Tomorrow, Pentecost Sunday, will be marked in Dublin by an ecumenical walk of witness led by the Archbishops of Dublin, Dr Walton Empey, and Dr Desmond Connell, with representatives of the other Christian churches in the city.
The walk will begin at 2.30 p.m. with music and prayers in St Mary's Pro-Cathedral and will conclude with Choral Evensong in Christ Church Cathedral at 3.30 p.m. The planned route starts at St Mary's, then crosses O'Connell Street into Henry Street, where there will be a pause for prayer.
The walk will continue down Jervis Street and across the Millennium Bridge, where again there will be prayer. The procession will proceed through Temple Bar and up Parliament Street to the City Hall, where the Lord Mayor will join the pilgrims for the final stage to Christ Church.
The pilgrimage has been organised by the Dublin Council of Churches and the Ecumenical Committee of the Catholic Archdiocese. Members of all churches are welcome to walk the entire route or join at any of the designated prayer points.
Today the Cork, Cloyne and Ross Diocesan Synod will be held in Skibbereen. In the evening the St Fin Barre's Cathedral Choirs will be "in concert" to raise funds for the summer choir tour, while in Farahy Church, near Mitchelstown, there will be a recital by the Vanburgh String Quartet in aid of the church fabric fund.
In Dublin new choristers will be admitted to the Christ Church Cathedral Choir at Evensong, while in St Patrick's Cathedral there will be a special Choral Evensong, during which the Rev R.S.J. Bourke will be installed as Prebendary of Tipper.
Tomorrow RTE will broadcast Parish Eucharist from St Paul's Church, Glenageary, where the rector is the Ven Gordon Linney. BBC Radio Ulster will carry a celebration of the Eucharist from St Columba's Church, Drumcliffe, Sligo, where the preacher and celebrant will be Canon Ian Gallagher.
The Diocese of Meath and Kildare will celebrate the Festival of Pentecost with "A Diocesan Day of Discovery and Renewal" at Clonmacnoise. The preacher at the noon Eucharist and at a Service of the Word at 3.30 p.m. will be the Bishop of Tuam, Dr Richard Henderson. In St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, the monthly address in the "Hopes for the New Millennium" series at Evensong will be given by the President, Mrs McAleese.
On Tuesday the Bishop of Cashel and Ossory, the Right Rev John Neill, will begin a visit to Sweden, where he will represent the Church of Ireland at a celebration of "1000 Years of Faith".
A weekend to mark the 350th anniversary of the rebuilding of Rathclaren Church, Co Cork, begins on Thursday when the Bishop of Cork, the Right Rev Paul Colton, will preach at Festival Evensong. Rathclaren is part of the Bandon union of parishes, where the rector is Canon Michael Burrows.
In Belfast on Friday evening the Bishop of Connor, the Right Rev James Moore, will re-hallow St George's Church after an extensive restoration programme. The preacher at the service, on the 184th anniversary of the opening of St George's, will be the Archbishop of Armagh, Dr Robin Eames.
On Friday the Down and Dromore Diocesan Synod will be held in Kilkeel, while in Co Tipperary the Dean of St Patrick's, Dr Robert MacCarthy, will preach at the opening of a Flower Festival in St Paul's Church, Cahir. On Lyric FM at 7 p.m. the Chaplain of Trinity College Dublin, Dr Alan McCormack, will present an edition of the programme Artszone, which will focus on the themes of high and low culture in Christian worship.