12 October 2014

Canon-in-residence while the Dean
‘Shines a Light’ on homelessness

This is one of my weeks as Canon-in-Residence in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2014)

Patrick Comerford

I am canon-in-residence in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, this week, preaching at the Cathedral Eucharist at 11 a.m. this morning [12 October 2014], hopefully taking part in Choral Evensong this afternoon, and trying to be present in the cathedral on other occasions during a busy working week.

Early this morning, Sunday Worship is being broadcast live on BBC Radio 4 at 8 a.m. The Cathedral Eucharist at 11 a.m. is being celebrated by the Dean of Christ Church, the Very Revd Dermot Dunne, and is being sung by the Cathedral Choir.

The setting is Missa Brevis by Giovanni da Palestrina (ca 1525-1594).

The hymns this morning include:

Processional: ‘New every morning is the love,’ by John Keble (1792-1866); Offertory: ‘O Thou, who at thy Eucharist didst pray,’ by William H. Turton (1856-1938), sung to a setting by Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625); Communion: ‘Just as I am, without one plea,’ by Charlotte Elliott (1789-1871), to the tune Saffron Walden by Arthur Henry Brown (1830-1926); and Post-Communion Hymn, ‘Ye servants of God, your Master proclaim,’ by Charles Wesley (1707-1788).

The Communion Motet is O nata lux de lumine, a 14th century Latin hymn to a setting by Thomas Tallis (ca 1505-1585).

Choral Evensong at 3.30 is being sung by the Cathedral Consort, with music by William Byrd. It is followed at 4.45 p.m. with an organ recital by Professor Gerard Gillen of Saint Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Dublin.

Chapter members take in turns as canon-in-residence for a week in each half of the year (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2014)

I hope to be back in the Cathedral on Thursday [16 October] for Choral Evensong. On the following day [Friday, 17 October], Dean Dermot Dunne is leaving the comfort of his home in the Deanery for one night to sleep rough in the Iveagh Gardens and ‘Shine a Light’ on homelessness in Ireland.

The Dean will be sleeping rough on cardboard, in what is likely to be a cold late autumn night, with nothing more than a sleeping bag and a cup of soup to keep him warm.

Dean Dermot thinks it is unacceptable that over 5,000 people are homeless in Ireland today and that one in seven is a child. He has signed up for ‘Shine a Light Night’ so that he can play a part in helping Focus Ireland to provide vital prevention services that help change people’s lives.

Focus Ireland aims to break the cycle of homelessness by giving people access to information, housing, childcare and a range of education services throughout Dublin, Cork, Kilkenny, Limerick, Sligo, Waterford, Clare and Wexford.

You can help this cause by sponsoring the Dean as he takes part in the sleep out. He has committed himself to raise €5,000 by next Friday [17 October 2014] and you can demonstrate your solidarity by sponsoring him today.

Dean Dermot told the Dublin and Glendalough diocesan website: “I am delighted to be part of such a worthwhile cause. Focus Ireland is a very important charity and do such wonderful work in the homeless sector. Your support will not only raise critical funds, it brings us all together to help people who are homeless or at risk. With your help, we can help Focus Ireland continue to provide services to those most in need and enable them to move to a place they can call home.”

To sponsor the Dean, visit http://goo.gl/ZeT6Dl or send a cheque to Christ Church Cathedral, Christchurch Place, Dublin 8, payable to Focus Ireland.

At the end of my week in residence, the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral is sleeping out rough to draw attention to the plight of homeless people in Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2014)

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