Sunday intercessions on 23 August 2020 (Trinity XI)

‘On this rock I will build my church’ (Matthew 16: 18) … a monastery built on a rock top in Meteora, Greece (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Let us pray:

‘Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who has made heaven and earth.’ (Psalm 124: 7)

We pray for the nations of the world:

We pray for our own government and all governments
that have tried to find ways of dealing with this crisis,
thanking God for the blessings
of wise decision makers and advisers …

We pray for the people of Beirut and Lebanon …
the people of the Middle East …

We pray for the local community:

We give thanks for frontline workers,
essential services that have kept working …
for our schools … the gardai …
for community volunteers …
for parents and carers of people with special needs …
for those who return to work … those who wait to return to work …
those who have no work to return to …
for business owners who try to keep going …
for those who work in difficult or oppressive working conditions …
for those who still live with fear …
for the people of Kildare …
for all prisoners …
for prisoners of conscience, prisoners of debt,
prisoners of loneliness, prisoners of their own minds …

In this time the Church calls Ordinary Time,
we give thanks for all the ordinary things
we have taken for granted.

Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy.

‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God’ (Matthew 16: 16).

We pray for the universal Church of God,
that it may remain ‘rock solid’ in its faith.

We pray for the bishops of the Church of Ireland
and the staff of the diocese and the Church
who have continued to work throughout this crisis.

We pray for our bishop, Kenneth, and his family,
and for your blessing on his ministry, mission and witness.

In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer,
we pray for the Church of the Province of South East Asia,
and the Most Revd Melter Tais,
Archbishop of South East Asia and Bishop of Sabah.

Throughout the Church of Ireland this month,
we pray for the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough,
for Archbishop Michael Jackson,
and for the people and priests of the diocese.

In the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer,
we pray for the Church of Ireland Theological Institute
and those preparing for ordination.

We give thanks for and pray for your blessings on
the work of the Easter Vestries and Select Vestries in this group of parishes.

Christ have mercy,
Christ have mercy.

‘Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven’
(Matthew 16: 19)

We pray for those in need:

In our hearts, we name individuals, families, neighbours,
care homes, hospitals, voluntary groups …

We pray for those who are sick or isolated, at home or in hospital …
Alan … Margaret … Lorraine … Ajay…
We pray for those we have offered to pray for …

We pray for all who grieve and mourn at this time …
We remember, and give thanks for, the faithful departed …
including Wayne Carney … Danny Ryan …
may their families find comfort and support in the prayers of friends …
May their memories be a blessing to us …

Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy.

A prayer for today in the Prayer Diary of
the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel),
the International Day for the Remembrance of
the Slave Trade and its Abolition:

Father of everlasting compassion, you see your children
growing up in a world of inequality, greed and oppression;
help them to learn from the mistakes of history,
in terror and adrift,
and to build a better world, where your values are shared
by all. Amen.

Merciful Father …

These intercessions were prepared for Castletown Church, Kilcornan, Co Limerick, and Holy Trinity Church, Rathkeale, Co Limerick, on Sunday 23 August 2020 (Trinity XI)

A tribute to Edward Buckingham in the ‘Limerick Leader’ last week

Colonel Edward Buckingham on his last Sunday in Saint Brendan’s Church, Tarbert

Patrick Comerford

I was referring on Thursday to Tom Aherne’s feature in this week’s Limerick Leader [22 August 2020] on the Tarbert drowning tragedy, which is illustrated with one of my photographs.

However, I missed reporting last week on Tom Aherne’s tribute to Edward Buckingham in the Limerick Leader the previous week [15 August 2020] as part of the ‘Ardagh-Carrigkerry Notes.’

He wrote:

Edward Buckingham

The departure of Edward Buckingham from Glenastar Lodge brings an end to the family involvement there since the mid-1970s. He is returning to his native England following a very successful career that covered several professions in many parts of the world. His background was in the military, and he was an engineer who made his own model engines.

Edward will be remembered for many things over his long lifetime, including his time in the British Army, serving overseas where he met his wife Kate Lee, a nurse in a hospital in Germany.

He generated his own electricity from Yielding’s Waterfall during his early years in Glenastar Lodge. He was a past administrator of the Rathfredagh Cheshire Home for ten years, and often pushed a wheelchair during the annual walk. He was a very fast walker, no doubt due to his army training.

He was a committee member of the Carrigkerry/Old Mill Community Employment Scheme.

Edward made national news in 1995 when he sailed solo around Ireland. It took him 26 days to cover the 917 nautical miles and he pulled into 27 different points along the way.

A presentation was made to Edward at St Brendan’s Church of Ireland, Tarbert, on Sunday August 2. The Rev Patrick Comerford, Rathkeale, made the presentation and warm wishes were extended to Edward for the next chapter of his life.

Best wishes and good health to Edward in the future, and may the wind be always at his back.