ST COLMAN’S KILROOT
MAGAZINE
FEBRUARY 2015
www.Stcolmanschurchkilroot.org.uk
Rector: Rev Mike McCann 93362387
Hon. Treasurer: Alan Hibbert 93329160
P/T Administrator and Secretary to the Vestry: AndreneWalker 93329818
or 07917198034
RECTOR’S LETTER
Dear parishioner,
It is a funny thing but in the modern world we feel the need to make progress. In our own lives we need to feel we have accomplished something. This impacts us even in the life of the church. However one of main problems is that we have forgotten how to be present in the present moment. We are looking to what’s ahead or fretting over the past and aren’t “present”.
One of the monastic vows is stability, staying where you are so that the change that God wants can happen. Stability has been what has enabled us to build a deep connection with Eden Village over the last 10 years and it is our stability that will continue to build that connection in the years ahead. Our continued presence has enabled confidence to build that we are truly there for the village. That was our heart from the beginning but also it must be seen to be true. Thanks to all who give their time and energy week by week and also thanks to those who contribute to the ‘Basket of Hope’. These things really matter!
Our journeying with Gateway Church has come to the point where our 11.30am congregation and their congregation are now meeting together each week. Steve Ames, their pastor, will be commissioned as a Diocesan Reader by our bishop on the evening of Thursday 5 March (time to be confirmed). Elsewhere in the magazine Steve sets out the vision for developing the use of our two sites. It could be described as exciting progress but it comes from a deep desire to be more effectively present here in Kilroot but also in the town centre. God is ever present but many people have lost a sense of that, and we hope to offer new ways for people to discover God’s presence.
As I said a year ago many people find that the world is cold and unwelcoming and in the last year there is more of a sense of fearfulness. However our conviction remains that each person is a unique creation of a loving God and he would have them know that they can be in his family and that whatever their fears, God’s perfect love will settle their hearts, casting out their fear. We have the privilege of encouraging them to believe all of that and through us to experience that sense of coming home.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”
May God bless you and yours,
Mike McCann
SABBATICAL
March 2015 will mark 16 years with you in Kilroot and Templecorran and 21 years in the Diocese of Connor. If one has 15 years+ service in the Diocese it is possible to apply for consideration for a Sabbatical. At the bishop's discretion two clergy each year can take such a sabbatical, with some financial support funding from the Diocese for me and for the parish.
I applied for a possible sabbatical in 2015 and this has been approved by the bishop. With our children all being adults now it has become possible for Sarah and me to consider being away for an extended period. As they say, a window of opportunity has opened and circumstances may change in the future which would make it difficult to be away so we feel it is a good time to go.
All being well I will be spending my sabbatical in the Diocese of the Arctic at the invitation of Bishop Darren McCartney, who was formerly a curate in St. Nicholas. I will be based at St. Jude’s Cathedral in Iqaluit on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic. I will be away for the months of June, July and August.
During my absence David Armstrong will look after Kilroot and Kathleen Brown will look after Ballycarry. Steve Ames will look after the new joint initiative with Gateway. St. Jude’s Cathedral in Iqaluit
With 16 years behind me in Carrickfergus and I hope many years ahead, this sabbatical will give me an opportunity to recharge my batteries, to have time to reflect more deeply and to seek wisdom for what lies ahead.
Mike McCann
PARISH RECORDS
Baptisms
16 November 2014Freya Patrice McClure4B Glassillan Grove, Greenisland
16 November 2014Charlie Ray Thompson49 Mournebeg Drive, Newtownabbey
7 February 2015Charlotte Faith Mone13 Kingsway, Carrickfergus
We offer our congratulations to the families of these children.
Funeral
22 November 2014Laura ClarkTamlaght Nursing Home
We extend our prayerful sympathy to those who are bereaved.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
BISHOP’S LENT COURSE 2015
The Theme for 2015 will be the third strand of our vision strategy:
‘EFFECTING CHANGE’
Dates and venues:
Tuesday 17th FebruaryJordanstown Parish Centre
Tuesday 24th FebruaryBushmills Parish Centre
Tuesday 3rd MarchChrist Church, Lisburn (Church Hall)
Monday 9th MarchJordanstown Parish Centre
Wednesday 18th MarchBushmills Parish Centre
Tuesday 24th MarchChrist Church, Lisburn (Church)
Each evening will commence at 7.30pm
For further information and booking details, contact:
Rosemary Patterson (Bishop’s Secretary)
Tel: 028 90828870
Email:
HYMN SING-IN
Our Church choir are planning to hold a hymn-singing day in the church on Saturday 14 March 2015. We hope that many parishioners (and others) will come along for at least part of that day to hear their favourite hymns, and if they wish, join in the singing.
At this stage, we would like to ask for suggestions of hymns which parishioners would like to hear sung. The choice can be from any of the hymn books we use: Irish Church Hymnal (ICH), Irish Church Praise (ICP), Hymns Old and New (HOAN) or the newer songs used in the 11.30 Service. Copies of the books are available at the back of the church for consultation.
As one of the aims of the day is to raise funds for the church, we would like to receive a donation of £2.00 per hymn or song chosen. Please indicate on the forms available at the back of the church the first lines of the hymns you would wish us to include, the book containing each hymn and the hymn number in that book. You may select as many hymns as you wish, within reason!
This form can be returned to any member of the choir, along with your donation. More details of the event (the programme, the availability of refreshments etc.) will be given closer to the time.
MOTHERING SUNDAY 2015
The 11.30 congregation will be at Gateway on Mothering Sunday, 15th March this year and all are welcome.
Any children who come with their families to the 10.15 Service that morning will have the opportunity to make a small gift for their Mothers and/or Grandmothers.
LITTLELIGHTS: CMSICHILDREN’SRESOURCE 2015
The Little Lights Children’s Resource explores global mission, with a particular focus on DR Congo. Using stories from the bible and examples from around the world today, the material looks at how we can all shine as little lights.
Background
Every year, CMS Ireland produces a Children’s Resource (also known as the ‘Annual Project’) for use by Sunday Schools, churches and school groups in Ireland.
The Objectives
By producing and promoting the Children’s Resource each year, CMS Ireland seeks:
1. To help children and young people understand more about global mission – and their part in it.
2. To help inform and educate churches about the work of our Global Partners and to encourage support for these Partners through prayer, friendship and finance.
3. To educate children and young people about a particular country and share something about how the Church (our Global Partner) in that country is sharing God’s love.
4. To raise funds for a particular mission project of the featured Global Partner.
The children will be using this year’s resource at the 11.30 services. Boxes for donations throughout Lent will be available to all the congregations.
TIME FOR TOTS
Time for Tots continues to go well with nearly 20 adults there some weeks including new faces. We are very pleased that Diane has joined the team, but we are still in need of some extra helpers on Tuesday mornings to share the load and especially to cover when the regulars are not available. Please speak to Gina or Anthea if you can help.
GATEWAY AND ST COLMANS UPDATE 2
This is the second update letter regarding our shared journey together as we continue to explore how it might be possible for us to join together as one congregation and what that might look like. If you haven’t already, please read the first letter here:
Central to this journey will be the question of how we understand church and what that means for us as a reimagined faith community. Unfortunately, for many people today, “church” is effectively just a building or weekly service that you “go to” or “attend”. What sadly tends to flow from this mindset is that a disproportionate amount of leaders time and effort is centered on getting the Sunday service “just right” - so that attendance can grow. For us though, this is missing the point and we want to take this opportunity to redress the balance. We need to remember that church is not something you attend but is actually something you are. We don’t go to church, we are the church.This is not just playing with words but is a genuine attempt to get back to a biblical understanding and practice of what being church actually means. We want to be bound together not by a focus on filling pews on a Sunday morning - but by a rule of life inspired by the life and teachings of Jesus. Yes buildings and services could help that vision, but they can also hinder it depending on how they are used.
What is our shared vision? As a general guiding principle for all our activities and as a way of describing ourselves to others, we are proposing the following summary statement:
“We are a contemporary Christian faith community based in Carrickfergus. Together we are committed to following the example and teachings of Jesus as we discover what it means for us to live as authentic disciples in today’s world.”
What will it look like? Typically to be part of a church has essentially meant to attend weekly services on a regular basis. As has already been mentioned in our case we are proposing an alternative model whereby we want to provide multiple and varied points of entry for those wishing to journey together as a faith community. For example:
The Front Porch
As a newly forming community we are blessed to have two venues at our disposal to help us with our vision - one at Governors Place and one in Kilroot. We have been thinking about how best to make use of what we have and would like to make the following proposal:
Governors Place: We propose that we re-work the building at Governor’s Place into a kind of community “honesty cafe” based on the model of the Dock Cafe in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter. Quirky furniture, free Wifi, a prayer corner, good coffee and a warm atmosphere are the order of the day. ( )
The idea is that we set it up essentially as the day to day “hub” for our new community from which we can run activities such as:
● The Inspire Group on Thursday nights
● A Base of operations for admin and outreach work.
● Alpha courses or similar activities
● Theological discussion groups such as “Labs”
● A “weekly/daily office” - brief and regular devotional times for our community
● Lifegroups or study groups could be based here
● Prayer and worship/contemplation evenings
● Some youth events as appropriate
● Drop in for older teenagers after school/between exams etc
● Parent and toddler groups
● Musician rehearsal/performance space
● Smaller services/meetings at weekends or mid-week
● Social events based around food
● Operational meetings such as children’s work, reviews etc.
● ??
It will also be open for the public to use alongside our community as a “quirky cafe” where you can bring your own lunch or make donations for soup and rolls or coffee and buns, or you could also spend some quiet time in the prayer corner or join with the devotional practice of our community. Other uses could include:
● Soup kitchen Saturdays
● Christmas dinners for the homeless
● As a “Freegan” outlet serving food that would otherwise be discarded by local supermarkets.
● As a base for School castle tours
● Informal Business meetings
● As an outlet for the YMCA cookery school
● Art gallery for local artists to display their work or sell craft
● As a music or other performance venue
The idea is that much of what we actually want to do together could be hosted in a multi-purpose venue such as this while at the same time providing some public social space that benefits the wider local community.
Kilroot Venue: It is proposed that the Kilroot venue is used for the majority of our Sunday Services. The premises here are in a more residential area than Governor’s Place and have better public facilities and more breakout room for children’s activities. In addition to this the building already gets a good amount of community use (Scouts etc) and already hosts a few traditional and semi traditional services a week. Of course our activities won’t all be attached to these two venues. The Eden House and Restore project for example are based in other areas. There are also lifegroups which sometimes are based in peoples’ homes.
What will it mean to be part of this? As we have mentioned before, we don’t want this community to be Sunday service focused. For one person, being part of this could mean helping at the Eden drop in, meeting a prayer partner for breakfast and joining a fortnightly lifegroup. For another it might mean joining one Sunday service in a month, attending a Labs evening and maybe volunteering to to do dishes at the community cafe. For still another it might mean serving as a musician at weekly services and helping with the parents and toddlers group. The point is that we all have different pressures and life patterns, not to mention the realities of parenting, living with illness or working shifts - and there needs to be a way in for everybody who wants to share the rule of life with us. Does this excite you? We hope so! Can you help with any aspect? Please let us know! We have a way to go yet and really what we are painting here is only an “artists impression” and of course there is room for change and improvement along the way. How will we get there? We are starting now to get people together to talk about how to put this vision into practice and to listen for improvements and better ideas along the way. We are also getting together to pray and to listen to God’s Spirit as we take each step. In terms of Sunday services we will be meeting together weekly over the next number of months initially rotating between the 2 venues but from April we will focus on Kilroot for services whilst we begin to develop Governors Place into a community hub, codenamed “The Front Porch” for now.
What will this take to work? It will take a desire to follow Jesus in authentic community over and above the desire for a nice church to go to. We want this to be the real thing, warts and all.
We will need a genuine love of our neighbour if we are to look beyond simply what’s good for us and look more towards what’s going to help us point people to Jesus. We will need humility. If we start asking “what’s in this for Gateway” or “how will this benefit me in St Colmans” - then really we are finished before we start. It’s called a service not because we gather to be served - but because we gather to practice serving others.
It will take participation. Now is not the time to lean back and see what happens, but to lean in and engage with the journey. Who knows, this might be just the moment you’ve been training for. (Est 4:14)
It will take patience, and a sense of humour. This is going to be a long journey and we will make mistakes along the way. Let’s have patience then and bear with one and other. Let’s also not take ourselves too seriously and even be ready to laugh we get it wrong. Afterall it’s not up to us to build God’s kingdom - that’s His job. Our role is to build for the Kingdom as we work (and play) in tandem with what He’s already doing in and around us in our ordinary, everyday lives.
Whatever happens, let’s take this journey together and encourage one another along the way - “and all the more as you see The Day approaching”. Heb 10:25 “Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.” Grace & Peace Mike & Steve
PRAYER GROUPS
A Prayer group meets on the 2nd, 3rd and 5th Wednesdays of the month in the home of George and Pearl Moore at 33 Larne Road. All are welcome to these meetings.