pass her childhood in any certain expectation of the Crown. But already we know her well …” ‘Those words were written by Winston Churchill on hearing of the death of Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI. If the old statesman could claim that the young Queen was…
This is a moment of profound sadness for all of us in the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe, who have held Her Majesty The Queen in our hearts and prayers, in many cases for the whole of our lives. Queen Elizabeth’s reign has been unprecedented in its longevity. On her 21st birthday, long before many…
Tuesday 6th September was a momentous day in Donemana, according to the local Rural Dean, Rev Canon Paul Whittaker. It was a day on which the local Church of Ireland Parish of Donagheady got a new Rector and a new Prime Minister, he said. The new incumbent – in Donemana, not in Downing Street –…
The Mothers’ Union was described, this week, as “the backbone” and “the heartbeat” of those parishes in which it has members. The tribute came from Bishop Andrew Forster during a sermon in St Patrick’s Church in Leckpatrick, on Monday 5th September, which marked the 90th anniversary of Leckpatrick and Dunnalong Mothers’ Union. The extent of…
There was an unexpectedly glorious conclusion to Bishop Andrew Forster’s visit to the Dungloe group of parishes on Sunday 4th September after a day which had begun unpromisingly – with torrential wind and rain and a ‘Status Orange’ weather warning – ended in a sun-kissed outdoor service, including worship and hymns, at the ‘abandoned church’…
With projections for the autumn pointing to a worsening situation for many households across the island of Ireland, as a result of the unfolding cost of living crisis particularly for those who are already vulnerable and living in poverty, the leaders of Ireland’s main churches have said that they are deeply concerned by what they…
