A Noisy World in need of Mediation and Service
ON 28 TO 29 SEPTEMBER 2024, I attended the second annual Dermot Lane Seminar that took place in the Church of the Ascension in the Parish of Balally in South Dublin. The venue and the initiative for the event were Roman Catholic, but this was an unmistakably ecumenical occasion. The keynote Speaker was former Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rt Revd Dr Rowan Williams. Moreover, members and leaders of other Christian traditions in the area were not just invited; they were active participants in the planning, hosting and presentation of the seminar, with the Revd Jane Burns, curate at Taney, chairing one of the sessions.
Balally Church, along with Ballinteer (R.C.), Dundrum (R.C.), Meadowbrook (R.C.), Taney (C. of I), St Nahi’s (C. of I.), and Dundrum Methodist is part of a seven-church partnership in the Dundrum area. In recent years, these local Christian communities have developed a warm ecumenical collaboration, engaging in a Seven-Church Pilgrimage on Good Friday, celebrating regular healing services together, holding an annual ecumenical service, and collaborating with the ‘Rathdown for All’ refugee welcome group. Their ministry teams also meet regularly for prayer and mutual support.
* Full article available in printed copies.
Margaret Daly-Denton
A liturgist and biblical scholar, is associated with both Balally and Taney parishes as well as Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.