Friday, December 31st, New Year’s Eve 11.45 pm 
This event will take place OUTSIDE, so please dress appropriately. People are invited to gather at the main door of the church at 11.45 pm to say a brief liturgical farewell to 2021 and to welcome 2022.  Our parish chimes will ring in the new year.  Who knows we may even sing a verse or two of Auld Lang Syne, socially distanced and with our masks on of course!  This will be followed immediately by some bubbles and nibbles.  All are welcome.

The much-loved service on Christmas Day at 10.30 am inside a packed St Paul’s CANNOT take place under current Covid-19 restrictions, which have reduced the safe capacity of the church to about 120. To try to accommodate everyone who would like to attend church this Christmas, the services listed above will take place over the Christmas weekend. With your cooperation the larger seasonal numbers can be redistributed more evenly and accommodated safely.
Both the 11.30 pm on Christmas Eve and the 8.15 am service on Christmas Day are quieter and more reflective, so you might consider one of these services as an option this Christmas.
If you want to go to one of the two all-age services on Christmas morning, you are asked to attend at 9.45 am if your surname begins with the letter A through to K, and at 10.45 am if your surname begins with the letter L through to Z. Those attending the earlier  service are asked not to linger afterwards as the church must be cleaned and ventilated before the next service.
Both these all-age services will last for approximately 30 minutes and each will be livestreamed on our YouTube channel.
GUIDELINES
Please do everything you can to make sure that everyone who wants to participate in worship at St Pauls’ this Christmas can do so as safely as possible. Remember mask-wearing is mandatory indoors. Arrive in good time prior to your service of choice and wait until called by a steward before you enter the building. Sit where advised by a steward (at least one metre apart from non-family) and leave the church promptly afterwards. If you, or any member of your family is feeling unwell or has recently been advised to limit their close contacts, please do not come to church. If it appears that the capacity limit at your chosen service has been reached, please do not stay. We thank you for making the effort and we apologise if that we were unable to accommodate you. There may be no room in the inn this Christmas either!

Rev Gary Dowd writes:
The much-loved service on Christmas Day at 10.30 am inside a packed St Paul’s CANNOT take place under current Covid-19 restrictions, which have reduced the safe capacity of the church to about 120. To accommodate everyone who would like to attend church this Christmas, the following services will take place over the Christmas weekend. With your cooperation the larger seasonal numbers can be redistributed more evenly and accommodated safely.

Christmas Eve, Friday, December 24th
11.30 pm The First Eucharist of Christmas with Carols (average attendance over last five years, pre Covid, 69)

Christmas Day, Saturday, December 25th
8.15 am Holy Communion (average attendance over the last five years, pre Covid, 25)
9.45 am All Age worship (surnames beginning with A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K)
10.45 am All Age worship (surnames beginning with L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z)

You will see from above that both the 11.30 pm on Christmas Eve and the 8.15 am service on Christmas Day could accommodate substantially more people. They each have their own unique atmosphere. They are quieter and more reflective, so you might consider one of these services as an option this Christmas.
If you want to go to one of the two all-age services on Christmas morning, you are asked to attend at 9.45 am if your surname begins with the letter A through to K, and at 10.45 am if your surname begins with the letter L through to Z. Those attending the earlier  service are asked not to linger afterwards as the church must be cleaned and ventilated before the next service.
Both these all-age services will last for approximately 30 minutes and each will be livestreamed on our YouTube channel.

St Stephen’s Day/the First Sunday of Christmas, December 26th
10.30 am Parish Communion with Carols

While most people probably feel that Christmas is already over by December 26th, it has only just begun!  So you might like to wait until the Parish Communion Service on St Stephen’s Day at 10.30 am. Capacity issues then will be unlikely and the fact that there will be no sermon is a bonus!

GUIDELINES
Please do everything you can to make sure that everyone who wants to participate in worship at St Pauls’ this Christmas can do so as safely as possible. Remember mask-wearing is mandatory indoors. Arrive in good time prior to your service of choice and wait until called by a steward before you enter the building. Sit where advised by a steward (at least one metre apart from non-family) and leave the church promptly afterwards. If you, or any member of your family is feeling unwell or has recently been advised to limit their close contacts, please do not come to church. If it appears that the capacity limit at your chosen service has been reached, please do not stay. We thank you for making the effort and we apologise if that we were unable to accommodate you. There may be no room in the inn this Christmas either!

The Rev Gary Dowd writes:
With escalating numbers of Covid cases and the imposition of new restrictions it is obvious that we are going to have to be flexible in our approach to worship this Advent and Christmas. If possible we want to avoid a repeat of last year when we had no “in-person” services over the festive season. The plan is to move OUTSIDE when possible. 
 There will be a Christingle service OUTSIDE in the grounds of the church and parish centre on Sunday, December12th at 5.30pm. Please dress appropriately! Scarves, woolly hats, Christmas jumpers, winter coats may be required depending on the air temperature. This is a short, informal, hands on, all age service ideal for all the family.
 Christingles are made from an orange decorated with red tape, sweets, and a candle. All the component parts will be supplied. Each element of a Christingle has a special meaning and helps to tell the Christian story.
 On Sunday December 19th, at 5.30pm, rather than the traditional service of nine lessons and carols we will have a less formal singing of carols around the Christmas tree outside, followed by seasonal refreshments.
Be warned as both services are weather dependent they could be cancelled at the last minute! In present circumstances it is very difficult to make plans, more details and updates will  follow.

Coffee/tea will be served after the 10.30am service this Sunday, November 21st, in aid of the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association, in recognition of all its support for our parishioner Roland Evans who died last September. You can watch Roland talk about the disease in a short film here

St Paul’s Church, Parish of Glenageary, Co. Dublin seeks to appoint a
Parish Facilities Administrator.
Location: St Paul’s Church & Parish Centre, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
Responsible to: Chair of the Management Committee

Contract type: Part-time – circa 25 hours per week. A written contract between the appointee and St Paul’s will be entered into following a mutually satisfactory probationary period.
Position summary
This is a part-time post, reporting to the Chair of the Management Committee. The Parish Facilities Administrator will primarily have responsibility for the smooth running of a busy and dynamic Parish Centre. St Paul’s Parish Centre provides state-of-the-art facilities for both parish and community-based organisations. Details may be found elsewhere on this website. (See Parish Centre tab at the top.)
Enquiries and applications
A detailed job description, outlining key responsibilities, may be obtained from the Hon. Secretary to the Select Vestry at margaretjwoods@gmail.com or by post from Margaret Woods, c/o St Paul’s Rectory, 1 Silchester Road, Glenageary, Co. Dublin, A96 T0C1. 
Applications detailing your relevant experience should be submitted to the Hon. Secretary (contact details above); the closing date for receipt of applications is November 23rd, 2021. 
All applications will be treated in the strictest of confidence.
This post is subject to the provisions of Safeguarding Trust.
(www.ireland.anglican.org/about/safeguarding/roi-child-safeguarding)

We waited until the choir could be back singing before having our annual Harvest Thanksgiving, which will now be on Sunday, October 31st, at 10.30am. The church will be decorated for the occasion at 3pm the previous day – please come along with garden flowers, foliage and fruit and vegetables and/or to lend a helping hand.

As we look forward to the lifting of most, if not all, of the remaining restrictions on public worship and parish life after October 22nd, here is a list of upcoming services (unless prevented by  public health measures):
31st October A Service of Harvest Thanksgiving 10.30am
7th November Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving of Loved Ones 7pm
14th November Remembrance Sunday Act of Remembrance and prayers for peace 10.30am
28th November The First Sunday of Advent
19th December Service of Nine Lessons and Carols by Candlelight 7pm
24th December The First Eucharist of Christmas 11.30 pm
25th December (Saturday) Christmas Day Holy Communion 8.15 am Family Service 10.30 am

The sight of the Halsall family bringing their daughter Harper for baptism at the main morning service last Sunday was a welcome sign of community life resuming during what we hope are the last weeks of any pandemic restrictions. So too the happy gathering outdoors for coffee/tea after the service.

Coffee/tea was made available outdoors after the 10.30am service for the first time since the start of the pandemic, which was a very welcome step towards “normality”. It will also be wonderful this coming Sunday to have a baptism at our main morning service, again a first since the arrival of the coronavirus.