News
A season of reflection and retreats
Lent and Holy Week are special times for the staff and students and staff at the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, with special services, reflections and visitors marking this season of preparation for Easter.
The flowering daffodils and the buddings trees and lawns at CITI have added to the beauty of this season this year.
At the beginning of Lent, about 40 members of the CITI community (staff and students) marked Ash Wednesday with a retreat at Skerries Sailing Club on the Fingal coast of north Co Dublin, where the Revd Tom Wilson (Presbyterian Church in Ireland), led two reflections on Lenten themes.
Tom is a skilled spiritual director with much experience in leading ecumenical retreats and was a natural choice to lead the Quiet Day. In his own gentle way, he helped us to understand more deeply what it means to be present to God in prayer. The presentations were punctuated with an informal service of Morning Prayer and opportunities for quiet reflection or walks around the harbour and on the beaches of Skerries.
As the end drew to a close, staff, students and ordinands walked the length of the South Beach in Skerries to Holmpatrick Parish Church, where the Revd Anthony Kelly presided at an end–of–retreat Eucharist.