Any late opening Church?

j80ezgvc3p92xu

Hi All

I was wondering would anyone know of a Catholic Church in Dublin which remains open until late? I realise that it is probably asking for trouble to leave it unlocked in the evenings, but I hold on to hope. I will be finishing work quite late and would love to spend some time in a Church (or Chapel) if possible.

alma73

Kylee Aggressive Sportswoman wrote: »

Hi All

I was wondering would anyone know of a Catholic Church in Dublin which remains open until late? I realise that it is probably asking for trouble to leave it unlocked in the evenings, but I hold on to hope. I will be finishing work quite late and would love to spend some time in a Church (or Chapel) if possible.

There is a church on the guays that has perpetual adoration. There are other churchs with keypad access if you know the priest. Its hard to leave a church open at night in Dublin, but there are locations, i just need to followup as its 15 years since i lived there.

Speedwell

Folks, I'm genuinely just asking because this is something that's perplexed me for a long time.

I was a Christian for more than thirty years, and was years into being a deconvert, when it occurred to me to ask why churches ever close. This related to a widely reported case in America where a homeless man who hadn't eaten for a day or longer walked into a church kitchen outside service hours (he didn't break in; nothing was locked) and stole a handful of biscuits. If I remember correctly a cleaning person saw him and called the police. The church pressed charges of trespassing and theft and had the man sent to jail "to help him" (as though giving a criminal record to someone with an otherwise clean record ever helped anyone).

I'm not addressing, at this time, the appropriateness of the church's decision to prosecute the trespasser. What I'm wondering is why the question of trespassing was ever raised at all. I had always thought of the church as a community's historical place of refuge and support, as the place where the destitute could find help if there was no other help to find. I honestly never thought that I couldn't go to a church at any time if I was a stranger in a place and needed help, whether or not I was a Christian myself.

Your thoughts?

Mrs OBumble

Firstly, every church building has public spaces and private spaces. If you go into the private spaces when you're not supposed to be there, then you're trespassing (morally, if not strictly according to the legal definition).

Second, experience shows that even the public spaces need to be secured during certain hours, or some people will steal stuff or attack other people there.

Yes, churches are people who you can go to when there's no other help to find. Church-buildings are a handly way of locating these people. That doesn't mean that the front door needs to be unlocked though.

alma73

@Speedwell.. Insurance and Security issues mean that 24/7 opening is not possible. Its not to keep the homeless out. However the Catholic Church is the largest provider of homeless services in Ireland.

j80ezgvc3p92xu

alma73 wrote: »

There is a church on the guays that has perpetual adoration. There are other churchs with keypad access if you know the priest. Its hard to leave a church open at night in Dublin, but there are locations, i just need to followup as its 15 years since i lived there.

Which Church? I do not know any priest well enough to ask for keypad access... . I was thinking Chapels would be more likely to be open.

Speedwell

alma73 wrote: »

@Speedwell.. Insurance and Security issues mean that 24/7 opening is not possible. Its not to keep the homeless out. However the Catholic Church is the largest provider of homeless services in Ireland.

That about the insurance makes sense. I guess you can't have a public facility without insurance, and you have to follow their rules instead of God's... no, that's being a bit, how would you say, uncharitable. But insurance is about statistics and profit, not Godliness.

About being the largest provider of charity, as large as the Church is in Ireland, all I can say is I'd be beyond shocked if they weren't. The question is whether they do so in proportion to their membership in the community, and if their efforts are enough, and if they are willing to provide these services to non-Catholics at the same rate. I honestly don't know whether this is the case or not.

My question might be colored a little by a short time in my life in which I was homeless (escaping a violent ex-husband) and the homeless shelter kicked me out for wanting to practice my piano lesson in the sanctuary during the time the shelter was shut for the day. There is no "rest of the story". Someone told me I was welcome to do it, and someone else came along and raised hell.

alma73

Speedwell wrote: »

That about the insurance makes sense. I guess you can't have a public facility without insurance, and you have to follow their rules instead of God's... no, that's being a bit, how would you say, uncharitable. But insurance is about statistics and profit, not Godliness.

About being the largest provider of charity, as large as the Church is in Ireland, all I can say is I'd be beyond shocked if they weren't. The question is whether they do so in proportion to their membership in the community, and if their efforts are enough, and if they are willing to provide these services to non-Catholics at the same rate. I honestly don't know whether this is the case or not.

My question might be colored a little by a short time in my life in which I was homeless (escaping a violent ex-husband) and the homeless shelter kicked me out for wanting to practice my piano lesson in the sanctuary during the time the shelter was shut for the day. There is no "rest of the story". Someone told me I was welcome to do it, and someone else came along and raised hell.

Having worked with the homeless, I can say their efforts are not enough. Remember Church means group of people, is everyone who shares the same faith. Sadly I will have to say there are lots of Catholics who don't care about the homeless.

I ran the marathon of Merchants Quay and I remember the bad feedback I got,. "Why would I give my money to some drug addict. "

We don't do enough, not be a long shot. However the largest provider are Catholic organisations, which get some support from Government.

georgieporgy

Kylee Aggressive Sportswoman wrote: »

Hi All

I was wondering would anyone know of a Catholic Church in Dublin which remains open until late? I realise that it is probably asking for trouble to leave it unlocked in the evenings, but I hold on to hope. I will be finishing work quite late and would love to spend some time in a Church (or Chapel) if possible.

What part of Dublin? and how late do you mean?

j80ezgvc3p92xu

City Centre/Northside. By late I mean past 7 pm..

georgieporgy

Kylee Aggressive Sportswoman wrote: »

City Centre/Northside. By late I mean past 7 pm..

Our Lady Queen of Peace church on Merrion Rd is open quite late most evenings. Check the website for info. Across the road is St Vincent's hospital. That too has a small chapel open 24/7.
The location is a bit south side but easy to reach if you have a car and traffic is light.