Ireland and Celtic Christianity

[Tim Bonney]

For those interested (maybe just Lou and I) I'm starting a thread on Ireland and Celtic Christianity.

I'm interested in what is known as neo-monasticism. This is a movement of Christians to gather into communities often to follow a Christian rule or way of life. Many of these new communities are dispersed communities rather than gathering at a single location or residential monasticism.

I'm a member of the Community of Aidan and Hilda.

"The Community of Aidan and Hilda is a dispersed, ecumenical community drawing inspiration from the lives of the Celtic saints. We seek to cradle a 21st century Way to follow Christ, inspired by these early Celtic Christians."

Another similar community is the Northumbria Community.

Now for a book list. I'll post a few now and look through my library for others.

"Water from an Ancient Well: Celtic Spirituality for Modern Life." Kenneth McIntosh
"Celtic Christianity: Deep Roots for a Modern Faith." Ray Simpson
"The Celtic Book of Days: Ancient Wisdom for EAch Day of the Year from the Celtic Followers of Christ." Ray Simpson
"A Holy Island Prayer Book" Ray Simpson"
"Celtic Daily Prayer: Prayers and Readings from the Northumbria Community." - Northumbria Community

The above are on my Kindle (other than the last). I'll look at my print books and add to the list. I have several more books by Ray Simpson who is the founding Guardian of the Community of Aidan and Hilda.

[Tim Bonney]

On the subject of Ireland, I'd love to hear from Lou and others who have been there.

My wife and I are interested primarily in the Republic of Ireland. We want to see sites around Dublin and probably Galway as we are supposed to have relations there.

[Haruo]

Galway is a sister city of Seattle's, and not far from areas where Irish is still commonly spoken. If Iever mmake it to the Auld Sod, that Western verge will be a higher priority than Dublin, I think. Though I might have to go through Dublin to get there.

[Tim Bonney]

[William Thornton]

My DNA says 36% Irish, although surname origins don't clearly show such a strong connection. Scotch-Irish seems to be the most dominant.

You will have to give me the executive summary of what exactly makes Celtic Christianity distinctive.

[Lou]

Thank you, Timothy--I knew you'd be up to the challenge!

You are more well-read in the area than I am, and I look forward to browsing Amazon for your titles. My shelves contain these books:
"The Celtic Way" by Ian Bradley
"Thin Places" by Tracy Balzer
"The Celtic Way of Prayer" by Esther de Waal

I think you'd also enjoy "The Celtic Way of Evangelism" by George Hunter of Asbury Seminary. And although not specifically in the genre of Celtic spirituality, Thomas Cahill's "How the Irish Saved Civilization" is a go-to book for anyone interested in the connections between ancient Irish spiritual and literary life.

As for traveling to Ireland: My wife and I went on a packaged group tour offered through our travel agent. We flew into Dublin (where the airport is designed along the same lines as a Rubiks Cube) and stayed there for only a day or so before traveling near the southern coast and ending up in Killarney, where we stayed for a few days, touring the Ring of Kerry, the Cliffs of Moher, and other well-known sites. We then went north and stayed for a couple of nights in the coastal town of Westport before heading east back to Dublin. Most of the really breathtaking scenery and the small-village charm is to be found on or near the west coast, so if you want that you'll definitely have to go to the opposite side of the country from Dublin. I think the packaged tour was a good choice for us, since it gave us the opportunity to see a lot in a short time--plus, we had the voice of a very knowledgeable (and entertaining) driver and guide who helped interpret what it was we were seeing. But at the same time the tour didn't seem rushed--we had plenty of opportunities to walk the streets and explore on our own.

That said, if we ever go back I think we'll travel sans guide--we've talked about spending a week in Killarney in a B&B and going on some walking tours of the area. One of my favorite memories is going into a Killarney pub one evening where there was a music session going on--guitar, fiddle, maybe a button accordion--and a little girl of about 6 (evidently the daughter of a regular patron) was step dancing to the music.

Slàinte!

[Lou]

[Tim Bonney]

[Tim Bonney]

Lou,

We are looking to land in Dublin and rent a car driving out from there to sight see and then stay in Galway a few days and do the same. We'd rather not do a prepackaged tour so that we can take our time and go where we'd like. I think we are planning on a ten day trip if we can manage it.

The tour I was on in Israel was great and was a package trip with Educational Opportunities. I think that is the best way to tour in Israel given much more complicated security issues there, etc. EO has done trips in Israel for over 40 years and really has great connections there. The Olive Tree Hotel in Jerusalem was honestly one of the nicest places I've ever stayed.

[Sandy]

I'm Irish on both sides of my family, both parents, all four grandparents, all eight great grandparents. One of my Dad's aunts traced his side of the family's roots to their original settlement in what eventually became Harrison County, West Virginia around 1770, and from there back to County Wicklow, and then all the way back to their arrival as part of the Norman invasion in 1169.

The family history is strangely silent when it comes to religion. I would have thought, especially around the Reformation, that there would have been some mention of it, but the only references to Christian faith come from baptism records when some members of the family were baptized after a revival meeting at the Simpson Creek Baptist Church in WV. My assumption has been that they were probably Catholic, and because of where they were from, likely remained so until emigrating to the US.

At any rate, the references posted are quite interesting reading, Tim. That's a very unique Christian heritage. Leave it to the Irish.

[Lou]

Timothy, Galway is a great city for sightseeing. We were only there one afternoon, but we walked a good bit around the area surrounding the city square. That square is quite a sight, with dozens of street performers of all descriptions plying their respective arts. There were a lot of young tourists around the square, because there are a bunch of youth hostels in the area.

It's interesting the things you learn about your Irish ancestry while there in Ireland. My maternal grandmother was a McCarty, but I was told that the original name was likely McCarthy, but was pronounced with a hardening of the 'th' into a 't' which is characteristic of the southwestern Irish accent. (For example, "three thimbles" would be pronounced as "tree timbles.") My forbears, possibly being illiterate when they came to America, likely gave their name as McCarty when they arrived on these shores--and so that's how they were taught to spell it. Or at least that's the possibility that was suggested to me while we were there. I did meet a man in Killarney who told me his name was McCarty, but he spelled it McCarthy; so the theory does hold some H2O.

[Tim Bonney]

[Tim Bonney]

[Tim Bonney]

Oh, as an aside, aside I look much more like my mother's side of the family than my father's.

My mother has a picture of a great-great uncle of mine who looks just like me down to being some what over weight and sporting a beard.

[linda]

Thanks for listing the resources!

I enjoy The Celtic Book of Days by Simpson. Our local UMC WAS doing a more Celtic and contemplative worship but recently went very loud rock and roll. We switched to a quieter church in the Wesleyan tradition but if they go back to the more liturgical worship we will return.

Of course, we are currently considering ourselves Baptists in exile as we simply are....not....5 point Calvinists or YEC, our Baptist choices here.