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.

The increased permitted church capacity since September 6th and the resumption of our evening service, means more people can join us for worship on Sundays, or midweek on Wednesdays. Please feel free to come along to any service. Details above.

The Taoiseach, Micheal Martin, announced plans last week to lift most of Ireland’s Covid-19 restrictions over the next two months, the majority to go completely in late October.  At the time of writing, we have yet to receive any detail as to how this will affect us as a worshipping community.
    We do know that from Monday, September 6th, all religious ceremonies can go ahead with 50% of venue capacity regardless of the immunity status of attendees.  It is hard to see how this will make much difference while the 2m social distancing rule remains in place.  However, we estimate that approximately 80 could attend worship in St Paul’s and remain 2m apart, which is an improvement. If you would like to return to in-church worship but have stayed away so far because you think there may not be room, please note that we have rarely got close to the existing limit of 50 since we reopened!
 Hopefully we will hear soon when congregational singing can begin again and perhaps we will be allowed to socialise over coffee after services.
Rev Gary Dowd

This Wednesday, September 1st, filming for a series called The Dry will be taking place in our parish centre.  There will be access to the church grounds as usual for those attending our mid-week Holy Communion service at 11am.  Please do not be put off by the large number of vehicles and people that are usually involved on such occasions.
 The Dry, a comedy drama series directed by Paddy Breathnach, is a BritBox UK commission, in conjunction with Element Pictures, Screen Ireland, ITV Studios and RTÉ.

We had hoped that we would be able to have our annual Outdoor Service and Barbecue on the first Sunday in September. This had become one of the highlights of our year – until we were forced to cancel it in 2020 – as it enabled the parish family to gather to worship outdoors and to socialise together whilst sharing food expertly prepared and served by Linda and Frank Gunning and their team.
 As we all know, there has been considerable controversy recently over the regulations governing outdoor hospitality, which belatedly resulted in some clarification on what was permitted.  While the current guidelines are not insurmountable, even in a parish context they remain quite restrictive and intermingling is specifically discouraged. The informality, with the freedom to mix, chat and “catch up” after the summer, is what makes our event so special.  Under current guidelines I do not believe any of this is possible. 
 While it would be wonderful to be able to meet again as a parish family I just think that it is too soon and that the risks associated with such a gathering still outweigh the benefits.  So it is with a heavy heart that I have decided that the Outdoor Service and Barbecue should not go ahead this year.
 Despite so many unknowns there is a sense that we are finally over the worst of this pandemic but the threat from the Delta variant remains very real, even though most of us have been fully vaccinated at this stage.  As soon as the regulations allow, and it is safe to do so, we will organise a parish gathering that will enable us to meet again free of any concerns for our health and well-being.
 Meanwhile, please do everything possible to stay safe.

Best wishes,

Gary

Baptism services were cleared to resume from Thursday, August 5th, under the most recent Government update on Covid restrictions for Religious Services. However, they must follow all protective measures and social gatherings afterwards should be avoided. Baptism services had been suspended since July 5th, by a previous directive that also prohibited Confirmation services, and that ban still applies.

Parishioner Pauline Allen is hosting an organic garden open day and plant sale this Thursday, July 29th, from 2pm to 4pm at  66 Bellevue Road, Glenageary. It’s a chance to pick up some handy organic gardening tips.
 It is being held in aid of the RNLI, with donations appreciated on entry. Tea and nibbles will be provided.

A past pupil of Glenageary Killiney National School, Chloe Watkins (below), is on the first Irish women’s hockey team to qualify for the Olympics, in the wake of their World Cup silver medal success in 2018. The team’s first match in Tokyo, against South Africa, is scheduled for this coming Saturday, July 24th, at 1.15pm Irish time. The 29-year-old midfielder is the second most capped Irish hockey player, currently on 229 caps.
 Her GKNS classmate Gillian Pinder, who withdrew from the Olympic squad for personal reasons last December, will be in the RTE studios as a pundit for coverage of the matches.

The last baptism in St Paul’s was on Saturday, July 3rd, 2021, before all christenings were suspended under a new Covid-19 restriction. The updated advice from the Office of An Taoiseach via the Diocesan office reads:
“From 5^th July it is advised that religious ceremonies such as Baptisms, First Holy Communions and Confirmations should not take place at this time. Further advice will follow on resumption of these ceremonies when it is safe to do so”.

Our 11 am service of Holy Communion every Wednesday is an opportunity to drop into St Paul’s for in-church worship. All are very welcome.