Aughaval Group of Parishes

  Today,  Wed 24 September 10.30am, Midweek service of Holy Communion   in St Mary's side chapel, followed by coffee in Clew Bay Hotel. Wed 24 Sept, 8pm, Online prayer. Link below. Please get in touch (contact details at the end of this post) if you need the ID and passcode.  Join Zoom Meeting https://us05web.zoom.us/j/81254087026?pwd=ZQ7vGMars9TSv5b1yQFu5CwJluuaBY.1 Travelling light with Jesus Bringing good news  and  curing diseases, everywhere! Jesus send his disciples out by Richard Gunther https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/rg-first-commission/   Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical 4.0 International License Today's gospel reading      Luke 9:1-6 Then Jesus  called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.   He said to them, ‘Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor...

Daily Christian Growth:  Today's gospel and devotional resources The Holy Family by unknown artist Die heilige Familie Benziner & Co. Einsiedeln 1856,  from collection of Jacek Proszyk, CC BY-SA 4.0,  https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65228030 Luke 8:19-21 Then his [Jesus'] mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, ‘Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.’ But he said to them, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.’ Sacred Space You can find a simple prayer guide and an encouraging reflection on today's gospel here: https://sacredspace.com/daily-prayer/2025-09-23/ "Sometimes the clamour of a crowd can prevent us from finding Jesus."  A hymn   by Shirley Erena Murray  Who is my mother, who is my brother? all those who gather round Jesus Christ: Spirit-blown people born from the Gospel sit at the table, r...

  What a thoroughly enjoyable and encouraging weekend for the parishes! Following the Harvest Thanksgiving Service in Turlough. David Thomas and Valerie Raitt, at Turlough. Holy Baptism in the outdoors, at Christ Church Castlebar, a joyful occasion and event. Pictured: Chris Butcher is baptised, supported by Dr Eamon Smith (Diocean Reader) and Chris's Sponsor Susie Fry (Rector's Church Warden) What a thoroughly enjoyable and encouraging weekend it was in the parishes! On Friday evening, Christ Church Castlebar was one of the venues for Culture night, organised by the Linen Hall Arts, as part of the annual weekend of music and cultural events. On Saturday evening we had a wonderful celebration of the Harvest in the beautifully decorated Turlough Church. The guest speaker was Valerie Raitt who reflected on the work of Spiritual Tourism and Pilgrimage in the TLK Diocese, and on the Harvest and work of the Spirit to spiritual produce a harvest in our lives. Our thanks to Valerie, t...

  This week: Wed 10.30am in Westport:  Midweek Holy Communion in St Mary's Church, South Mall, followed by coffee in the Clew Bay Hotel Wed 8pm: Online Prayer and Bible Reading. Link to follow or on request (see below). "Shine as a light in the world, to the glory of God the Father."  (Cf. Matthew 5:16) Receiving a candle after baptism,  Christ Church, Castlebar, 21 September 2025 Today's gospel   Luke 8:16-18 ‘No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light. Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.’ Christian Art You can find a reflection (recommended) on the gospel here: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/luke-8-...

  The Worship of Mammon Evelyn De Morgan, 1909 Public domain, via Wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1147026 Today's gospel      Luke 16: 1-13 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property.  So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’  Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’  So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’  He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it f...

  Culture Night in Castlebar - Christ Church Christ Church was one of the venues for this year's Arts Festival in Castlebar, run by the Linen Hall ( https://www.thelinenhall.com/ ). Below are a few photos taken in the church on Friday 19 September. The evening in the church began with a talk on the Irish opera prima donna   Margaret Burke Sheridan.  Margaret Burke Sheridan  meets Italian conductor Vincenzo Bellezza in London, 1938.  Photograph by Erich Salomon Public  domain, via Wikimedia: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Die_Sopranistin_Margaret_Sheridan_und_der_Dirigent_Vincenzo_Bellezza_in_London,_1938.jpg  

  Luke 8:4-15 When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him [Jesus], he said in a parable: ‘A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.’ As he said this, he called out, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’ Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets  of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak  in parables, so that “looking they may not perceive,    and listening they may not understand.” ‘Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from the...