A Festival of Flowers

A FESTIVAL OF FLOWERS
Presented by the Galway Flower and Garden Club

ST. NICHOLAS CHURCH GALWAY

FRI 5th – SUN 7th MAY 2017
OPEN: Fri & Sat: 10 am – 6 pm
Sun: 1 pm – 6 pm
Admission €8

OFFICIAL OPENING: Fri 5th May at 7 pm with “The Bluebirds” singers & Wine & Cheese Reception Admission €10

CONCERT : Sun 7th May at 7 pm Cois Cladaigh & The Headford Youth Jazz Ensemble Admission €10

IN AID OF GALWAY HOSPICE

Time To Act: The True Story of Medical Teams in Syria

Dear friends
When we see devastating reports coming from Syria, people often ask me what the truth is and what is happening on the ground. This has been the hardest video to make, not just for me but for our team reliving these events.

There may be many things that we can’t change as individuals, but there are so many things that we can change when we work together. The time and contributions we put in when we get involved may be small acts on our parts, but to the people we are supporting they can mean the difference between life and death, the difference between carrying their burdens alone or knowing that we are standing beside them, or the difference between feeling they have no voice or knowing that people are speaking on their behalf.

Ultimately, our contribution is hope.

Time is life. We all have the opportunity to be a little part of a much bigger picture. Everything we do makes a difference, however large or small. If you are moved by the things you are seeing I would ask you to do three simple things:

1 Watch the video above
2 Share this video
3 Get involved

The people in Syria need our support. We can all make a difference when we work together in response to a problem.

This is the truth.

HELP US FUNDRAISE http://www.samarasaidappeal.org/fundraise/
GIVE http://www.samarasaidappeal.org/giving/
FIND OUT MORE http://www.samarasaidappeal.org/our-hospitals/

The good news is that I can finally confirm that we now have our own bank accounts, we are also now registered with HMRC for gift aid, and we now have a new online giving platform which does not charge any admin fees to process donations or claim gift aid for us. I have also updated the giving forms on the website, so all forms should now direct payments to our new accounts with Reliance Bank.

If you would like to organise a fundraising event in support of our projects, you can visit our pages on BT Mydonate through the giving page on our website, also from our medical aid pages and our orphans and widows page. If you are are keen to raise support for one of these specific causes you can create your own fundraising page directly from these pages. If you already have a page set up through Everyday Hero, this will remain live until your event has finished.

Thank you for your support.

Love

Samara

Clifden Heritage site reimagined as valuable Green Space

 

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Clifden, while situated in a uniquely rich area of mountainous landscape and unspoilt coastline, lacks much in the way of green space at it’s centre. Viewed from above, the site at Christ Church stands out as an exception. It is a heritage site because of the historical significance of the church building which dates from the 1850’s. The church and graveyard are linked from three directions to the heart of the town and the location also benefits from height as it overlooks the central square and follows a birds eye view right down to the quay. The green space surrounds the church on all sides but extends significantly at the rear of the building into a sloping grassy area which settles into a broad wooded plane at it’s perimeter.

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Last year, Christ Church received funding for a grave mapping project, allowing the graves ( some of which are very old ) to be identified. This is now complete and a new phase of preservation and development for the site is now in progress. This is an inclusive venture which began as the brain child of Sandra Shattock of Clifden Tidy Towns in partnership with Canon Stan Evans. The vision behind the project is the preservation of this unique place while also allowing it to be opened up to the community of Clifden. The plan includes the promotion of wildlife through sympathetic landscaping and planting as well as a nature trail, a peace garden and an outdoor classroom. All weather furniture has already been sourced for the ‘classroom’ and it is hoped that the space will be used by local teachers and school children as well as for hosting cultural and heritage events during the year. Community involvement is integral to this project, so that the people of Clifden will enjoy this site as much as our visitors, hopefully using it to partake in walks and talks or simply to take time out to enjoy the natural surroundings.

Marie Louise Heffernan from Aster Environmental Consultants has been invited to coordinate the project in partnership with Canon Stan Evans and Clifden Tidy Towns. It is hoped that the space will be as beneficial as possible for the diverse groups and individuals that make up our community in Clifden. If you have any ideas on how you would like this space to be enhanced, you may contact Marie Louise at aster4info@gmail.com. All ideas are welcome and each submission will be considered carefully as part of the final project.

Debbie Watkins

Christ Church Graveyard Project – ” Creating a living Church Yard “

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The theme of this meeting is about the New Biodiversity plan for the Churchyard i.e “Creating a living Churchyard”.

Marie Louise will have a small slot of time as part of the Heritage Society’s A.G.M. Michael Gibbons will also be giving a talk on “The Age of Kelp” so it promises to be a very informative evening.

Christ Church Graveyard Project – A Brief Introduction by Marie Louise Heffernan
as part of the Heritage Society A.G.M.
Michael Gibbons will also be speaking on ‘The Age of Kelp’
Wednesday 22nd February 2017 at 8.00pm
The Station House Hotel,

Aid in Iraq

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 Aid is being distributed in Iraq to groups who have fled from Mosul.

The containers sent to Syria are being about to be distributed in the outskirts Aleppo.

Photos to follow shortly.

The containers once empty are being converted to operating theatres in hospitals being set up by Samaras Aid

New Year Message

 

We wish everyone, whether a parishioner or friend of the Omey Group a very happy and healthy new year
May 2017 be a year when peace is achieved in many of the trouble spots of our world.

May you also find that peace in your heart.

We hope that you will visit one of our churches at some point in the year.
Every blessing
Canon Stan and Rosemary x