The (Women’s) World Day of Prayer will be celebrated in Wicklow Church on Friday 6th March.
Roland Evans
Roland Evans was a highly rated and much respected teacher in Nun’s Cross National School until about ten years ago. He has been suffering from an incurable disease and his wife, Annette, is also unwell.
Thanks are due to past pupils and parents of Nun’s Cross school for taking the initiative to organise a benefit evening of music and the spoken word in appreciation of Roland and Annette. This will take place in Nun’s Cross church on Saturday 18th April at 7.30pm. Tickets cost €20 and may be obtained from Valerie McHugh-Sharkey (086 8349885) or Tony Dunne (086 6014755).
The Bible Course – March
The Bible Course continues on Thursday evenings in the Ashford Heritage & Community Centre until 26th March. If you would like further information please contact either Bruce Alwood (087 2547538) or Rev Ken.
Youth Clubs March
Teen youth will meet on 1st & 15th March, 6.30-8pm, in East Glendalough School. All of secondary school age are welcome. United Youth will meet on Saturday 7th March, 6-7.30pm, in East Glendalough School. Anyone 4th-6th class is welcome.
Confirmation
Classes will continue on 8th and 22nd March, in East Glendalough School. The Parenting Teens course is running concurrently. The confirmation service will take place in Wicklow Parish church on Saturday 4th April at 3pm.
The Hub
Following the successful re-opening of “the Hub” by the Archbishop and the favourable associated publicity in the Wicklow People, there has been a good response from customers.
Lesley Rue is now looking for additional volunteers, even if only for a few hours, with a view to the shop being open six days a week.
Irish Botanical Art Exhibition
Patricia Butler is curating an exhibition which will open in the National Gallery of Ireland, Merrion Square, D2 on Saturday, 7th March and run until June 21st. The exhibition is called Drawn from Nature. Irish Botanical Art.
Admission is free. This exhibition will trace the historical background relating to Irish Botanical Art and should be of great interest to members.
Friendship Group March
There is a friendship group within the joint parishes, for people who are retired, and for those who aren’t able to get out to meet people as regularly as they would like. The next meeting is on Monday 16th March in the Wicklow Methodist hall. For further details, please contact Linda Walsh: 086 8228378.
Hub Renovations Update
Killiskey parish has a centre in Ashford village called “the Hub” which has a meeting space and a shop which is currently called “Ashford Gift and Book Shop”. The shop has been open for eight years. It is currently closed for necessary renovations until 15 February when it will re-open as with better displays of its goods, particularly second-hand clothing. It also sells greeting cards, books and bric-a-brac. Thanks are due to David Harte who is undertaking the renovations and to Martsworth for assistance with new carpet.
Good as New clothes are needed so that the updated shop gets a good start, Please let Lesley Rue know if you can help. She is also looking for additional volunteers.
Climate Emergency
The expression “Climate Emergency” is used frequently these days: to our credit, Ireland was only the second country to declare a climate emergency; at a more local scale, Wicklow County Council has signed a Climate Action Charter. The real test is if these grand gestures mean anything at all. Approaching our general election, which candidates and/or parties even refer to climate change, let alone the urgency of the situation? Now is the time to tell politicians that we want to reduce our emissions and become carbon neutral. More trains and buses for commuters rather than bigger roads; more retrofitting of homes; more renewable energy are just three examples. However, despite our grandiose declarations, when it comes to action, Ireland is as shameful as many other nations, as demonstrated in Madrid in December 2019, when COP25 (UN Climate Change Conference) ended with a watered down, unambitious “agreement” that falls way short of what is necessary to keep the global temperature increase below 1.5⁰C. The UN secretarygeneral António Guterres asked attendees: “Do we really want to be remembered as the generation that buried its head in the sand?” To avoid this, we must all do our bit – let 2020 be the year to reduce our emissions.