April ’08 News

I know everything was a rush this year up to Easter, and I muttered something about having lists of our Easter Vestry results out with Triennial Elections et al - but that was far too forward looking and they will appear next month! Thank you in advance for all who make Holy Week and Easter special - at the time of writing the donkeys are getting ready for their day out on Palm Sunday and big plans are ahead for the Good Friday Workshop.

This parish is being asked to take up the challenge of becoming a Fairtrade Parish - I hope by now everyone has read pages 21, 61 and 62 of last month's Diocesan Magazine. Fairtrade has been going for a long time now and it is nothing new as an organisation, but for a surprising number of folk here it is still seemed a new concept! So I hope you all enjoyed your Fairtrade Easter Eggs without lots of plastic packaging, knowing you have helped a farmer or two somewhere in the process of fair trade!! And – no! The rector, at the time of writing, who has been showing off her Fairtrade Egg in its eco friendly packaging, has no plan to share!! But you never know….. We can be very good at raising money but Fairtrade is another and complimentary way of helping others. “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime” - of course there are improvements on this quote - but the meaning is there. You can help other people endlessly - all your life – but nothing changes because they don't learn anything - rather they come to depend on you, then you and they are trapped. But help people to help them selves, and we all feel better; they and us. Fairtrade also comes into the equation - if you teach someone to produce a crop or commodity that's fine but if they then can't trade it fairly - what's the point of that? They must be helped to trade fairly. Some farmers in Ireland could find themselves (indeed some of you say you are feeling this already) at the bottom of the pile because of unfair marketing and prices of animal feed soaring. Pig farmers are already going out of business because the cost of wheat is soaring as wheat is now seen as a crop for fuel not for feed. OK if you are in the business of wheat at the present time. We ALL need Fairtrade.

Thank you to the local organisers (Mary Hosford in particular) for the World Day of Prayer (7th March) at St Joseph's Castletown-Kinneigh and all who took part; Marjorie Garland as leader. This was an enjoyable and thought provoking evening followed by wonderful refreshments afterwards.

The Mothers' Union look forward to the Diocesan Festival being held at Christ Church, Kilmeen this year on Tuesday 22nd April at 8pm. Preacher: Canon Paul Willoughby. All welcome.

The Friends of St Mary's - The evening of the Methodist Cake Stall evening proved to be an enjoyable one but there were so many other things o locally that evening that numbers were down. However we enjoyed the social side of things and we won't know the total money raised until the crosswords are all back.

A Concert Night with a variety of singers and musicians at St Mary's Desertserges is planned for 8pm Friday 18th April. Tickets are on sale, which include refreshments. Don't miss this event - all Welcome. We'll soon get that tower fixed!

A Happy Eastertide to you all!!

Baptism 22nd February at St Mary's Desertserges – Ellie Thao Hosford, daughter of Eileen and Noel.

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