This afternoon the centenary of the present Methodist church in Kilkee is being celebrated in that town. For quite a number of years the church has been used only during the summer, when it has provided services on Sunday mornings and evenings for visitors. By a recent agreement with a Christian group in Kilkee, it will now be open for worship every Sunday throughout the year, so that the celebration is more than just a marking of 100 years of history, it is also the commencement of a new and more active phase in the life of the building.
This is actually the second Methodist church in Munster where this sort of thing has happened. A couple of years ago the church in Killarney, after many years of summer-only use, also returned to use throughout the year.
The celebration in Kilkee will start with a reception in the Clar Ellagh Christian Holiday Centre at which the Rev Dudley Levistone Cooney will speak about Methodist work in the area through the years. A service of thanksgiving and rededication will be held in the church, and the preacher at tomorrow's services will be the ex-president of the Methodist Church, the Rev Kenneth Todd.
Aplha courses of Bible study have been of very great benefit to all denominations. Devised in the Church of England parish of Holy Trinity, Brompton, they are now used by over 17,000 groups in churches in 115 countries. The simplicity of the Alpha style has appealed particularly to those who have never done this sort of thing before. So impressive has been the response that ITN is screening a 10-week series about it starting on Sunday, July 29th, at 10.45 p.m. The new President of the Methodist Church, the Rev G. Harold Good, is at present in England attending the British Methodist Conference meeting in Ipswich. He will then travel to South Africa to attend the Methodist conference there. Mr Good's presidential address, "Let My People Go!" was in part inspired by a visit to South Africa a few years ago.
Tomorrow morning the service of worship on RTE Radio 1 (medium wave) will be broadcast from the Methodist church, Wine Street, Sligo. A new suite of halls adjoining this church was opened last month. Worship will be led by the Rev Robin Waugh with members and friends of the Methodist congregations in the circuit. This extends into the counties of Mayo and Roscommon.
The Rev Stephen Skuce and his family are returning to Ireland after four years in Sri Lanka. He is to take up an appointment in student chaplaincy in Dublin. Writing in the Methodist Newsletter this month, he says of his time in Sri Lanka: "Was it all worth it? The answer generally is yes, and in several areas very clearly. An example is the need for English-language ministers in Sri Lanka as we have a number of English-language congregations but very few ministers with sufficient fluency in English. Certainly our interest in the World Church is stronger now than ever and we will have many contacts with overseas students when we take up work in Dublin."