The Rev Dr John Stott, described by the evangelist Billy Graham as "the most respected evangelical clergyman in the world", is fulfilling a number of engagements in the Belfast area this weekend.
This evening, he will give a public lecture in Knock Presbyterian church on the theme "Jesus is Lord: a call to radical discipleship", and tomorrow he will preach in Windsor Baptist church in the morning and in St Mark's parish church, Portadown, in the evening.
Dr Stott, who is forever associated in many minds with All Souls Church, Langham Place, London, of which he was rector from 1950 until 1975, and with which he retains an association as rector emeritus, has been a most influential figure in the Anglican Communion, especially as a preacher and author.
Books such as the Cross of Christ, The Contemporary Christian, and Basic Christianity have all been religious bestsellers, while his I Believe in Preaching has been an influential text for over 25 years.
More recently, he, rather than his works, has become an object of attention with the publication of a biographical study. John Stott - The Making of a Leader: A Biography of the Early Years, by Timothy Dudley-Smith, former bishop of Thetford, was published by Inter-Varsity Press in 1999 and provides an accessible introduction to a remarkable man.
Today, a conference entitled "A Heart for Children" will be held in Carrigrohane, Co Cork, under the auspices of the Church Pastoral Aid Society. The aim of the conference is to increase the priority and resources for ministry to children.
Meanwhile, the Bishop of Tuam will preside at a Diocesan Exploration Day in the Pontoon Bridge Hotel.
Tomorrow, the Bishop of Cork will preside at the Sung Eucharist in St Fin Barre's Cathedral, where the preacher will be Dr Samuel Poyntz, who was enthroned there as Bishop of Cork in 1978.
In the Chapel of Trinity College, Dublin, the preacher at the final Sung Eucharist of Hilary term will be the distinguished theologian, the Rev Dr Gabriel Daly, who will speak "On Freedom".
A series of Lenten addresses begins at Evensong in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, where the first speaker will be the former archbishop of Dublin, Dr Donal Caird.
Tomorrow afternoon brings the penultimate recital in the Bach Festival 2001 in St Ann's Church, Dublin, where, at 3.30 p.m., Maya Homburger will perform works for unaccompanied violin.
The city of Dublin and the city of San Jose, California, are twinned, as are their two cathedrals. On Tuesday, the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, the Very Rev John Paterson, together with the Lord Mayor of Dublin, will begin a trip to San Jose, which will include a visit to Trinity Cathedral.
On Thursday in Trinity College Dublin's Ussher Theatre, the final lecture in the current series on "East Meets West: Civilisations in Dialogue" will be given. The speaker will be Prof John Collins, Yale University, whose topic will be "Jewish Belief in the Afterlife in the Hellenistic Context". In St Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork, the Centre for Christian Studies' spring programme on "Discipleship" opens with a lecture on "Discipleship and the Word of God" by Canon Peter Rhys-Thomas.
Following a successful two-year programme to restore the fabric of St Flannan's Cathedral, Killaloe, attention is now being turned to the restoration of the century-old pipe organ. In recent years the cathedral has held musical performances.
A fundraising venture has been launched by the Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe, the Rt Rev Michael Mayes, and contributions may be sent to the Dean of Killaloe, the Very Rev Nicholas Cummins, the Deanery, Killaloe, Co Clare.