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There is a Time…

A Celebration for New Year's Eve 1999 in St. Joseph's Church, Ballindine

The theme of the celebration was drawn from Chapter 3 of the Book of Ecclesiastes, which reflects on there being a time for every occupation under the sun. And the Jubilee logo reminds us that Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever.

So in this celebration we looked at the things from the past that shaped us; we reflected on who we are now; and we looked to move onward to the future with commitment and solidarity.

The ceremony took place at 5.00 p.m. on the evening of 31st December 1999. It was after sunset, but early enough for both old and young to take part, and it still left time for those who wished to celebrate the Millennium later in the evening.

People gathered in the dimly lit church and those taking part walked in procession to the altar. The theme was outlined in the opening prayer with the words:

"We remember: for all that has been we give thanks.
We look forward: For all that will be we say yes.
All time is God's time: We let go of the past and we welcome what is to come."

This was followed by four short reflections based on the theme of letting go. After the hymn "Hark the Herald…" the first reading from the Book of Ecclestiastes followed. "There is a time for everything."

We recalled our story as a community, with the help of commentary, slides and mementoes of the past as well as the present. Starting with the coming of St. Patrick to Kilvine, and tracing the development of Christianity in the area, we were reminded of the ruins of three churches in the parish: Kilvine, Cloonmore and Garryduff. There is reference in a Vatican document to a church in Garryduff in 1418. Tradition says that all three were destroyed by Cromwellian soldiers on the one day in the latter half of the 17th century. A stone from each church was carried to the sanctuary by Darina Daly, Padraig Griffin and Emer Halligan respectively, and left at the foot of the Jubilee Candle.

The influence of the Oranmore and Browne family of Castlemacgarret, was referred to and a piece of oak from a tree on the estate, dating to about 1700, was next carried in by Trina Conroy.

Lord Oranmore and Browne gave land for the church and school about 1840, and helped financially with the building. In fact three Lords of the family were managers of the school until the early part of the 20th century. A bronze plaque commemorating this fact was brought up by Aoife Rush and left with the other mementoes. Other items introduced at this stage included old documents from Cullane School, now closed, which were brought up by Conor Prendergast; a Religious Instruction Notice, an old school roll book and a writing slate from Ballindine School were brought up by Tom Hyland, Rosaleen Dunne and Ciaran Callaghan respectively.

Historical events from the 19th century were referred to: such as The Famine, The Land League; Knock Apparitions; the coming of the railway; and the fact of one of the Blakes of Dunmacreena being Archbishop of Armagh. The Meitheal system of getting work done and the work of the Journeymen Craftsmen were remembered, and a spokeshave, representing their trade, was brought forward by Sinead McLoughlin.

A 100 year old Clock was then carried in by Kevin Gallagher, as our history moved into the 20th century. Events from this century reminded us of the coming of motor cars; the Troubles; the advent of Electricity in the homes; Payne's Factory, Ballindine; The Holy Year and the Marian Year Shrines in the area. We acknowledged the establishment of the Disabled Drivers Association of Ireland by local men Martin Donoghue and Pat Grogan and others. Martin Donoghue was famous also for his promotion of music in the area and his grand-daughter Kelly Geraghty brought up an accordeon owned by him.

There followed a moment of silence to reflect the past as the Hymn of "Our Lady of Knock" was sung. The ensuing Gospel Reading reminded us that we are the "salt of the earth, and the light of the world".

And then we looked at ourselves today. A thriving community on the N17 - for good or bad! - it has a Community Council, enters the Tidy Towns competition, has a renovated Church, a new school under construction 'Marion House' Alzheimer Respite Centre established, many new houses going up and many newcomers coming into the area. The great tradition of Irish music and dancing continues - symbolised by the harp carried to the sanctuary by Holly Geraghty. Our outreach to other countries is exemplified by our missionaries working abroad, and the likes of Kathleen Fahey who is the regional co-ordinator with Trócaire in Somalia.

And we were reminded of the advances of modern education, and of the future style of learning, by the computer disc brought up by the youngest pupil in the present school, Emma Higgins.

We thanked God for all that has moulded us in the past, and as we moved from 1999 to 2000 we let go and with trust in God we faced forward. And we prayed that in 2999 people will be celebrating a vibrant Christian community here in Ballindine.

Finally, the people's Millennium candles were lit from the Jubilee candle, and after a prayer of thanks and hope people stood and together made a Jubilee commitment. The congregation sang the hymn "Light of Christ" as they left the church in procession with their lighted candles and proceeded to the school where some light refreshments had been laid on.

It was an evening to remember and to cherish.