Irish effort
Posted: 02 Nov 2006 @ 00:00
THE PARISH
is tiny by English standards, only 18 households.
But it
hasn’t stopped the 40 parishioners of St James’s, Rockcorry, in Clogher
diocese, raising more than e220,000 to refurbish their church with a
new roof, repointing of the stonework, a new chimney, and repairs to the boiler
house, and repairing and painting of the church gate and railings. The interior
has been done as well.
Much has
been given in kind, including the lighting, an organ, pew cushions, hymn- and
prayer-books, and the paint and painting of the entire church.
There have
been grants, says Canon Desmond Kingston, a retired priest who has been helping
out at the church during a two-year vacancy, but much of the money has come
through fund-raising, in which the church’s Presbyterian and Roman Catholic
neighbours have joined in.
The effort,
enthusiasm and giving has been led by Samuel Wilkin, a builder in the
congregation.
When the
Bishop of Clogher, the Rt Revd Michael Jackson, came to the re-opening of the
church, he said he hoped that St James’s would prove an encouragement to others
in the diocese.
But he
still can’t offer them an incumbent. The
Church of
Ireland
is painfully short of priests.