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Diarmuid Harte This is just a short account, similar to that presented at the Sunday service on 15th April 2005. Margaret and I had the privilege of representing the Dublin congregation at the General Assembly of the Unitarian and Free Christian Churches which was held in Chester University Campus from Monday 4th to Friday 8th April. We felt very honoured to represent our church. Of course Bill also attended the Assembly and we were struck, but not really surprised, by the regard in which he is held by the wider Unitarian community. One measure of this is the fact that the entire stock of his publication Enlightenment and Ice Cream held by the Assembly bookshop was snapped up within two days! Delegates attended from throughout Great Britain and beyond. The General Secretary Jeffrey Teagle very kindly welcomed us personally and informally on the first evening. Jeffrey, we learned, had himself lived in Dublin a number of years ago. We attended most, if not all, of the GA business meetings and learned much regarding the current activities and problems and cast our votes as necessary. The meetings were ably chaired by the President Dawn Buckle and were very democratically and fairly conducted. The Agenda was a difficult one involving changing the basic governance structures of the church. Among other things the Governing Council of the church, consisting of 20 members was abolished and replaced by an executive committee of seven. Further information on these developments will doubtless emerge in due course. The coffee breaks were held in a different hall where stalls were set up by various congregations and groups. Perhaps there may be an opening here for us to contribute something in future years? We collected a number of leaflets and pamphlets which we have now deposited in a folder at the bookstand at the back of our own church (near the coffee area). Members of the congregation may like to peruse some of these at their leisure to get an idea of what goes on. It is only a small sample of what was available. Chester is a beautiful city and well worth a visit for it’s own sake. We very much enjoyed the Anniversary Service on Thursday in Chester Cathedral. I have included the Order of Service leaflet in the folder which contains the words of the hymns. These were sung to perfection by a choir, hastily drawn from delegates attending the Assembly. There is no doubt but the Unitarian movement is full of good musical talent. From this observation I do not exclude our own church choir and numerous musicians! We were impressed by the frequent use of the Welsh language during the service which included a bilingual presentation by a group of Welsh children. Could we ever match this? The Welsh contingent even managed to produce a Welsh version of the annual report, which I have also included in the folder - just in case anyone doesn’t believe me! We were delighted to meet Art Lester and Maude Robinson at the Assembly and, of course, Cathal Courtney. It was really a special occasion for Cathal as he was among a number to be formally accepted into the ministry at the Anniversary Service in the Cathedral. We are told that he is going from strength to strength as minister to the Islington and Newington Green congregations. (See February edition of Oscailt) |